Reasons to Weight Train Before Cardio

Time to get a little bit scientific. It's important to understand what happens to your body when you exercise and how it relates to working out. When working out it is a good idea to mix cardiovascular work with lifting weights.  This is because you build muscle and lose fat at one time. It is important to do weights before cardio work for a few reasons:

If you’re goal is to lose weight then doing cardio after your weight training is especially important. The simple reason is that weight training depletes glycogen is muscles. What is Glycogen? Glycogen is a primary a fuel source for cardiovascular exercise. When the glycogen depletes in your body it is more likely release fat from cells to be used as energy. When you do cardio without weight training before, it takes around 20-25 mins for glycogen levels to fall and fat cells to potentially be released. Here is a link discussing the role of carbs and glycogen for use in exercise.

You should save your maximum amount of energy for the weights. Lifting weights takes a lot of energy and it is important to use proper form to prevent injuries.  If your body is already tired from running there is an increased risk that you won't use proper form. This also limits your potential for muscle building  as you won’t be able to do as many reps that you otherwise could.

Here is a video I found on YouTube that talks about why you should weight train before doing cardio workouts

Some Healthy Decisions That Helps in Fat Loss

When you exercise consistently one thing you'll need to also look at is your diet and what you are eating. The key to successful weight loss is developing healthy diet and exercise habits.  If you have a high protein and low calorie diet you will lose weight as your body burns carbohydrates first and then goes to burning fat.  According to the Mayo Clinic, "Weight loss comes down to burning more calories that you take in. You can do that by reducing extra calories from food and beverages and increasing calories burned through physical activity."

I include quite a bit of chicken and tuna in my diet because those foods are good sources of protein.  Tuna fish is easy to make because it is in a can and all you have to do is add a little bit of light mayo to it and you can make a good sandwich or salad. Here is a list of possible recipes with tuna so that you don't have to make just sandwiches.

People also should drink an adequate amount of water.  Eight glasses of water is recognized by most people as the required amount of water a body needs in a day.  This seems like a lot and can be difficult but if you keep a bottle of water by you during the day and take occasional sips it may become easier.  For more information on the importance of drinking enough water and how it relates to losing weight and becoming healthier here's a good explanation. You should also try to stay away from sodas and other drinks that have a lot of sugars in them because the sugars can be converted into fat. One can of soda contains 160 calories that have no other nutritional value.  There are better ways to get hydrated than drinking sodas so you should try to stay away from them if you want to lose weight and live healthier.