There's really no wrong way to do it...
Cardio - before or after weight training?
I notice a lot of people in the gym getting their cardio in prior to weight/strength training. I have a lot of clients that initially come to me with that state of mind as well. I also don't know these people in the gym that I see doing this and what their goals really are, so are they doing it right or wrong?
WORKING OUT IS WORKING OUT RIGHT?
WELL, YES BUT NOT REALLY......
I WILL RUN DOWN 3 SCENARIOS OF GOALS AND HOW TO SIMPLY & PROPERLY TRAIN FOR EACH ONE
1. Building lean muscle to burn body fat
(Better for long term goals)
Eat
Cardio - WARM UP (something like 10 minutes)
Weight Train medium to heavy weights moderate reps
Cardio - 35 to 60 Minutes
Post workout meal or protein shake (protein + veggie + carb)
2. Lose weight on scale
(For short period to shed a few pounds or incorporate into above weekly regimen 2-3x per week)
Fasted cardio or HIIT workout 35 Minutes
Protein Shake + oats
Weight Train light weight more reps
Post workout light meal (protein + veggie)
3. Currently built but wanting to lose weight & burn body fat
Eat (light meal or protein shake)
Cardio or HIIT workout 35-45 minutes
Heavy weight train set 4-5 Exercises low reps 3-4 sets
Cardio - Cool Down additional 15 minutes
Post workout light meal (protein + veggie)
Why though?????
When we eat, our bodies put our food into a "food bucket". It will then utilize this for energy. It does not utilize immediately what you eat before or after a workout. We eat according to our workouts so that it can properly digest it for what we are about to put it through , and THEN with CONSISTENCY- we see changes.
Let's talk about this consistent food bucket now. Assuming that you're consistent with the overall meals you feed your body.....
We eat, food gets put into food bucket, it gets stored until we move a limb, we move a limb and the food bucket shoots out a speckle of food to provide it energy to do so. Sounds like a simple way to explain it, you still following?
#1 Build lean muscle and burn body fat
Weights and then cardio:
Eat food, allow the muscle to utilize the food bucket for energy and deplete it, so when it comes time to do your cardio, your body has nothing left to burn but remaining stored glycogen (sugar) and stored body fat- voila!
Why cardio before weights will throw this off track? If you haven't already put it in play, I'll do it for you. If you were to do so:
Eat food, spend 35+ minutes on cardio to burn the calories from the food you ate, deplete it (somewhat- because it's fact that it takes a minimum of 35 minutes on medium paced cardio machine to even BEGIN the stages of burning sugars and stored body fat) then you go do weight training, you've depleted some of your food bucket and some sugars it would've LOVED to eat up right away for you, and then you go home possibly not burning off everything you though you did.
#2 Lose weight on scale
Cardio and then light weight training:
There is no wrong to this method--- unless you eat something before you go. Then you screwed it up and go back to #1. Any of my clients I don't particularly send them on an empty stomach. I make sure they at least drink some BCAA's prior to going so that their bodies have a liquid amino protein source to utilize during cardio. This fasted cardio is typically done as soon as someone wakes up so there is no direct food source in your bucket that your body has to burn while doing your cardio, it goes straight to burn your stored fat.
Wake up, drink aminos, Cardio for 35-45 minutes, drink a protein shake with added light carb, hit some weights for strength training to utilize/burn sugars, then after EAT a light whole food source meal (not another protein shake)
3. Currently built but wanting to lose weight & burn body fat
Cardio/ HIIT training and then heavy sets:
You already have solid muscular body type but have some weight or body fat to lose. This I would recommend doing more earlier in the day rather than later so you would have maybe 1 light meal/ breakfast in your system. We need a little bit of your food bucket here.
Eat light meal, cardio and/or HIIT (okay to mix both) for 35-45 minutes, Strength train heavy set light reps 4-5 exercises x 3-4 sets each, go back to finish with medium paced cardio, then eat another light meal or protein shake afterwards.
Allow your body to continue to burn throughout the day with eating light carbs, moderate fats and keep up on your protein + veggies throughout the day. Remember, your goals are aurrounded by what you feed and fuel your body with. Backing it up with greasy, fried, buttery (goodness, I'll admit lol) will not step you closer towards your goals. I tell all my clients to think of there bodies as a sink. Bad food clogs it up, good food allows it to drain properly. It's simple. Good luck on your goals. I'm here if you ever need me.
Kelly Michelsen
KMBB.FITNUT@GMAIL.COM