Tip Is Cardio Best Before or After Lifting Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Is Cardio Best Before or After Lifting A new study is finally giving us the answer Check this out by Kyle Arsenault October 13, 2016October 14, 2021 Tags Tips, Training The Best Time to Do Conditioning Work Should you do your conditioning, metcon, or cardio work before or after lifting? Many say to do it before because it acts as a warm-up. Others say it interferes with the "money" part of your training: lifting weights. Who's right? Turns out, the experienced lifters who said to do it AFTER weight training were correct. Completing aerobic endurance exercise before resistance training will negatively impact your ability to perform at your highest potential during the lifting part of your session. The New Study A recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when healthy, resistance-trained men performed aerobic endurance exercise before a resistance training session... Fewer reps were completed Average power and velocity of lifts were significantly reduced Ratings of perceived exertion were greater Heart rates were higher when compared to the control group HIIT First Drops Lifting Performance One of four different treadmill running protocols were used as part of the aerobic endurance exercise portion: 60% of the participant's VO2 reserve for 45 minutes 75% of the participant's VO2 reserve for 20 minutes 90-100% of the participant's VO2 reserve for intervals of 3 minutes (a 1:1 work to rest ratio) for 5 sets 75% of the participant's VO2 reserve at a 6-9% uphill incline for 20 minutes Researchers found that there were differing degrees of the drop in performance measures across the groups, with the high intensity interval group experiencing the greatest reduction. This is important because stress consolidation, or completing all of your higher intensity efforts in the same time period, is encouraged as it allows for greater recovery from session to session. But don't make the mistake of performing your high intensity conditioning before you lift. Weights First If you're going to complete aerobic endurance exercise in the same workout as a weight training, do the resistance training first. End of discussion. Reference Ratamess, Nicholas A. et al. (October 2016). Acute Resistance Exercise Performance Is Negatively Impacted by Prior Aerobic Endurance Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Vol. 30 (10). Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Copy and Paste to Be a Better Deadlifter Most lifters' warm-up sets look very different than their working sets. That's a problem. Here's why. Deadlift, Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips Tony Gentilcore December 4 Training Tip The Dorsiflex Weighted Dip If you have trouble with proper form on dips, try this variation where you're forced to pull the toes up. It immediately fixes most form problems. Chest, Exercise Coaching, Tips Joel Seedman, PhD August 14 Training 8 Inconvenient Truths About Ab Training Most of us know how to train a muscle, but most of it seems to get flushed down the toilet when it comes to abs. Here's what you need to know. Abs, Bodybuilding, Training TC Luoma March 7 Training How to Squat When You re a Big Boy The bigger you get, the harder it is to squat with good form. Here's how to squat when you have big hips, big shoulders, or poor mobility. Legs, Squat Lee Boyce March 2