In order to maximize your fitness level when you are over 40, you need to pursue a comprehensive regimen which I often refer to as the ‘fitness triforce’ – cardio, weightlifting, and nutrition. One of the most common and popular questions for people who are starting to work out is ‘should you do cardio before or after lifting weights?’
Obviously, both are important and unless you have tons of free time in your life, chances are you try to do both while you are at the gym to save time. So which order is best? It seems like a fairly straightforward question; however, it really hinges on your fitness priorities. Do you want to maximize your muscle gains, or do you want to burn more calories?
Of course, if you have the ability to do cardio at a different time of the day than weightlifting, or can do them on different days, then you avoid the dilemma altogether. For many people, that is not possible since time is limited, but I wanted to point it out. Below are some things to consider when deciding which order to do your workouts if you are doing both cardio and lifting in the same gym session.
Increasing Muscle Mass
For many years, the conventional wisdom within the bodybuilding community has been that too much cardio would come at the expense of your muscle gains and that if you did cardio first, you wouldn’t get the most out of the weightlifting that followed. Many peer-reviewed studies have been conducted, and the overall consensus is that cardio affects subsequent weightlifting performance, but not always muscle growth.
Below is an example of one such study that was conducted in 2021 by researchers affiliated with various health institutions in Germany, Australia, and Sweden. The 2021 study was based on a review of 43 other studies on the same topic.
“Attenuation of explosive strength was more pronounced when concurrent training was performed within the same session (p = 0.043) than when sessions were separated by at least 3 h (p > 0.05).” the researchers stated. In laypeople’s terms, cardio reduces the amount of strength explosiveness while weightlifting. But, that doesn’t necessarily translate to a negative impact on muscle growth (muscle hypertrophy).
“Concurrent aerobic and strength training does not compromise muscle hypertrophy and maximal strength development. However, explosive strength gains may be attenuated, especially when aerobic and strength training are performed in the same session.” the researchers also stated.
Translating that into laypeople’s terms, cardio will not automatically kill your muscle size gains, but it will impact your explosiveness. If you are doing competitive powerlifting, doing cardio before lifting is detrimental, but if you are just trying to grow your muscles to look better for beach season, you will be fine to a point. If you are planning on gripping and ripping iron and doing reps to failure in an effort to grow the largest muscles your community has ever seen, cardio before weightlifting will result in you being able to do fewer lifting reps, which will, in turn, lessen your muscle growth potential to a degree.
A Very Important Additional Consideration
There is another important factor that many heavy lifters don’t consider which ultimately tips the scales in favor of lifting weights before you do cardio instead of doing them the other way around.
“The reason is that strength training typically involves external loading (e.g., with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, etc.), and thus has a more acute injury risk. Pre-fatiguing your muscles with cardio prior to lifting weights will only elevate that risk.” Men’s Health points out. When you are over 40, avoiding injury is paramount, and anything that you can do to reduce the risk of injury is extremely important to consider.
Losing Weight And Burning Calories
If your ultimate goal is to lose weight by burning calories, and you plan on lifting a lighter amount of weights and doing a higher amount of reps, then doing cardio before you lift weights has some benefits to consider. Lifting lighter at higher reps helps mitigate the risk of injury, and if you do cardio first, you can increase your heartrate which increases the number of calories you burn during your workout. Hitting a cardio machine and elevating your heartrate will boost your calorie burn rate during the subsequent lifting session to some degree.
A great way to combine both cardio and weightlifting simultaneously is to do high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The University of California describes HIIT as consisting of “short bursts of intense work that typically last between 15 seconds to 4 minutes” which is “followed by a quick recovery period and then right back to the tough work.”
“These cycles are repeated several times and can include a variety of exercises in each round. HIIT workouts can include the use of a stationary bike, treadmill, bodyweight, kettlebell, dumbbells, or jump rope.” UC Davis states on its website. “HIIT and other high-intensity exercise programs help you burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Research has also showed that you keep burning calories for hours after your workout is finished. These workouts typically cause you to burn more fat and build muscle.”
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Disclaimer: The contents of this article and this website are not meant to substitute for the professional advice of a doctor, nutritionist, and/or certified personal trainer. This content is provided as an educational tool to help people on their fitness journeys. While we strive to research topics as much as possible and provide useful and accurate information to the best of our abilities, we also strongly recommend talking to your doctor, nutritionist, and/or certified personal trainer before starting any workout, therapeutic, or nutritional regimen, as each individual’s needs and situations vary depending on the person.