Start with whichever type of exercise is most critical for your fitness goals. Doing weight training before cardio may help you increase muscle strength. If you want to improve endurance, doing cardio before weights is the better approach.
Try to tailor your aerobic training and your weight training on different days to optimize both. But, if you do have to do your weight training and cardio on the same day, stick with weights first.
Cardio is better when performed after your strength training. You will have more energy for your strength training and potentially be able to lift more weight then if you were to do cardio first.
It can be a good addition, but is not required for building muscle and losing fat. Adding cardio doesn't mean that it will guarantee results. The 20 minutes of cardio will help to burn 50 - 100kcal (if low-intensity) and 100 - 200kcal (if high intensity), so you can do it if you enjoy it.
There are 3 parts of a Work-out, followed in the this order: You ALWAYS Warm-Up first, typically, low intensity cardio. 2nd comes the Workout, typically Anaerobic exercises such as strength, speed, and/or power training first, followed by Aerobic Endurance exercise such as cardio exercises.
What is the 3-2-1 method of working out? The 3-2-1 refers to your weekly split of workouts - three strength training sessions, two Pilates sessions, and one cardio session. All up, that's six sessions per week, leaving you one full rest day, too.
Cardio has been shown to specifically reduce visceral fat, meaning belly fat. While it's clear weight training burns fat better than cardio, cardio training may target the waistline more specifically than lifting weights. That's a huge benefit, as many people are actively seeking to cut inches around the midsection.
Running, which engages your slow-twitch (type I) muscle fibers to carry you through sustained aerobic efforts, should always be done after lifting if building strength or muscle mass is your main goal.
The Bottom Line
Cardio won't eat up your gains (unless you're overtraining), so it's okay to pack both cardio and strength training into one efficient session. Whether you do cardio or weights first also won't impact your results on a cellular level; but, it may affect your energy levels—and thus, performance.
For any isolation exercises, you could do just 1-2 sets per exercise and get the job done well. There's no harm in spending more time in the gym, though. If you have the time and ambition, you could start with 4 to 8 sets per muscle per week, and work your way up to 8 to 12 sets.
Aerobic exercise includes any activity that raises your heart rate such as walking, dancing, running or swimming. This can also include doing housework, gardening and playing with your children. Other types of exercise such as strength training, Pilates and yoga can also help you lose belly fat.
If you want to combine strength and cardio in your workout split, you absolutely can. In an ideal world, you would split the two disciplines into two separate sessions within the day, leaving 4 to 6 hours between each to optimize recovery and performance for each session.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that adults should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 5 days per week OR engage in 20-minutes of vigorous activity 3 days per week.
If you want to increase your endurance, do cardio before weights. If you want to build muscle strength, do weights before cardio. If you want to improve your overall fitness, you can do either cardio or weights first.
Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
The 80/20 rule simply means: 80% of the effects come from 20% of the things u do. 20% from exercise. It isn't just about the weight loss but actually about the fat loss and muscle gain.
Shifting stubborn fat comes down to the 70/30 rule: only 30% comes from exercise whereas 70% comes from making changes to what you eat. It is the most important factor in a shredding fat.
The 4-2-1 method structures your week of workouts around four days of strength training, two days of cardio, and one day of mobility or active rest, designed to optimize fat loss while maintaining muscle mass.
Many people find it helpful to start with cardiovascular to get the blood flowing, then to move to strength training, and to end with flexibility once the tissues are already warmed up. By touching all three phases, you develop a comprehensive, full body workout routine.
What is the 5x5 workout? There are a few iterations of the 5x5 workout, but they all involve doing five sets of five reps of compound exercises. Hamlin suggests the following rules and programming: Rest breaks: Rest between each set for two to three minutes, depending on the intensity and how you feel.
Weight-training progression
In a four-week block to improve muscular endurance, start with three sets of 10. Then in the following weeks, keep the weights the same but increase to 12, 14, and 16 reps. Over time, you'll need to add weight as well as increase reps and sets.