Should You Do Cardio Before or After Weights?

If, like most people, you don’t have hours to hang out at the gym, you probably want to make your workouts as efficient as possible. Even if you only have 30 minutes, using your time wisely can help you get results, especially with a routine focused on gradual progression.

Maximizing your time often means combining cardiovascular exercise and strength training in the same session. But should you do cardio before or after weights? There are some important factors that can help you decide.

Is it better to do cardio before or after weights?

There’s no definitive answer to whether you should do cardio before or after weights. It depends mainly on your fitness goals. 

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Here are a few expert tips to help you decide:

• 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. 

When it comes to losing weight, the research on exercise order is mixed. However, recent research favors doing strength training before cardio. One small study found doing weights before cardio burned more fat. 

In another small study, researchers found that doing strength training first increased heart rate more than doing cardio first (in the same workout). So, starting your workouts with strength training could help you burn more calories. But some research suggests that cardio is more effective for weight loss than strength training. And a combination of the two is best for maintaining weight loss. 

Exercise order is less important if your goal is more general, like staying active or improving your overall health. You can try swapping out doing cardio and weights first to find out what order you prefer. That might mean starting with the exercise you enjoy the least to get it out of the way. 

Whichever order you choose, doing a short, low-intensity cardio warmup is important. A 5- to 10-minute warmup with dynamic moves will prepare your muscles for exercise. That might mean walking on a treadmill, using an elliptical at a low intensity, or taking a slow ride on a stationary bike. 

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What are the benefits of doing cardio before weight lifting?  

The main benefit of doing cardio before weights is increasing endurance, according to Danny King, CPT, a trainer at Life Time, a chain of health clubs in the U.S. and Canada. “The only time I really recommend doing cardio first is if there is some type of cardio performance goal,” King told GoodRx Health. “Whatever is done first will be the priority, both in total energy for the body and available time.” 

Start with cardio to maximize your performance and reach fitness goals like better endurance. For example, if you’re a runner trying to improve speed for an upcoming race, King recommended prioritizing a quality run before weight training. 

“In this scenario, the goal of weight lifting is to support the ability to run better, so it’s a secondary goal and should be put after running,” he said.

Cardio also increases blood flow to your muscles. That’s why starting any workout with a light cardio warmup is key. 

What are the benefits of doing cardio after weight lifting?

Doing weight training before cardio is the optimal approach for building strength, especially in lower-body muscles. 

“The primary fuel source for weight lifting is stored sugar in the muscles, called glycogen,” King said. “You will have your best performance if you do [weight lifting] when you have the most fuel available. If you do cardio first, you will deplete some of that glycogen, decreasing your energy. And that will make weight lifting more challenging.”

Cardio relies on a mix of glycogen and fat for fuel, he added. You burn glycogen when you lift weights, so if you do cardio afterward, your body has to burn more fat for fuel. 

What are the benefits of separating cardio and weight lifting?  

A study found that doing cardio and strength training in the same workout didn’t impair muscle growth or strength. So the benefits of separating cardio and weight lifting depends on your goals.

You might want to consider separate sessions if you have sports-specific training goals. The same study found that a combined workout may reduce explosive muscle strength. It might not be ideal if your sport involves explosive movements, such as Olympic lifting, basketball, or football.

Similarly, combined sessions might not work for people who practice endurance sports like long-distance running. Research suggests that doing strength training before cardio may hinder endurance performance.

Break up your cardio and strength sessions if it works better for your schedule. Some people like to do cardio in the morning and lift weights in the evening. Others prefer to do cardio on certain days and strength training on other days. Choose whichever method you enjoy and can stick with. 

How often should you do weight lifting and cardio?

Experts recommend that adults do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio each week. Brisk walking or riding your bike counts as moderate cardio. Running or cycling during a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class is vigorous.

Adults should also do total-body strength training at least 2 days a week. These workouts should target all the major muscle groups.

You can combine these any way you want to. And keep in mind these are the minimum recommendations. Doing more than the minimum may enhance results, like building muscle and improving fitness. 

How do you combine strength training and cardio in one workout?

Several types of workouts combine strength training and cardio in one routine. Many people like this because they find it’s more efficient. 

Two common types are HIIT and circuit training. They are very similar and involve doing a mix of cardio and strength exercises back to back with little rest in between. 

A sample workout might include:

• Squats

• Jumping jacks

• Push-ups

• Burpees

• Lunges

• Planks

These are bodyweight exercises. But you can also do a circuit or HIIT workout with weights. There are many ways to organize this type of workout. For example, you might do each exercise for 30 seconds, take a 10-second rest, then go to the next exercise. Typically you do one set of each exercise then repeat the sequence a few times. 

The result is that you build muscle and strength, and your heart rate stays elevated throughout the workout to improve cardio fitness and burn calories at the same time.

How to build a cardio and strength-training routine

You don’t have to incorporate cardio and weights into the same session. But if you do, these tips from physical therapist and functional movement coach Chad Walding, DPT, can help. 

1. Start with body-weight exercises or light weights 

People can be overly ambitious when they start a new weight-lifting routine. But beginners should avoid doing too much too soon as it could lead to muscle strain or joint injury, Walding told GoodRx Health. 

Use light weights or try body-weight exercises to help you get started with strength training. 

2. Learn proper weight-lifting form 

Choose a few types of lifts for each session and learn to do them well. That’s more important than adding a range of strength-training moves you don’t know how to do. 

3. Consider hiring a personal trainer 

Working with a personal trainer is helpful if you’re unfamiliar with weight lifting or don’t know where to start. With a trainer, you can learn proper form and get help creating a program that includes cardio and strength training.

4. Progress very gradually 

Walding suggested increasing your effort by about 2% with each new workout. That might mean doing one more rep than you did the last time, for example.

5. Choose free weights rather than machines 

Although strength-training machines can be useful, Walding said that free weights or resistance bands tend to improve movement quality more quickly.

6. Pick cardio you love 

Hate the treadmill? Don’t use it. Love dancing? Crank up the tunes. 

Walding said you’re much more likely to stick with a cardio routine if it’s fun. Keep playing around with different options until you find the best fit.

7. Try strength training first and cardio second for a month, then switch the next month 

It takes time to notice how your body adjusts to a new routine. After 2 months, you’ll likely know which order you prefer.

8. Keep a training log 

In addition to recording your workouts, jot down other variables in your training log, Walding suggested. These variables might include overall energy during the day, sleep quality, stress level, and unhealthy food cravings. All of these can be affected by the quality of your workout.

9. Always build in rest and recovery 

Be sure to take breaks during your workout and to take recovery days. And, if needed, split your cardio and strength training into different days, Walding suggested. 

You may like lifting weights in the gym but going outside for trail running, for instance. If you can’t fit those activities into the same day, it’s better to create a routine that allows you to do one or the other. In general, try to do strength training two or three times per week and cardio three or four times per week, Walding said.

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Written by:

Elizabeth Millard, CPT, RYT

Elizabeth Millard, CPT, RYT, is a Minnesota-based freelance health writer with 25 years of experience. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, apps, and patient education materials.

Edited by:

Lauren Savage, MA

Lauren Savage, MA, is a health editor at GoodRx, where she focuses on movement, exercise, and healthy aging. She aims to provide readers with the information they need to live healthier, more active lifestyles.

Reviewed by:

Sanjai Sinha, MD

Sanjai Sinha, MD, is a board-certified physician with over 20 years of experience. He specializes in internal medicine.

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