Fitness Together Georgia

Somewhere years past, you might have been taught to do cardiovascular exercise before your weight lifting. Most likely, no reason was given; it was just what you were told to do. So, you accepted it because it came from someone else who exercised, a health club representative, or even a fitness trainer.

 

Now we know that it is best to do your cardiovascular exercise after your weight training. Even right now you may be saying, “that’s not what I was told”. To understand why it’s the other way around is to understand how the body utilizes different sources of fuel (energy in the form of carbohydrates, fat, and protein) as energy. Lets look at why:

 

Glucose (carbohydrates) is your body’s primary source of fuel- While doing cardiovascular exercise, you are in an aerobic state. You are not only using fat as energy, but glucose, which is stored as glycogen in the muscle (think of it as stored carbohydrates). During cardiovascular exercise, you are increasing the intensity and need quick energy. Though fat will be utilized, it will be utilized very slowly and steadily. Think of it this way, a candle burns slowly (like fat), but a stick of wood burns quickly (this is like carbohydrates).

 

Glycogen is needed in Anaerobic (weight/resistance training)- Now, in weight training, you will only utilize glycogen as a source of fuel because it is anaerobic. So, if you use all of your glycogen stores during cardiovascular exercise, you not only run the risk of losing glycogen as energy, but also something else more detrimental. You can lose muscle. Glucose can only quickly become available from stored carbohydrates (which is glycogen) and guess what else- protein. So, what is the most ready available source of protein in your body? Answer- muscle. You do not want to lose muscle!

 

Muscle protein breaks down to create glucose- Your body will use muscle protein as a source of energy (as a last resort), as it will break it down into amino acids to create glucose (this is known as gluconeogensis – say that real fast 5 times). Because weight lifting is anaerobic (without the use of oxygen), it can’t use fat as energy. As a result of losing muscle protein, you are effectively decreasing your metabolism. To put it simply, if you want to burn more calories and fat, then you want to preserve muscle.

 

It can be argued that this position is not always true. However, the over-riding evidence demonstrates that doing cardiovascular exercise after weight training makes most sense. It’s basically erring on the side of caution.

 

Do not confuse cardiovascular exercise with a warm-up before weight training. At a moderate intensity between 5-10 minutes it is advised to use a treadmill, bike, or elliptical. For such a short period of time and moderate intensity, it will not deplete your glycogen stores.

 

written by Kelly Huggins
Exercise Science, B.S.
Fitness and Nutrition Expert
FTNorthBuckhead.com

 

Fitness Together encourages that you do cardiovascular exercise after your weight training sessions. We are methodical to our approach to fitness, using only proven concepts that work. Go to your local Fitness Together Georgia studio to learn more.