Should You Do Cardio or Resistance Training First?

There was a point in time, in my most recent part of my fitness journey, where I made some significant advances in my understanding of fitness. I learned about the benefits of high-intensity cardio. I also learned about the benefits of resistance training. I learned about sleep, recovery, and recovery from injury.

There was a time when I wanted to understand how to structure a personalized daily/weekly exercise program. I needed one that I could consistently follow. I wanted to maximize the benefits of two specific-types of exercise (high-intensity cardio and weightlifting). 

Let me provide a foundation for how I approached my solution.
When most of us think of exercise, the first thing that comes to mind is cardio. We may imagine running on a nature trail or pleasantly cycling through our neighborhoods. Ultimately, we can all agree exercise is good. Physical activity is essential for well-being.

We also may imagine bodyweight exercise. While simple activities like cycling, walking, or running may be accessible to nearly everyone, other forms of exercise are essential and beneficial. Several types of bodyweight exercises are great for building strength and creating energy. The benefits of chin-ups, push-ups, squats, and the like, can be realized without having to spend much money.

Initially, my problem was that I wanted to lose weight. There was a time when I weighed well over 200 lbs. I can remember weighing-in at 208 pounds in my early 40s. When I was 208 pounds, I had an injury that prohibited me from running. When I was actively training for Olympic distance triathlons in my early 30s, my race-weight was about 185 pounds. For me, running was essential. Up until that point, I thought that my body would acclimate to whatever activity I did well and often did. This theory morphed into my belief that becoming a high-performance runner and/or cyclist was the only way to lose weight. So, you can imagine how motivated to learn more about weight loss after I experienced that limited my ability to run. The injury prohibited me from running more than ten to twenty yards at a time.

So What Did I Learn?
In much of what I found, I was surprised to learn that high-intensity cardio is associated with fat burning. I also learned that sleep is as vital for realizing the benefits of exercise as the exercise itself. I learned that I could see better results from exercising twice per week--no more than thirty minutes per day--than I could if I had one session of weights and cardio once a week for 90 minutes.

So on a day when I exercised, which did I do first?
Did I do my five-minute high-intensity cardio training first, or was it the 25-minute weight lifting? Well, at first, I thought the best way to proceed was to lift weights. So, every morning, six-days per week, I would start my day in my apartment complex's fitness center lifting weights. I would then do my five-minute high-intensity cardio workout during lunch.

Later, I decided to switch the exercises around so that I was doing the five-minute portion in the morning and the 20- to 25-minute resistance training session during lunch. I came to realize that energy expenditure and energy readiness plays a significant role in how you recognize the benefits of exercise. There is something to be said about fasted workouts. There is also something to be said about pre-workout meals and post-workout meals.

In retrospect, I would say many factors determine the best time for you to exercise. There is no universal right or wrong exercise to do first. If you decide you like cardio and weightlifting and want to do two-a-days, there may also be similar, rather-specific factors to consider before starting. Many times, you may never know, and the best thing to do would be to start, making adjustments and course-corrections as you go.

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