Saturday, August 17, 2013

Should You Do Cardio Prior To Weight Training?

By Russ Howe


There are many questions in the fitness world which cause much confusion. If you were to ask ten fitness instructors for tips on how to lose weight, it's likely you'd get several very conflicting answers. Today's question in focus is this - should you do cardio before or after weights?

Today you will discover the facts behind the answer to this question.

Conflicting information is everywhere, particularly on the gym floor. What works for one person might not work for the next person and this causes confusion. Most people falsely believe that doing aerobic activity after a training session is a superior way to increase fat loss and lean muscle growth. Today you will discover the answer based upon scientific research, rather than gym opinions.

This particular belief stacks up well from a common sense point of view, but when you look at the latest scientific research available you will be surprised at the findings.

When there is conclusive scientific evidence on a subject available, you have no reason to follow myths or train with a trial and error approach. During cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, the human body increases the release of two very significant enzymes which can make or break your results to a certain degree. The first of those is m-TOR, which we will be looking at first.

The more gym savvy readers here will notice this word from many protein supplements on the market. That's because this enzyme is thought to be responsible for switching on the body's muscle building recovery process following a gym workout. It is released in a spike which can last for up to six hours and, naturally, you want to enjoy the maximum benefit from this spike if your goal is to build more lean muscle tissue.

During aerobic activity, such as a bike or treadmill, the body adapts by releasing an enzyme called AMPK.

Despite being perfectly natural, AMPK has one flaw - it kills off m-TOR!

So by jumping on a treadmill after your weights workout and doing half an hour of cardio exercise, you are actually causing your body to release a spike of AMPK and shut down much of the increased m-TOR you caused by working hard on the iron in the first place.

It is also worth noting that several studies have looked into just how much pre workout cardio can zap the muscles of strength, too. One study tested this theory by having subjects do a tough aerobic session followed by a bench press and squat session. The cardio only affected the squats, which prompted the conclusion that you can get around this issue by simply avoiding cardio activity before leg day - this allows you to get the full benefits of cardio without missing out on the full benefits of the spike in m-TOR brought about by a heavy weights session.

So, should you do cardio before or after weights for maximum fat loss results? The latest science on the subject points heavily in favor of doing your aerobic work before you hit the weights and skipping it on leg day. Figuring out how to lose weight can be a very confusing affair, so when you have the benefit of real scientific research at your fingertips, it makes perfect sense to use it.




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