Cardio before weights, or vice versa?
If you observe people at the gym and any typical day, most will hit the treadmill or elliptical machine for 30 minutes, then they move to the weight machines. You may even be doing that yourself. Did you know that is the wrong way to work out? You should be hitting the weights hard first, then move to the cardio workout. Here’s why:
The main goal of exercise to burn fat and build muscle. The body needs to burns through its sugar stores before it can tap into the fat stores. Sugar is the primary fuel source while working out with weights, while fat is the primary fuel source when doing a cardio workout.
The optimal and most-efficient workout at the gym consists of a gentle 10-minute warm-up on a low-impact cardio machine, followed by 30 minutes of lifting weights, and ending with 30 minutes of intense cardio exercise.