DoMore8.0 Final Daily Changes 80 Days

80 days ago I took on a personal challenge to become as fit and as healthy as possible. becoming a faster, stronger, leaner and more balanced athlete along the way. 

Using a mixture of running, CrossFit, HIIT and weight training alongside a regimented and realistic diet to achieve these results whilst still fulfilling the daily responsibilities we all have.

I took a photo every day.

Here are the physical results.

Find more information, articles, eating plans, exercises, motivation and more about 

DoMore8.0 at http://80daychallenge.blogspot.com/

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Before or after? The cardio or weight debate

Before or after?

The cardio or weight debate

Now that I have joined the gym and am training in a more structured but broken up way (in comparison to simply running or doing CrossFit WOD's as I was in the first 7 weeks of DoMore8.0) I have returned to my old habits of completing my aerobic/cardiovascular training (e.g. running, rowing and cycling) after my weights and strength training. I posed myself the question as to why I did it this way and couldn't think back to the day I started doing it like this (it must have been when I was 16 or so, 10 years ago) but thought there must have been a reason. Had somebody told me? Did I simply find it easier after weights to ride the bike than vise versa?

Who knows? So I thought I would look into it and re-clarify a few things for myself and for you as to whether it is more effective to do cardiovascular training before or after weight and strength work.

I came across a few journals and testimonials for both, but very few could promote cardio -> weight training and provide me with research and evidence supporting muscle gain and fat loss (which is what we want right?) The reverse flow however threw up some very strong and interesting evidence as to why we are more effective, stronger and leaner athletes by completing the weights -> cardio structure.

So here are 5 great reasons which support why we achieve more when we train weights/anaerobic work first and cardio/aerobically second.

1. Don't drop the bar

When exercising, our body's preferred source of energy is glycogen. It’s easy for our muscles to get at and utilise quickly. If we do cardio work before our strength training we use up our stores of glycogen, its preferred source of energy for intense exercise. So now there is nothing for our muscles to call upon when we need it the most (by this time you are now pinned to a bench under a 100kg Olympic bar). This process makes the goal of gaining and maintaining muscle mass whilst effectively burning fat during weights compromised (and you are still pinned to the bench).

2. Jekyll or Hyde?

If we smash out the cardio stuff first (most of us want to get it out of the way I know) cortisol is released without a simultaneous increase in testosterone (testosterone the hormone that gives us the will and ability to power through heavy weight work like the Hulk and create and maintain lean muscle mass). Cortisol breaks down muscle in order to give your body the continued energy to workout. So obviously this works fine when doing cardiovascular exercises and happens regularly in long duration cardio (marathons, etc.), but is detrimental to building muscle if there’s not a concurrent increase in testosterone. For example, when you’re strength training, cortisol levels will go up but so will testosterone levels. This hormone shift not only allows us to have energy for the workout, but also helps to rebuild muscle after the session. Without these changes in hormonal profiles, it becomes much harder to gain muscle (and that’s what you want from lifting weights right?)

3.BURN BABY BURN!

I have talked about this theory in a number of other posts but the "afterburn" effect is the notion of boosting your metabolism to such astronomical proportions that it continues to burn calories and more so stored energy (FAT!) after you finish working out. Commonly, the workout that creates this most effectively is high intensity interval training and weight training. This afterburn will boost your metabolism to its highest whilst you have the most energy to push your body to its limits during a strength session. Doing cardio first would deplete that energy significantly. Counter-productivity at it's finest.

4. It's simply harder.

Simply put, it will be more difficult to do high intensity training (lifting heavy things up and down) when you have less energy in your muscles. Running, jogging, cycling, etc., is (in my opinion at least) perceived as a simpler and easier exercise to perform than, say for example, clean and jerk or a deadlift. Completing a set of 10 clean and jerk's regardless of weight after spending 45 minutes cycling and sapping my legs of most of their energy, sounds far more difficult than completing the heavy difficult movements first.

5. Fatigue. Ouch.

In a similar vein to the previous paragraph, if I were to attempt to push myself, lets say with squats, after doing an extended session in the saddle I would find it difficult for a number of reasons. To begin with, finding the mental fortitude to load up a heavy bar and put it on my back despite being tired would be taxing enough, but I would always want to push myself further and go heavier despite being of poor concentration and tired. Add this to the fact that the muscles I am now putting under extreme pressure to perform are both tired and in a state of rhythm from cycling (you know how if you have been repeating the same motion with the same muscles for a long while you can often step off the bike/rower/elliptical etc. but maintain the sensation of still cycling/rowing simply because of time spent doing it) are lacking in both energy and stabilisation which can lead to a loss in form and balance resulting in extreme injury.

Why not HIIT?

If you are truly pressed for time or feel up for a high intensity session then you can combine cardio work with strength training and complete HIIT, metabolic or CrossFit routines to satiate your cravings for both.

In the end

In the end although there are many reasons that can be offered to promote cardio post weights training the best method is the one that works for you. If you feel more comfortable, see better results or it is easier for you to stick to and maintain by completing you cardio pre-strength training then so be it. I would however alert those who use the cardio -> weight set-up about its risks and its detriment to muscle building and maintenance.

Thanks for reading.