Should You Do Cardio Before or After Lifting Weights?

Should You Do Cardio Before or After Lifting Weights? It’s important to combine cardio and strength wisely so you don’t overwork the same muscle groups. If you have a specific strength goal, like you want to PR on your deadlifts, make the weight room your first stop. If you’re training for a big endurance event, do cardio first. There are other instances when squeezing in cardio as a warm-up before strength work can be beneficial. Doing about 10 minutes of light, steady-state cardio before any intense effort or activity prepares the body for exercise or performance. However, if you’re just strength training for general fitness, you can go a little harder with your pre-weight lifting cardio warm-up. For weight loss, it doesn’t really matter which you do first, as long as you fit in two to three days of strength training. Strength training helps you increase or maintain lean body mass, which will burn more calories in the long run.