Cardio Before Weights or Weights Before Cardio?
September 27th, 2014I often hear a lot of “gym myths” at the gym and in my practice. One of the most common is a belief (usually among men) that doing cardiovascular exercise (“Cardio”) diminishes the size of muscle produced from weight lifting. I was very pleased to see that this question was answered in The New York Times Article, titled “Weights before Cardio?” The article reviewed a few studies which showed both weights and cardio can increase muscle size. The order of the two activities also does not matter.
There is no doubt that cardiovascular exercise is beneficial for your overall health. Current recommendations say we should all be doing 30 minutes of cardio at least 5 days a week. Does walking around count? Walking would be considered cardio if you were walking at a brisk pace such that you are barely able to speak a full sentence. I encourage everyone to try to pick up the pace. Don’t have time to do cardio? Can you find 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening? Here are some tips to do cardio at home, without any fancy equipment.
