In this instructional video, the presenter addresses a common question from clients about whether to perform weight training or cardio first in a workout. He explains that the activity with the highest neurological demand—typically weight training—should be done first to maximize performance, reduce injury risk, and allow the body to allocate its freshest energy and strength to the most complex, load‑bearing movements. Cardio is generally a simpler, repetitive activity and can be performed after weights or on a separate day. He recommends, when possible, doing weight training before cardio or separating the two modalities on different days to give each session 100% of the day's capacity. He notes that sport‑specific or advanced training scenarios may warrant a different order, but for most general health, strength, and fat‑loss goals, weights first is the optimal approach. The video ends with an invitation for viewers to ask questions in the comments.
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Hey guys, what's up, and welcome to today's video. So today's question is, when it comes to our workouts, should we do our weight training or our cardio first? Now, believe it or not, this is quite a common question that I get from new clients, um, particularly those who I'm just writing programs for. They're like, oh, you've, you've given me, or you're writing me a program, am I supposed to do my weights first or the cardio? And our tendency is to, to lean on or do the thing first that we feel most comfortable with. And for most people, cardio is, is the easiest thing. It's the most simple thing because it's often just a single repetitive movement. You just keep going, whether that's running, rowing, cycling, and things like that. So that makes it a bit easier for us. And then we tend to leave the thing that we maybe don't feel so comfortable with until last. But what we really want to do when we're looking at our workout and we're going, okay, well, with this particular workout, I want to get the maximum benefit from it possible. So in order to do that, what we ideally need to do is the activity which has the highest neurological demand should be done first. So what that means is the, the most complex forms of exercise within that workout, or the ones that are going to challenge the body and the nervous system the most, would get done first so that our body has the, the most energy and capacity and strength available to complete those tasks with minimal risk of injury. And obviously, we can give the, the most amount of attention and effort to those more complex or more challenging tasks. So we would want to do those first. And generally speaking, that's going to be the weight training if we're just looking at weight training versus cardio. So we would go, okay, well, because the weight training often involves multiple movement patterns, and it's going to be under load, so we're going to be lifting weights often, and ideally, heavy weights as well, because we're trying to stimulate the body to change. So because of that, we want to be as fresh as possible, we want to be as strong as possible. Rather than going in and doing, say, 30 minutes of cardio first and then going, right, well, now that I'm tired from all my cardio, I'm now going to go and push around heavy weights and lift heavy weights and squat with weights on my back and all that sort of thing. Ideally, we would do the weight training first because it's the stuff that tends to come with the highest risk of injury. But also requires the most output from the body because it's, it's obviously more challenging in terms of movement patterns. Generally, we're going through greater ranges of motion, we're using load, and cardio generally isn't like that. You know, as I say, if you're just going for a jog down the road or on a treadmill, it's generally a pretty simple repetitive movement. So we would, we would often start with cardio first— not, sorry, the weights first. Now, there is specific application where you may switch that up, but generally that's going to be sport-specific. And generally, if you're at that level where you need to do that thing, you're either already well— what's the word I'm looking for— well-educated, I guess, or trained in these things, and you probably know what to do or why you're doing it, or you probably have a coach or a trainer that's guiding the process anyway. So to keep it simple, I would just say if you have a program that includes weight training and cardio, where possible, do the weight training first or separate the days out. So rather than having a workout where you maybe are doing 30 to 40 minutes of weights and then 30 minutes of cardio, for example, instead you would separate the days out if you're, if you're unsure and if you want to give maximum potential to both workouts. You do the weight training one day, cardio the next. Weight training one day, cardio the next. And and so on. And if you do it that way, then obviously you can give 100% of that day's capacity to that given workout and obviously get the maximum benefit and payoff from the time invested. Awesome, right? So that's it for today, guys. A nice simple easy one. Should you do weights or cardio first? Generally speaking, go for weights. It's going to be, it's going to be the option that serves you the most and gets you the most bang for your buck, particularly if we're looking at improving general health and strength and improving your body's ability to burn fat. And obviously lose weight. Thanks for watching, people. As always, any questions, post them in the comments below, and I will get back to you guys as soon as I can. Thanks for watching, and I shall chat to you soon.
