Should I Do Cardio Before or After Weight Training?. Nike.com

If fat loss is your main focus, you can do cardio before weight training. Lifting weights can help promote weight loss. For example, the more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism. This means you burn more calories while at rest. This can make it easier to create an energy deficit in your diet and lose weight over time.

Cardio can also boost weight loss efforts. That’s because when you do aerobic exercise, you are working in the ‘fat burning zone.’ That’s a heart rate zone of around 70 percent of your heart rate max (HRM). To determine your HRM, do 220 minus your age.

Working out in the fat burning zone does what you think it would: burns fat. This energy output relies predominantly on breaking down fat stores to use for fuel. You get added benefits if you perform this type of cardio on an empty stomach, known as fasted cardio.

A 2013 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that skipping breakfast and doing cardio led to a 20 percent increase in the amount of calories from fat burned during the session.

Plus, cardio like HIIT is one of the best ways to burn fat, above any other type of exercise. Because it’s performed anaerobically, it creates an excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This elevates your metabolic rate for up to 24 hours post-workout.

HIIT is only performed for five to 10 minutes. That’s because it’s high-intensity, and can’t be continued for much beyond 10 minutes. While that may seem short, it’s effective, due to EPOC. Because it’s so quick, it’s easy to do before lifting weights. The short burst of energy won’t fatigue you too much, so you can still put your all into your weight lifting workout to get the best of both.