circuit training question

[jrzylaw77]

I've been hitting the weights after my cardio work out and don't really mind but my brother keeps telling me to lift before I run. Does it really matter which goes first?

[SingleJ]

I agree with your brother. I've always been told you should do a 5-10 minute warmup, then lift, and the cardio afterwards. I personally find that I don't have a whole lot of energy left after doing cardio, and I want nothing more than to hit the shower. Another reason...it's a good idea to model your workout after the PTT you'll be taking. And as far as I know, most agencies will do the run last.

[Brindle]

Yes, it does matter, actually, quite a bit. So your brother is correct – his proposition is NOT one of those hear-say-kind of myths.

It basically has to do with the fact that your body has three sources of energy: glucose, fat, and muscle. While lifting your body will access either glucose or muscle for energy. As you probably guess, you do not want your body to "burn" muscle for energy, which it will do IF your glucose is depleted (or low), which happens if you do your cardio before your lifting. But then you are probably asking what will the cardio burn after your glucose is low (or "depleted"). The answer is, fat, basically.

If you can spend the time, as far as training, you will be better off arranging your workouts so that each workout is either lifting or cardio and “spend” your glucose – or lack of glucose in a fat burning workout -- with a specific target. However, as you have probably heard, "train as you would fight." So mixing in the, for example, entire law enforcement test regularly (I say every two to four weeks) will be beneficial.

So for energy it is glucose first, then if it is more "intense" then muscle, otherwise, with a lower intensity, say 60% of estimated max heart rate (which for me is like a very fast walk), it is fat.

For lifting (and for “performance cardio,” [i.e., cross country] so to speak) you do not want to deplete your glucose.

For fat burning cardio you DO want to deplete your glucose. That is why fat burning cardio is good, first thing in the morning, after only drinking water.

I also address this in another thread, which I list below.
http://www.911jobforums.com/vB/showthread.php3?threadid=21892

[jrzylaw77]

Great answers. Thanks guys