There are many opinions on the issue of whether to lift weights before or after your cardiovascular exercise, but the bottom line is it depends on your goals.  In general, it is always necessary to be warmed up before strength training in order for a safe and effective workout to ensue.  The warmup will reduce your risk of injury and get the blood flowing through your body. When blood delivers oxygen to your muscle cells, this actually makes the exercises you do more effective for strengthening and toning your muscles.

If your primary fitness goal is building strength or muscle, your pre-strength cardio should be limited to a brief warm-up with the majority of your cardiovascular exercise after your weights. If you are focused on improving your running, cardio fitness, or  maximizing your potential with the intervals, complete the cardio portion of your routine first while you have the most energy.

In MOTR we are focused on general toning,  improving our running and preventing injuries through our strength training.  Although we will modify as necessary for instructor and participant schedules, in general we choose to do strength after running. This increases the safety and effectiveness of our training and helps us be efficient with time and able to get the workout done in an hour. It also helps the women in our learn-to-run program have greater endurance for completing the run intervals.

Regardless of which you choose, getting your strength and cardio in on the same day is a great option for busy moms! It’s hard enough to squeeze a workout in; maximize your results when you get a chance!