Healthy Living
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Optimal exercise order: Get the most out of your workout
user
A lot of people choose to go
to the gym only a few days a week, but when they go, they
cram in several activities -
cardio, strength training and abs - into their session. There
is nothing wrong with this...especially if you can only get to the
gym a few days a week.
To ensure you are getting the most out of your workout, however,
it is good practice to follow a certain order to ensure safety and
maximized effectiveness. Below is an optimal order:
- 5 minute warm up and stretching
- Abdominal Exercises
- Strength Training
- Cardiovascular / Aerobic Training
- 3 minute Cool Down and stretching
Here is why:
- Warm Up and Stretching: This warms up your
body by increasing blood flow to the muscles that you will be
working, warming up your joints and increasing your
heart rate and body temperature…all helping to prevent injury,
improve flexibility and prepare your body for the exercises to
come. First do your warm-up and then stretch the muscles you
used, using static stretches (no bouncing!).
- Abdominals: You use your core muscles (abs and back)
for almost every movement that you do, whether it be cardio or
weights. Exercising these muscles first helps to ensure that
they aren’t tired out before you actually get to them.
Further, you will continue to work them as you move onto the rest
of your workout.
- Strength Training: Nutritionally, it is best
to weight train first. When you exercise, you first use
carbohydrates for energy. Then, you use fat for energy.
When you strength train, the preferred source of energy for your
body is carbohydrates. When you do cardio, your preferred
source of energy is fat (this is why they talk about burning fat
when you do cardio). Further, it can take up to 29
minutes of cardio activity to burn your carbohydrate stores,
meaning that if you start with a 30 minute cardio session, you have
only burned carbs, and then burned fat for only one
minute. Using up your carbohydrate stores with
strength training allows you to burn more fat when you do your
cardio workout, making your workout much more effective.Now, from a
more practical standpoint, strength training before cardio is
safer. You haven’t depleted yourself of all of your energy,
allowing you to be more focused and aware of your form while
strength training. This will help minimize risk of
injury. Also, it is good practice to stretch your muscles in
between your sets.
- Cardiovascular Exercise: At this point, you
are ready to burn fat. Additionally, if you are a bit tired,
you can do low-impact and/or light cardio and still burn fat.
- Cool-Down: For two to five minutes, it is good
to slow down and let your body return to normal after your cardio
workout. This will help prevent blood pooling in your
extremities, lightheadedness and/or fainting after a workout.
Again, add in some static stretches to keep your body limber and
flexible. It will also help decrease lactic acid build-up
which can lead to sore muscles!
Do you go to the gym and do all of these activities? What
order have you used?
Related Topics:
Related: workout order, workout, wellness, warm up, fitness, exercise, cool down, cardio, abs
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Posted by Katie B Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:24am PDT
Thanks Brett... I have always been trying to cram stuff in when I actually go to the gym too... but this will give me a to do list in order so to speak...
I do have a question for you though... how many hours a week should a person exercise in order to lose weight and then to maintain weight? Is there even a set time?
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Posted by Rebekah Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:42am PDT
Thanks! Very helpful. I never heard that about burning carbs vs fat before, I will definately start weight-training first.
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Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:01am PDT
Hi Katie B! I seriously believe you should get in at least 3 hours of intense exercise a week. If you do everything in one day, I would recommend doing about 30 - 45 minutes of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio. Don't do more than 30 minutes...weight training is going to provide a lot more benefit than cardio...another blog post to come on that.
If you have more than 3 hours, however, I would recommend aiming for 5 or 6 hours a week. Don't forget, that in the end, you lose weight by the number of calories consumed vs. calories burned...so, your workout needs to help you have a negative caloric balance in order to lose weight. Let me know if that helps...
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Posted by Katie B Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:49am PDT
Thanks Brett... I have been trying to do better as far as what I eat and how much I eat... I know I need to find time to exercise because my body responds better to exercise (as far as losing the excess weight I have, I am 5'1" at 160.8 lbs) than to just reducing what I eat... and it's harder for me to reduce what I eat overall because I get super cranky when I am hungry... but having a good way to maximize the time in the gym will be a great help...
thanks for your help Brett... :D
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Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:08am PDT
Katie B...try eating smaller meals five or six times a day. It will help you stave off hunger and feel satisfied. Also, make sure that every time you eat, you have some lean protein and healthy fats in what you eat...they are important in keeping blood sugar stable!
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Posted by TAY Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:07pm PDT
Not a routine for me since my cardio workout also tones, and it is doing exactly what I want for my body. Although if I ever am in need of change this is something to keep in mind. Thanks for posting the information here for all to see.
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Posted by TBeck Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:26pm PDT
Katie B. DEFINITELY eat smaller meals 5 to 6 times a day I have been doing that with a protein and carb at every meal(and some good fat too) and have been working out 4 times a week and upped my water intake significantly and I have lost 19 pounds. I am never hungry(I am a crank too when I don't eat) and really feel SO much better......I was eating too little before and not losing weight....
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Posted by MEC83 Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:50am PDT
Really great advice... thanks for posting. I'm always confused about how/when I should exercise to burn fat.
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Posted by MuchBiggerRon Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:07am PDT
This article is one of the GOOD ones. However, remember you can do your strength training in such a way as to get aerobic effects from it too! And the effects of strength training burn more calories throughout the day than standard cardio exercises.
Most people spend far too much time on (usually too easy) aerobic exercise and not enough time on strength training. Make sure you have a serious strength training regime in your routine (and ladies, don't worry, it is almost impossible for you to get big strength training). Also, make sure that when you do cardio, you aren't just plodding along while reading a magazine or watching TV. Do INTERVALS. High Intensity Interval Training gives better results, and can be completed in a shorter time than jogging/cycling/stepping at the same pace.
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