Should I Do Cardio and Weights Together or Separately?

Howdy Davey!

I’m starting your weight loss program and I was wondering if you could answer one of my questions.

I understand the three types of exercise (resistance, cardio, and stress reduction), but I am wondering if is best to set aside each day to do a different one – or should I cram them all in together?

Thanks for the help, and I’m loving the plan so far!

Thanks,
Jake

Hey Jake,

I’m so glad that you’re loving The Davey Wavey Weight Loss Program.

For blog buddies that aren’t familiar with the program, it covers the three main types of exercise. There’s heart-pumping cardiovascular exercise (i.e., jogging on a treadmill), strength training (i.e., lifting weights) and stress reduction exercises (i.e., yoga, walking or anything else relaxing).

How you build your workout routine – and how you break up or combine the different types of exercises – really depends on a number of factors.

There’s nothing wrong with doing cardio and strength training together. In fact, that’s what I do at the gym. The big advantage to this approach is that it is efficient; you can get a full-body workout each day. Moreover, research suggests that combining strength training and cardio results in a greater calorie burn than doing either separately. Whether you work out once a week or six times per week, this approach can work well to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Alternatively, you could do cardio one gym day and then strength training on the next. For example, you may decide to do cardio on Monday, strength training on Tuesday, cardio on Wednesday and so on. The advantage to this strategy is that you may have more energy for each type of exercise. If, for example, you followed the previous approach and combined both cardio and strength training into one workout, you may be fatigued from the cardio even before you start strength training. By separating the exercises out onto different days, you’ll never be fatigued before you start your strength training or cardio. But because you’re training each muscle group less frequently, I’d only recommend this approach if you exercise four or more times per week.

Some diehards do go to the gym twice each day. These motivated individuals might do cardio in the morning and then strength training at night (or vice versa). Going to the gym twice per day is not necessary – and it’s not something that I’d recommend for most people starting out on a new routine. Is it hard to sustain and balance with other life commitments. It’s not for everyone.

Lastly, we must consider stress-reduction exercise. Stress reduction exercise comes in many varieties – and it can be performed almost anywhere. You may wish to perform stress reduction exercise at the gym by relaxing in the pool or participating in a yoga class, but there’s no advantage to combining it with your other exercises. Think of it as a nice excuse to pamper yourself (as if we need an excuse for that), and fit it in when and wherever you can.

Love,
Davey