Should You Do Cardio Before or After Weights?

If getting stronger is your main goal, lift first and do cardio after. Two meta-analyses found that putting weights first led to slightly better lower-body strength gains. For muscle size, aerobic fitness and body fat, the order made no measurable difference. So for most lifters, the best order is the one you'll actually stick to.

The bigger question many lifters have is whether cardio hurts gains at all. The research on that is more reassuring than gym folklore suggests. Here's what studies found about order, about cardio and muscle growth, and how to set up a week that does both well.

Does the Order of Cardio and Weights Matter?

A little, and mainly for strength. When people trained for at least five weeks doing both in the same session, those who lifted first gained a bit more lower-body strength than those who did cardio first. Muscle size, aerobic capacity and body fat came out the same either way.

A 2018 systematic review with meta-analysis in Sports Medicine pooled 10 studies and found weights-first produced about 6.9% more improvement in lower-body dynamic strength. Order had no effect on muscle growth in the legs, static strength, aerobic capacity or body fat.

A second 2018 meta-analysis in the Journal of Sports Sciences reached the same conclusion with different numbers: lower-body one-rep max was about 4 kg higher when strength training came first, while aerobic capacity was unaffected by order.

Outcome	Weights first	Cardio first
Lower-body strength	Slightly better (about 4 kg or 7% more)	Slightly worse
Muscle size	No difference	No difference
Aerobic fitness (VO2max)	No difference	No difference
Body fat	No difference	No difference

Why Does Lifting First Help Strength?

Mostly because you lift with fresher legs. A hard run or bike session tires the same muscles you need for squats and deadlifts, so the weights you can move afterwards drop. Over weeks, lifting heavier in each session adds up to slightly more strength. Doing cardio first doesn't hurt your endurance gains, because tired legs don't stop your heart and lungs adapting.

This is also why the effect is small. Most of your progress comes from the total work you do across the week, not the order within one session. If you prefer a short cardio warm-up before lifting, a few easy minutes won't cost you anything meaningful.

A practical rule: lift first on days when strength is the priority, and save long or hard cardio for afterwards or another time.

Does Cardio Kill Your Gains?

Not at reasonable amounts. A meta-analysis of 43 studies found that adding aerobic training to strength training didn't reduce muscle growth or maximal strength. The one thing it did dull was explosive power, especially when both were done in the same session. Very high running volume is where problems start.

That 2022 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine compared strength training alone with strength plus cardio. Muscle growth and maximal strength were essentially identical. Explosive strength gains were smaller with concurrent training, but only when the two were in the same session; separating them by at least three hours removed the effect.

An earlier 2012 meta-analysis of 21 studies in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found more interference when the cardio was running rather than cycling, and when cardio sessions were frequent and long. The more endurance work people did, the smaller their muscle and strength gains tended to be. The newer, larger analysis found less of a difference between running and cycling, so the clearest lesson is about total cardio volume.

Should You Do Cardio and Weights on Separate Days?

If you can, separating them by a few hours or doing them on different days is a little better for power and strength. But it isn't necessary for muscle growth. If one session is all you have time for, do both together and lift first. Consistency over months matters far more than perfect scheduling.

The 2022 meta-analysis found that explosive strength was only blunted when cardio and weights were done back-to-back, not when they were at least three hours apart. That's useful if you train in the morning and can walk, ride or run in the evening.

Our guide on how many rest days a week you need helps fit both into a full week without wearing yourself down.

How Much Cardio Should Lifters Do?

Enough to get the health benefits without crowding out your lifting. The WHO recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, plus strength training on at least two days. For most lifters, two to four moderate cardio sessions a week covers it comfortably.

Those figures come from the World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Brisk walking, cycling, rowing and incline walking all count, and lower-impact options are easier on legs that also squat and deadlift. Walking won't build much muscle, as does walking build muscle explains, but it's easy to recover from.

If gaining muscle is your top priority, cycling or incline walking may be safer bets than lots of running, based on the 2012 analysis. If you're training for a race, the order and type will depend more on your running goals; our guide on creatine for runners covers that crossover.

What's the Best Order for Your Goal?

Match the order to whatever you care about most that day. Lift first for strength, run or ride first if you're preparing for an endurance event, and don't worry about it for general fitness or fat loss. Here's a quick guide based on the research above:

Your main goal	Suggested order	Why
Getting stronger	Weights, then cardio	Slightly better strength gains
Building muscle	Either order	No difference in muscle size
Losing fat	Either order	No difference in body fat
Endurance event	Cardio first, or separate sessions	Keeps your key runs or rides fresh
Power and speed	Separate sessions by 3+ hours	Same-session cardio blunts explosive gains

A pre-workout coffee helps either way. Our guide on drinking coffee before a workout covers dosing and timing.