Order matters when it comes to cardio, strength exercise routines

Regardless if you’re moving your workout routines inside or starting a routine for the new year, you may want to change things up to get the most out of your weight training.

According to the American Council on Exercise, the order in which you do cardio and strength training exercises can impact your fitness goals. To help you determine how to build your routine, the Council offered these tips:

• If your goal is build endurance, do cardio exercises first.
• If your goal is burning fat and losing weight, do strength training first.
• If you want to get stronger, do strength training first.
• On upper-body strength training days, it doesn’t matter which you do first.
• On lower-body strength training days, lifts weights first.
• If your goal is just general fitness, do either first, but maybe start with the one you like least.

And, if you want to try a new routine or add new exercises to an existing regimen, check out the Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Teaching & Research Foundation’s (OTRF) 30-minute Daily Exercise and Condition Program at otrfund.org/sports-performance-programs/. There you’ll also find other sport-specific performance programs to download and use. Each is research-based and incorporates appropriate exercises, weights and stretching into weekly training schedules to maintain strength and help minimize injuries.

To automatically receive new sports performance program releases and updates, email contactus@chudikmd.com and ask to be added to the Active Bones e-newsletter mailing list. Make sure to include your full name and email address.

OTRF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Dr. Steven Chudik, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine physician to support, foster and direct teaching, education and research in order to help keep people active and healthy and serve as an unbiased source of information and research. For more information about OTRF visit otrfund.org/about-us/.