Should You Do Ab Exercises & Weights Before or After Cardio?

It doesn't take a fitness expert to understand that when it comes to workout plans, you won't find a one-size-fits-all approach that will work wonders for everyone. In fact, tweaking everything from exercise selection to exercise order creates a custom workout. As a result, deciding whether to do ab exercise and weights before or after cardio exercises depends on your goals. Consult a doctor before starting a new workout plan.

  1. Improving Strength

    • When considering the order in which to perform your exercises during your workouts, focus on what you're hoping to accomplish. If your primary goal is to improve strength in your abdominals and the other muscles for which you perform weighted exercises, you should save cardio for last. Research from the March 2010 edition of the "Journal of Sports Science & Medicine" indicates that the earlier you work a muscle during your exercise session, the more strength that muscle tends to gain. If you wait until after cardio to perform weight exercises, you won't get the most out of the strength-training exercises.

    Burning Fat

    • If you're hitting the gym intending to burn as much fat as possible, performing weight training exercises is also to your advantage. According to a study from the February 2007 issue of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," performing cardio exercises after weight-lifting sessions results in a higher rate of fat burning than when cardio is performed prior to any other exercise. Burning off excess fat enhances your physique and improves your overall health.

    Strength and Performance

    • If your primary goal is to set a personal record during your workout, begin your workout with whichever type of exercise is the focus of your efforts. For instance, if you want to set a speed record on the treadmill, perform cardio before ab exercises and weight training. This ensures you'll have more energy for your cardio performance. Alternatively, if you hope to set a weight-lifting best, leave cardio until last so you won't waste energy on cardio you'd need for lifting.

    Improved Recovery

    • For athletes, a major challenge can be balancing training with competition. Workouts have the potential to improve your strength and performance, but they can also be tiring, which hinders your abilities. Adequately balancing workouts and games often depends on how well you recover from training. According to a February 2013 study from the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research," athletes experience improved recovery when performing cardio after weight training exercises. Better recovery can mean improved results in subsequent athletic competitions.