048: Should You Do CARDIO Before or After Weights? A Menopause Guide

In this episode of The Strong Bones Coach Podcast, Carly tackles a common fitness question for women in menopause: Should you do cardio before or after weights?

Learn about the benefits of both approaches and how to decide which is best for your unique needs and goals. 

Carly offers practical tips on how to create a balanced and enjoyable workout routine that supports muscle retention, bone health, and overall fitness during menopause.

Your Questions Answered:

- Why does the order of cardio and weights matter during menopause?

- What are the benefits of doing weights first?

- When should you prioritize cardio before weights?

- How can you balance both cardio and strength training in your routine?

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Transcript

Carly: 0:37

Hello and welcome back to the Strong Bones Coach Podcast with me, your host, Carly. So, this week over in the UK, it does still feel a bit like summer, which means I've been getting out on some lovely walks and enjoying the shade from plenty of trees. And I've also been hearing from quite a few of you I'll see you Especially those of you that like to get out running and cycling that the slightly cooler weather these last few days has been quite supportive of some great outdoor time too, which has brought up a question around cardio and strength training, and is there an ideal order to do them in? So, today, Let's delve into that question that so many women ask, especially as they navigate their fitness routines during menopause. Should you do cardio before or after weights? It's an important consideration, especially as we want to work to maintain our muscle mass, our bone health, and our overall wellbeing during this time. So in this episode, let's explore the reasons for choosing one order over the other, and let's help you find the best approach for your unique needs and goals. So let's get started. First, let's talk about why the order in which you do cardio and weights matters, particularly during menopause. So as we enter midlife, our bodies undergo changes that can affect how we respond to different types of exercise, mostly due to our hormonal shifts. So that reduction in oestrogen and testosterone can have an impact on our muscle volume or bone density and our energy levels, which also impacts our ability to recover. So whether you choose to do cardio before or after weights may have an impact on the results and how you feel after your workout. So let's discuss both ideas then. So let's start with the benefits of doing weights first in your workout. Firstly, you may notice you'll have more energy and focus on your safety of movement if we choose to do weights first. So when we start with the weights, you'll be able to focus more energy, more attention on that safety of movement, and keeping the technique good. So you might find, especially if you're quite new to lifting weights, that you need to give some focus to how you're moving, to doing the techniques that either you've been taught or shown, or perhaps don't. that you remember from previous years of training. And we want to make sure we are doing these with the right intention, that we're giving them the concentration, that we're squeezing the muscles as much as they need to be, so that we can allow our muscles to be stimulated properly and that we can allow them to do the job that they need to do. There is very little point in doing our weights super fast whilst we're ticking off our shopping list in our head. The intention with which we lift weights makes a big difference. So this gets more important as we age. We want to avoid injuries which could set us back, but again, it takes that much more focus and a bit more effort to move in a way that allows our muscles to stay put. So our muscles need more stimulation as we get older due to age partly, but also due to the changes in our hormone profile. So if you're someone that is quite new to lifting weights, or you find that you tend to rush through them, starting with weights first can be a great thing to do for you. So let's go in a little deeper to looking at maximising our strength and keeping hold of our muscles. So when we prioritise weight training and do this first, there's more chance of being able to lift heavier and create more stimulation in your muscles, which is more effective. for maintaining our muscle. And this is particularly crucial to keep hold of our muscle volume, as I said before, which naturally declines with age and those hormonal changes. So preserving our muscle mass is not only important for strength, but this is how it supports our bone health by pulling on the bones and our metabolism. So our muscle is what they would say a metabolically active tissue. That means it burns calories, it takes energy just by being there. So this is one of those ways that we can slightly offset some of that midlife weight gain that we can sometimes see as well. The reasons that we can burn a few less calories as we get older is down to some muscle loss. And yes, there's other reasons too, such as eating a bit more food, moving a bit less, especially if our jobs start to change as perhaps we move up the ranks, become more senior in our positions, we might find ourselves spending more time at the desk. But one of those ways that will contribute to us maintaining our metabolism that little bit faster rate is by preserving as much muscle as possible. So Giving more focus to weight training and allowing it to have our full attention when we're doing it is one of those ways that we can preserve our muscles as best as possible. Now I'm looking at cardio after weight. So even after quite. an intense weight session, it's quite likely that you'll still have the energy to do some cardio, especially if it's involving much less complicated movements. So things like walking, cycling, maybe using an elliptical machine. So doing cardio after weights can be a great way to, yes, burn some extra calories, even though that's not the only reason we are moving. Doing cardio after weights. can help you maintain your cardiovascular health and do that contribution to your overall fitness within the same exercise session. So if you are struggling for time, especially if it's looking at trying to separate these two things out, then a great way to ensure you are covering your whole body health throughout a training session or an exercise session is to consider doing your weights first and then with the remaining time, using that for some moderate cardio. Okay. Well, you can consider some very short bursts, more intense intervals, and all this can be done without compromising your strength gains and keeping you just as safe from injury when you listen to your body, when you do this too. So if your priorities include building or maintaining strength, muscle volume, and bone mineral density, starting with weights first might be the best choice for you. Now let's look at the other side of the coin, the benefits of doing cardio first. If you are prioritising your endurance, your fitness, if you are training for a race or an event where running, cycling, swimming is the focus, those of you that have found triathlons during your mid life, I see you, then you might find starting with cardio allows you to give your best effort to your endurance training. You'll have fresh legs, fresh lungs, and this can help you perform better when it comes to meeting those training goals. You might also find that after a cardio session, you find your energy levels are lower, which can impact your weight training. But if endurance is your main goal, this trade off might be worth it. If you're training for a bigger race, a triathlon, something like this, you may already be a little more established with your weight training. You may not. So you may want to consider alternating your days. So there's other options to consider doing cardio and weights on different days. Yes, this requires more time or more pockets of time, but it does allow you to give a hundred percent each type of training without feeling too drained or risking injury. So a well structured program that balances both your cardio and strength training is absolutely key to overall fitness and health, especially during menopause when we might notice that that reserves of energy might be waning off slightly, especially if you're yet to fully establish yourself on your menopause care. So it is super important again, to work with your body, work with what your goals are and focus on what feels best for you. You will notice how you are performing in lifting weights, in doing your cardio, especially if it has a performance focus for a race or an event. So if you are training for an endurance event or your primary goal is your cardiovascular health, doing cardio first might be the better option. So there are some other things to consider regardless of the order you choose. You might want to think about these other points too. So looking at your cardio intensity and volume, which is basically how hard you go with a cardio and how much of it you do. So cardio doesn't need to be high intensity or a big long slog for it to be effective. So simply daily walking 15 to 20 minutes till you're a little bit sweaty, that's enough to support your cardiovascular health. So that's your heart and lung health. This is particularly true if you are also incorporating strength training into your team. So this is a great way to balance it while still maintaining your energy levels. Another area to focus on, because we've been very performance focused here today, is your enjoyment and sustainability. So please do consider what you enjoy. Do you love walking in the forest or on a beach or with friends, or do you like to use this time for some alone time to clear your head? The key is to find activities that you enjoy so that your routine feels sustainable and something you look forward to. It's here to enhance your life. Remember, even when we are performance focused, even if we have entered into a race and we have goals, we do this for our overall wellbeing to enhance our life enjoyment. So if you find yourself losing focus on this, if you find yourself forgetting why you are doing what you're doing, then it's always helpful to take a little step back and remember, am I doing this for enjoyment? Which part of this is enhancing my life? And also let's just consider what do you prefer to think about how you prefer to build strengths? Do you like the social aspects of a group class, group session, or do you prefer the focus and a bit of solitude of training or working out alone? There's no right or wrong answer here. So what's important is that you find a routine that fits into your life and makes you feel good. So whether you're more focused on cardio, weights, or a balanced approach, the best routine is the one that you'll stick to and enjoy. So to wrap up for today, here are a few practical tips, as always, to help you implement this into your life. So three tips to help you decide whether to do cardio before or after weights. So firstly, identify your goals. What are your main fitness goals? If it's strength, muscle retention, bone health are top of the list, consider starting with weights. If endurance is more important, start with cardio. Number two, listen to your body. Pay attention to how your body feels. If you find that one order consistently leaves you feeling more fatigued or less satisfied with your workout, it may be worth experimenting with the other option. Number three, consult a coach. If you're unsure or you want to have a more personal plan, consider working with a coach who can help you design a program that meets your specific needs. And that includes getting to know what you really want so remember, there's no one size fits all answer here. The best approach is the one that aligns to your goals, fits in your life, and makes you feel empowered. If you have any questions or need further guidance, feel free to reach out to me at hello at carlykillencoaching. com. And thanks for joining me on this episode of the Strong Bones Coach podcast. I hope this discussion has given you some clarity on whether to do cardio. Before or after weights, and how to structure your workouts during your menopause. So until next week, stay strong, take care, and enjoy your training.