Should You Run Before or After Your Workout?

Running and strength building is a crucial part of a workout regimen for any fitness enthusiast. For effective development of endurance and obtaining an agile body, it is best to design a workout plan that aligns with your fitness goals and makes you feel active for the rest of the day. However, the internet is crawling with people inquiring; Should you run before or after your workout?

It is one of the questions that make a buzz in our minds. You might be looking through several search engine pages to discover one absolute answer to this so that you can manage cardio workouts and strength training together. Half of you might find the morning run more enticing as the cool breeze makes you feel alive. For others, you would want to gear up and hit the gym just once to get done with your daily strength training routine.

The thing about fitness training techniques is there is no one-size-fits-all theory here. All our bodies function differently. You would find some sources mentioning that there is no such order per se when you scratch your head thinking, Should you run before or after your workout? On the other hand, expert nutritionists are giving you suggesting tips for that precise time when you can run a mile and work on building your cardiovascular health just a little more.

The first rule to decide; should you run before or after your workout is to find out your goals. That’s right! Everyone has a plan that motivates them to train or run; otherwise, why would you want to put your body through such rigorous fitness sessions? When you have that answer, you will know whether you should run before or after your strength training session when you have that answer.

Finding the correct order: Run before or after Lifting Weights?

If we go by the words of experts, Cross-training is a fabulous way of keeping yourself fit. All the athletes who need to keep themselves in shape are more often recommended to practice Cross Training. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, familiarize yourself with it first.

Cross-Training is a workout technique where instead of following a monotonous fitness routine day after day in a week, you adopt the approach of different training exercises such as Cycling, swimming, weight lifting, Cardio Fitness training, or Running.

While you try out so many different exercises and workout routines, it keeps your muscles equipped, supplying your body with enough strength and mobility in the long run. Moreover, when you engage in different exercises, it procures a better response from your body, only enhancing the performance. The diverse your approach to planning your cardio or strength training, the better your system gets.

Prior to answering your question about whether you should run before or after your workout, it is important to get an insight on the fitness expert’s recommendation who suggests that a two-a-day workout plan could possibly be opted by a person. Now, Two-a-day workout plan refers to a technique where you compact two fitness training schedules- Cardio and Strength Training- in a single day to save time and develop more energy and flexibility. But there are specific rules you need to follow so you do not end up burning up your energy levels too much, and we will discuss more about it further in the article.

Define your Goal before developing a workout routine

• If you want to build your endurance levels better and keep your heart and lungs in shape, then endurance training is a better fit. Hence, choose to do cardio or endurance training before diving into strength training.
• If you want to be a fit individual and are concerned about your overall health in general, then it does not matter whether you run before or after a workout. You can do either of it before but be mindful of the intensity.
• Suppose you plan to bring your body into shape and lose some fat accumulated in several regions. In that case, there is nothing better than going for resistance training first. When you do that, it will begin regulating the process of burning down the accumulated fat slowly. So when you go for a run post the resistance training, it will increase the fat-burning capacity two-fold.
• Resistance Training or weight lifting should also be your priority on days when you are either looking to perform lower body strength exercises or mainly aiming to lose weight through strength training.
• These are some primary body goals that you would want to identify for yourself; Should you run before or after your workout? However, do not forget that different bodies react differently to the routine you follow. But this isn’t the end-game you are trying to achieve, your honest hard work will begin to identify which workout training technique is working for you first, and you will realize whether going for a run before or after lifting is feasible.

Should you run before or after your Workout? The right way to perform Cardio and Strength Training Together

We helped you find the most common types of goals anyone prefers when they are confused between whether they should run before or after the workout. The goals set initially would be of substantial help to determine it. But the thought or explanation isn’t complete until we tell you why a two-a-day workout could also be a perfect option for you?

The thing about switching between two different kinds of exercises in a single day is; it could save your potential time since not everyone has a week-long time to keep practicing two activities. The second factor is the double dose of strength and twitching up your muscles in two different ways that enhance your flexibility. Focusing on a single endurance training technique and thinking about running before or after a workout would not take you very far.

We mentioned some established rules above that you can follow when thinking, Should you run before or after your workout? However, we will elaborate a little more on this to help you get the gist of why the particular approach is best if you wish to practice cardio and strength training together:

Cardio before Strength Training for enhanced Endurance

Endurance is equal to good cardiovascular health for a long time. When you think about building a better endurance level at lower extremities, you feel about going for a mile run every day in the morning. You might think of doing it without eating anything in the morning or just sipping a glass of freshly made protein shake that boosts you up for a long run at a stretch for beginning your day.

You might be thinking, why not go for a run after your strength training. But strength training could cause you stress and put resistance on the foundation of running, which is the legs. So if you choose a lower-body training day, do it before going for a run or practicing any cardio exercise in general.

Since it could lead to delayed onset of muscle soreness, it is best to take a sufficient hours gap if you are thinking of running a mile or more than that. It is the big reason fitness trainers prescribe lower-intensity cardio workouts before strength training too.

Weight Lifting Before Running for Building Strength

Eventually, you would find it hard to strength train or perform lower body exercises after a long run because your muscles tend to contract and become tedious. You can think of the pressure you are applying on your legs while running. It would be unfair to expect better results from your resistance workout schedule post your morning run.

Many sources have pointed towards a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) that explored the possibilities of cardio training before hitting the strength training workout. The study clarifies that the participants who performed cardio training, which simply involved running on the treadmill, had difficulty lifting weight as their legs felt unsteady.

Treadmill run or running extensive miles isn’t the only part of cardiovascular fitness training, but even plain cycling made it impossible for them to lift the weight. On the other hand, the participants in the trial who straight made a dive into weight lifting exercise performed much more efficiently than the participants before.

So if you are concerned about whether you should run before or after your workout, the answer is after the strength training. If you do not intend to feel all exerted, your heart beating at a faster rate, and your muscles losing the power to balance, then go for an after-strength training run. Remember the essential point; you must wait before you finally want to accomplish a few miles of running for the day when you hit the gym for some strength training.

Hit your Running goals before if looking to attain overall health & fitness

For those more concerned about their complete health, running and cardio workouts make a lot more sense than weight lifting or strength training. However, some people only stick to running week after week. As mentioned before in the blog, you must not stick to that same old running miles technique.

Another thing is performing cardio exercises to warm up if you have a weight training session planned. But remember not to overdo your cardio workout and keep it at a lower intensity. It would help keep the blood flow uniform throughout the body and pump up enough blood to steady your heart rate.

The Crux

To understand and figure out whether to run before or after a workout, you must understand the goals that motivate you to perform rigorous training. Remember that both strength training and cardio training are indirectly proportional to each other. If you choose to go for a cardio workout before strength training and aim to build strength or lose weight, you won’t give your best while lifting weights.

On the other hand, if you are focused on endurance building, overall fitness, or training for a run, your legs would give up after a hard leg day. Make sure you realize your goal efficiently and know thoroughly to go through enough resources that guide you and offer answers to your question: Should you run before or after your workout?