Fitness Tips

Taylors' Weekly Fitness Tip: Should I Lift Weights Before or After Cardio?

weights
 

One of the questions I get asked the most is "Should I do cardio before or after I lift weights?" Not surprisingly, the answer to this question depends on your goals. If you are a runner, then running needs to be your priority; run first, then lift weights. If running and endurance sports aren’t your thing, then you need to be lifting weight before you do cardio. 

My recommendation for the non-runner is 45 minutes of strength training, doing progressively heavier loads followed by 15 minutes of interval training 3x weeks. For the runners and endurance athletes, run first, followed by 45 minutes of progressively heavier loads with low reps.

image by Free Stock Images, Flickr

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Taylor's Weekly Fitness Tip: What Ever Happened to Good Old Fashioned Strength Training?

barbell squat
 

Strength is the most important physical characteristic of our existence, but it’s becoming less important in our lives because of technology, cars, machines and laziness. Our daily existence has changed drastically compared to that of our ancestors, but our physiology has not.

We cannot ignore the fact that millions of years ago, our ancestors relied on physical work and strength to survive. Today, most of us just sit in front of a computer all day.

Simply put, exercising is something we do to replicate the hard labor, such as building shelters, hunting prey, and harvesting crops that our ancestors did to survive. Start strength training like the survivor you are!

EXAMPLES OF STRENGTH TRAINING EXERCISES:

  1. Barbell Squats
  2. Barbell Deadlifts 
  3. Bench Press 
  4. Chin-ups 
  5. Push-ups

*image by Matthew Coughlin, Flickr

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Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip : Post Workout Recovery Stretches

Air Squat

Air Squat

 

Rest and recovery are essential for runners to obtain optimal performance and injury prevention. A quick dynamic stretching routine will help your body recover so that you can be ready for your next scheduled training run. In addition, dynamic stretching will restore your range of motion and improve dynamic joint stabilization. All you need is 15 minutes, twice a week. 

Here are some examples of dynamic stretches you should be doing:

1. Air squats 15 reps

2. Inchworm 20 feet

3. Side lunge 15 reps each side

4. Reverse lunge 12 reps each side

5. Frankenstein walk 30 feet 

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