Why doing cardio before weights is a huge mistake for toning!

This is one of the biggest workout mistakes I was making when I first started trying to lose fat & build a toned, lean body.

I thought that doing cardio at the beginning of my workout would burn more calories, thinking that more calories burned in the the workout was more beneficial for fatloss and that cardio was the best way to get my calorie burn up, then I’d go do weights to build my muscle.

I wasted years doing this, and got more frustrated every week when I wasn’t seeing any tone at all and wasn’t really getting any stronger either.

It kept me feeling really insecure in the gym because I was showing up, but wasn’t getting anywhere – I felt stupid and confused.

Finally, after working with trainers in the gym & becoming one myself I learned why this was so wrong & of course, what I should have been doing instead.

I’ve been seeing a lot of ladies starting out on their fitness journey telling me they are also doing this exact thing – without realising it’s incorrect.

So, if you are making this mistake also – you are not alone!

So here’s why it doesn’t work & my best tips on what you should be doing in your workouts to see the tone & fatloss you want faster, without all the confusion & insecurity!

1. Doing cardio before weights uses energy. So you have less energy to lift heavy weights.

2. Lifting heavy weights in necessary for building muscle which then burns more fat (during & after your workouts).

3. If you spend all your energy doing cardio, you won’t be able to lift as heavy to build the muscle you need that gives you the tone you want when you burn your fat away.

4. If you must do cardio in the same workout as your weights, do steady state cardio after your weight session.

5. I highly recommend doing high intensity cardio on days when you don’t do strength training, or split those two workouts up. This will avoid over stressing your body, slowing fatloss & reduce the risk of injury.


Making these simple changes to my workout routines completely boosted the results & progress I saw with my fatloss, tone & strength (and my confidence in the gym!) I just wish I’d known sooner

So I hope this helps you finally start seeing that booty grow and that tummy flatten faster now too!

Love & Fitness, Coach MJ xx

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