At GLOW it’s important to us that our workouts are as quick & efficient as possible. Why? Because we have found time and time again through working with 100s of women around the world that this is when working out becomes sustainable and when lasting results are found. As much we love working out, we’re aware that nobody enjoys long, drawn out and tedious hours spent doing so, nor do any of us have the time for them.
We believe in creating workouts to achieve maximum results in as little time as possible. In other words, workouts that give you the “biggest bang for your buck.”
So, let’s get stuck into why you will notice all of our cardio programmes specified for after the resistance part of the workout in your GLOW programmes (unless cardio has been added circuit-style into the workout itself or no cardio is specified for that workout.)
WHY DOING CARDIO AFTER WEIGHTS IS SO MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE:
1. Carbs are not the devil! Let’s put them to good use!
The primary energy source of energy that your body relies on to fuel resistance training efficiently are your fast acting, readily available glycogen (carbohydrate) stores within your muscles. When you do your resistance training first, you are able to utilize & deplete those stores, resulting in greater endurance for this section of your workout, while allowing you to build strength and lean muscle mass more effectively.
2. Hello stubborn fat stores!
Now, seeing that you have already depleted your glycogen stores with the first section of your workout, you get to put those stubborn, slower acting fat stores to good use. Your body will always use your fat stores last, meaning that when you save cardio for the end of your workout, a far greater percentage of fat burning takes place, while preserving your lean muscle “gains” as the gym junkies like to call them.
Think about burning fat like digging for gold. You have to get through layers of dirt and rock (muscle glycogen) before you can get to the gold. Doing cardio first is like digging for gold with a shovel. You’ll eventually see gold, but it will take a while. Doing resistance training first is like showing up to the same dig site with a digger loader. Enough said?
Doing cardio AFTER your weights could just be the time saving trick that you are looking for to help you burn fat faster, while preserving muscle tone to actually start seeing a change in your body. Trust us, once you make the switch, you’ll never look back!
Looking for quick, effective and guided workouts? The GLOW app offers a range of workout programmes to cater to every fitness level and stage of life. You also don’t need to have access to a gym and we are here to guide you every step of the way!