Cardio before or after a weights?

We all want to get the most out of our training.  How can we accomplish the most amount of result in the shortest/easiest way possible?  When it comes to cardio, this is a question I hear a lot!  First off, there is no bad time to do cardio so don't use that as an excuse not to do it.  First, lets take a look at why we incorporate cardio into a program.

1) We want to eat an adequate amount of food and still remain in a calorie deficit that allows us to get lean.  Sure, you could drop your calories super low and not do cardio however, that comes with a host of other issues that nobody wanting to improve their physique desires.  Simply put, cardio means we burn more calories than we do sitting around and burning more calories than we take in is absolutely essential to your fat loss program.

2) It is good for you.  Yes, we have all become so vain and only care about the way that we look but, getting the ol' ticker going will help to improve your cardiovascular health.  If your heart is healthy, you are healthy and if you are healthy, you can lift hard and get jacked.  Is that reason enough? So now that we know the benefits of cardio in a nutshell, I will give you the 2 reasons why I would recommend doing cardio training after your weights.

   1) Save your energy for the weights.  Weight training requires more energy and also poses a higher risk of injury.  If you wear yourself out doing cardio, you raise your risk of injury and will likely not have the intensity you want for weights.  Make weights the priority and finish off with the cardio.

   2) Use your carbohydrates, then burn the fat.  Weight training relies heavily on carbs as an energy source.  You have your higher carbohydrate meal before training so you can fuel for your workout and spend an hour using those carbs by busting out reps.  What you have left is stored fat for energy which you can then use as you slave through a cardio session.

In conclusion, doing your cardio after your weights can have some great benefit as opposed to doing it before.  This allows you to get both your resistance and cardio done in the same workout and see the results you want!