weight training - before or after you dance?

[lotus]

I was told by a personal trainer that it's better to do weights before cardio, if a person is doing them both on the same day.

this leads me to wonder about weight training and dance. I know dance as we do it in a class tends to be less cardio intensive than (for example) an aerobics class.

So is it still better then to do the weight training first, and save the dance training for later in the same day?

[sabrinabellydancer]

i've also asked this question of a number of different trainers in different genres. here's what they said [of course it's not consistent]

gym trainer 1: weights then cardio

gym trainer 2: makes no difference

gym trainer 3: do first what you hate more [weights or cardio]

martial arts trainer: either way, so long as you do some cardio after to help prevent lactic acid buildup in the muscles and move the impurities out of the muscles with blood flow [interesting]

dance professors: warm up, strength train, rehearsal
stay away from heavy biking as it can tighten hip flexors [interesting]

military trainer: do enough of both to make your troops puke

there must be many other theories and perspectives

[kina]

As a fitness pro, I'd go with the martial arts trainer, I do cardio, then strength

[GypsyInara]

My trainer gave me this routine:
5 minute cardio warmup (treadmill brisk walk)just enough to get a slight sweat
Stretch
Weight circuit
Stretch
30-45 intense cardio
stretch
5 minute cool down (treadmill walk)

Its worked for me so far, lost 10lbs in two weeks in 3-4 trips to the gym per week

[lotus]

Hi Inara,
so do you do your gym routine before your daily dance practice, or afterward?

[lotus]

I shsould clarify here, that I am *not* classifying dance as Cardio. I'm wondering instead about, for instance if one were to take a ballet class and also lift weights in the same day.

What order should that go in? Dance studio first, or gym first?

thanks!!


PS - There is a one-dollar prize to each person who manages to refrain from uttering the words "suhaila" or "glutes" on this thread.

[ssipes]

I think it depends oh how much effort you put into lifting, and that if your objectives in your dance rehearsal are to improve your dancing, then you should be giving 100% of yourself physically to the dance.

Meaning you shouldn't dance after lifting if your dancing is going to be affected by muscle fatigue and/or soreness.

If you do really serious strength training, I'd say do it after dancing or on a day you're not dancing. If you are doing only moderately vigorous strength training it may not matter.

You can paypal my dollar to my email below ;-)

[NajlaHalem]

I do cardio then weights after. Sometimes I hit the cardio hard enough that I have to lighten up on weights. Other times I do moderate cardio and can hit the weights hard enough to reach that lovely "puking" stage ;)

But I always separate the dance time. I put enough effort into my gym workout to be physically exhausted. But by later in the day after eating and a bit of rest, I've got stamina enough to be physical again, and to concentrate on it for a few hours.

However, I've been told by different sources that you should do what works for you, where you see the most benefit. If it stops working, stop doing it!

[bellydonsah28]

Gah.... I can't help it..... GLUTES!!!

From what I've heard (and I may be wrong), the main reason for doing weights before cardio is because you need perfect form for weight training, but not for cardio. So if you do your cardio first, you're too tired to have proper form for weights, have poorer results, and can injure yourself. Following that logic, you should dance first and then do weights.
But if you absolutely hate weights and need to do them first or else you won't do them at all, then do them first. I hate weights and used to do them before dancing, until I discovered that it's much more fun to do them during the evening while I'm watching TV.

[bdaddiction]

Good topic... Although, I like to do my weight training on different days than cardio...

[HubicRuzz]

Depends on the intensity of the cardio and how much of it.

I would normally say don't spend more than an hour in the gym at a time otherwise your cortisol levels rise and you go catabolic.

But going to the specific question of doing weights before or after dancing, I would do it after you have warmed up from the dancing if indeed it is low intensity. High intensity cardio is something you do for 20mins and by the end of it you can't talk properly without having a rest for a few minutes.

[shimarella]

Cardio first and then weights, generally.

But it depends on your schedule... if the only way to make it work is to do weights then toddle off to dance class ( which doesn't really count as cardio in most cases) then don't make that a heavy weight day if its going to affect your technique.

I used to separate my weight and cardio days but these days I tend to do what I need to do when I can do it!

[joanneraks]

Ack! Guys, the question she's asking is weight training in relation to DANCE time, not cardio time. I wanna know too... :)

Originally Posted by lotus

I shsould clarify here, that I am *not* classifying dance as Cardio. I'm wondering instead about, for instance if one were to take a ballet class and also lift weights in the same day.

What order should that go in? Dance studio first, or gym first?

[GypsyInara]

Originally Posted by lotus

Hi Inara,
so do you do your gym routine before your daily dance practice, or afterward?

I do my practice afterwards, as I seem to find that I feel "looser", like more flexible, and also more grounded. I also feel more energized after I workout.

Hope that helps!

[straightleftknee]

Goals & Intensity & Rest

Actually I'd say it depends on your goals. If you are looking to build muscle and use cardio(dance or otherwise) to cut fat you have two options (the body builder route!)

If pushed for time weight train then cardio in the same session - the emphasis is on lifting weight so you use your energy here.
Early morning cardio -evening weights. Personally I feel a little sick if I do intense exercise in the morning.
& dance can be cardio!

Weights in relation to dance? Again it depends, would you really want to do a heavy squat session then spend two hours dancing in releve? Probably not if you're going to class you won't have a choice on content - in that case I'd do weights after the dancing.

Strength gains are made during recovery, make sure you give this consideration.

Personally, warm up, skills training then conditioning.

[bellydancewillow]

I just became a certified Personal Trainer. What I've been taught is that you do first what you want to have the most energy for. If you want energy to lift more, then do your weights first. If you want energy to dance more, then do your dance first. There are always people who will say "this is the best way..." There is no best way. There are many ways and it's what works best for you. Routines should be changed frequently anyway, to keep it interesting and keep your muscles constantly "surprised".

If you prefer to dance first, you might have less energy to lift later, which means you might need less weights. But that's fine. It's called "pre-exhaustion". If you pre-exhaust your muscles with either cardio, dance, or light reps, then go into your resistance training, you won't need to lift as much weight to fatigue your muscles.

The reasoning behind doing weights first is this... Your muscles mainly use glycogen (sugar/carbs) to lift weights. If you lift first, you burn up all of your muscle glycogen, then you don't have to do cardio for 20 minutes before you start burning fat. You'll burn fat faster in your cardio workout if you do resistance first. Otherwise, it takes 20 minutes to burn up your muscle glycogen before you start burning fat in cardio exercise.