From the New York Times:

Is it wise to practice weight training and aerobic exercise on the same day?

That issue is surprisingly contentious in the sports world. Many competitive athletes, their coaches and athletic trainers have come to believe that aerobic exercise, if practiced in close proximity to strength training, reduces the ability of muscles to strengthen and grow. Conversely, many contend that weight training performed on the same day as aerobic exercise blunts the endurance training response. …

So, scientists put it to the test. They ran tests specially intended to prove that one type of training interferes with the positive results from the other form. But that isn’t what happened. Here’s what they found:

Instead, after combined training, the men’s muscles displayed the same amount of change within both cellular pathways as after either type of exercise on its own, even though the men had actually completed only half as much of each. …

In other words, “aerobic exercise can precede resistance exercise on the same day without compromising” muscle building, the scientists conclude.

And if you prefer your weight training first, the Canadian study scheduled the resistance work before the bike riding, without compromising the results for either type of exercise. …

Best of all, Dr. Phillips’s study suggests that you can potentially do less of each form of exercise when you combine them and still gain considerable benefits. “In our study, the men were doing only 50 percent as much” cycling and weight training in the combined session as during the specialized workouts, he points out. “But their muscles couldn’t tell the difference.”

That’s why we do WODs with lifts, gymnastics and running all mashed up in a big glob of loveliness. God made our bodies to thrive under that kind of punishment!

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