ASK THE WH FIT SQUAD

Should you double up on cardio and strength in one session?

Q CAN I COMBINE STRENGTH AND CARDIO IN ONE SESSION?

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Alice Liveing says: Combining strength and cardio in one workout might seem like a great way to kill two birds with one stone – but if building muscle and getting stronger is the goal, it might not be the most sensible approach. Research has shown that jumping into cardio less than six hours after weight training might hinder muscle growth and therefore impact your strength gains. How? Your body usually adapts to each session, so that you can lift more next time, but this won’t happen if you’re already fatigued.

That said, if you’re more concerned about improving your overall fitness than building strength, it could be a useful approach. I’d always advise doing weight training before cardio, rather than the other way around, as it has a higher mechanical difficulty. Big lifts require concentration, and being worn out after a cardio session might impact the quality of your movements, upping the risk of injury. Concentrate on your primary lifts (the ones performed straight after a warm-up – usually squats, bench presses and deadlifts), before moving on to your accessory lifts (the lower-intensity ones that are performed last and focus on specific muscle groups – think pull-ups and deadbugs). Centre your lifts around key movement patterns, such as pushes and pulls, before finishing your session with your chosen form of cardio, limiting this to around 30 minutes. And don’t forget to build in time for recovery, without which you’ll be running on empty.