Some silly folks like to shamelessly exploit a fundamental training mantra — that you should always train for priorities. If losing bodyfat is your primary goal, for example, then cardio should be your primary focus in the gym, right?

This is one case where your priorities are just backward, pal. While cardio by itself is certainly productive, doing cardio after your weight-training session is almost twice as productive at burning fat. Japanese researchers recently determined that doing a weight workout before cardio resulted in significantly more fat-burning than doing cardio alone.

Factoid: In the study, a cardio-only group burned just more than 20% of their total calories from fat, while another group who did cardio after weights burned nearly 50% of their total calories from fat.

One reason for this amazing disparity is that the body plows through stored glycogen during your weight routine, making fat the primary fuel source once it’s time for your cardio.

Tip: Perform cardio when it’ll be most productive for you – after you hit the weights. Try mixing in 2-4, 20-30-minute, postlifting cardio sessions per week. [via]