Strength First? Or Cardio First?

I received a question yesterday on the Redline Facebook page, asking me the following:

When doing aerobic training and weight training how do you recommend splitting them up? One in the morning / one in the evening? Aerobic one day, weight the other? Both at the same time? Would your answer change based on what I want as an end result? I currently do a fast 5-6 mile run (6-6:30 minute miles) Then I go directly into my weight training. I typically lift and do all my exercising in about 45 minutes. I then stretch and call it an evening. Would you recommend something different?

Many people have this question, it's really quite common. They want to make sure that what they're doing is right and that they're not screwing anything up. 

Here's how I answered:

"The answer does depend on your goal, as well as the amount of time you have available to train. You can also factor in what you like to do too. If someone has more of a strength focus, then that should take priority and be done first. If cardio is important to you, then perform cardio training first.

If it doesn't matter, then it comes down to personal preference and time availability.

I should note, the intensity of the training can also play a factor. So if you do a hard run first then go straight into weight training, you may not lift as heavy as you'd like. But that matters if getting stronger is the goal.

The flipside is true too. If you go hard and heavy with the weights, then don't expect performance to be optimal if you run right after. Although I find heavy lifting affects run performance more than a hard run affecting heavy lifting. But that comes from personal experience."

In short, it depends.