Cardio and lifting

samanthamuredda

Hi! i am starting to slowing increase my calories to restore my metabolism and put on more muscle. I lift 6x a week but i enjoy cardio as well. I know your not supposed to do cardio with weights but how bad will it affect my progress? I only do cardio like 3/4 times a week( peloton, long walks, running, hikes, hiits) i hit 10,000 steps a day and then lift heavy 5/6 times, with cardio sprinkled in on my upper body days.

sardelsa

There is nothing wrong with doing cardio and weights. Just keep in mind if your goal is strength or muscle building related you want to make sure you allow for adequate recovery of your muscles and you fuel your workouts. If you are doing those things then there should be no issue.

goatg

Cardio and weights complement each other quite well. Cardio, by itself, won’t diminish muscle gain. Just increase your calories and make sure your protein is up.
Sardelsa nailed it.

Sounds like you have a good routine.
When I wanted to really strengthen my legs I’d run (medium-long, easy-moderate pace) after lifting legs. Don’t be afraid to gradually push it.

Justin_7272

I don't know what lifting program you're running (if any), but it may help to compact your strength training into 3-4 days to allow 3-4 days of non-lifting recovery vs 1. During these days you can experiment with cardio intensity to determine to what extent you can still do cardio on off days without effecting your lifts.

For example, I lift Sunday, Tuesday, & Thursday. I do cardio after lifts and on off days (7 days a week). If i don't hit a lift Tuesday, I may have overexerted cardio Monday and would lower my cardio Wednesday to ensure I hit my lifts Thursday. Friday I can hit cardio hard, knowing I'm not lifting Saturday. Saturday I can gauge how I feel and adjust cardio to (hopefully) prevent missing lifts Sunday.

Hopefully that makes sense. Good luck!