Cardio then weights or weights to cardio??
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MuscleAndMascara
Posts: 1,259 Member
So here is the deal, I have been going to the gym for three months now. I lost just about 20lbs and plan on losing ten more. My routine goes like this.
- 5 am I start with one hour of cardio first thing. I change up what kind of cardio I do through the week. (tread mill, eliptical, stair master, bikes...)
- I do 60 min of cardio every morning
-then I take 30 to 40 min rite after and hit the weights or floor for crunches ext. I switch up my days here too. One day arms, one day legs, one day shoulders/back ...
I was told that you should do cardio first in the morning if you do not eat first and weights after. That being said, if you do eat, you should do weights first then cardio? Well I am STARVING during my work outs now. So I'm thinking about eating before I work out.
How true is this and what do you suggest?
I really want to start toning up. My weight continues to drop and so does my body fat %.
I want abs!!
- 5 am I start with one hour of cardio first thing. I change up what kind of cardio I do through the week. (tread mill, eliptical, stair master, bikes...)
- I do 60 min of cardio every morning
-then I take 30 to 40 min rite after and hit the weights or floor for crunches ext. I switch up my days here too. One day arms, one day legs, one day shoulders/back ...
I was told that you should do cardio first in the morning if you do not eat first and weights after. That being said, if you do eat, you should do weights first then cardio? Well I am STARVING during my work outs now. So I'm thinking about eating before I work out.
How true is this and what do you suggest?
I really want to start toning up. My weight continues to drop and so does my body fat %.
I want abs!!
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Replies
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Meal timing is personal preference. Personally I cannot push as hard when I have food in my stomach.
To get that 6 pack you need to lower your body fat. That's done by diet not exercise.0 -
You're over thinking it. In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit in what order or what exercises you do.
However, most aficionados will tell you to do weights first, then cardio. Cardio will diminish your ability to lift, and lifting is most beneficial to you.0 -
If it is a day at the gym I am lifting (wait, everyday is a lifting day....) I lift first then finish with a little cardio (if any at all). I want to use all my energy to lift!!!!! if i did cardio first i would feel exhausted to lift.0
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I've just heard that women burn more calories first thing in the morning.? I do over think it. I have never got into lifting before, but I really want to try. The results when women do it RITE look amazing and the last thing I want to do, is do it wrong and not get more bang for my buck.
As far as the diet, no fast food, soda, junk food. It's not perfect but I'm working on it 0 -
When you eat is totally personal preference. Wont make a difference to weight loss as long as you maintain a calorie deficit.
As for which exercise to do first it is also preference based on your goals.
If you wear yourself out doing cardio you might not be able to lift as well.
If your goal was to build muscle I would say lift first. If you were training for some kind of cardio event I would say do that first.
If you are just doing both for health and weight management I would suggest a 10 minute cardio warm up then lift then do the remainder of your cardio or do it on a rest day.0 -
If it is a day at the gym I am lifting (wait, everyday is a lifting day....) I lift first then finish with a little cardio (if any at all). I want to use all my energy to lift!!!!! if i did cardio first i would feel exhausted to lift.
that makes sense, guess I was getting stuck on being a cardio queen haha! Tomorrow I will lift first. I don't know what all I should be doing, but I don't care! I'll just have to dive in and figure it out
Or should I wait till I lose the last 10lbs??0 -
When you eat is totally personal preference. Wont make a difference to weight loss as long as you maintain a calorie deficit.
As for which exercise to do first it is also preference based on your goals.
If you wear yourself out doing cardio you might not be able to lift as well.
If your goal was to build muscle I would say lift first. If you were training for some kind of cardio event I would say do that first.
If you are just doing both for health and weight management I would suggest a 10 minute cardio warm up then lift then do the remainder of your cardio or do it on a rest day.
I guess I was trying to condition myself. I could hardly jog for 5 min, but now I can go 30 min without having to stop lol! I was trying to just be healthy all around.
Now I want to look good 0 -
You're over-thinking this big time...meal timing is irrelevant. I don't do cardio before lifting because you lift better fresh...you aren't going to be hitting any PRs on your lifts after an hour of cardio. I generally do cardio on non-lifting days...if I do cardio on lifting days I make sure I do it earlier in the day so that I have time to recover for my lifts later in the evening.
The bottom line is you want to be fresh for whatever it is you are doing..you want to be able to kill whatever it is you are doing...you don't want to be doing **** half assed because you're tired from doing other ****...you want to maximize all of your gains.0 -
I've always done my cardio before lifting, and I seem to get through my reps and such just fine. I either do two mile runs or 20 minutes on a recumbent bike (very fast, high resistance setting). I've always thought of this as a warm up, so I don't really do a ton of cardio when I lift. When I tried to do cardio AFTER lifting, I was way too tired (mentally) to really want to run or then sit on a bike for twenty minutes.0
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You're over thinking it. In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit in what order or what exercises you do.
However, most aficionados will tell you to do weights first, then cardio. Cardio will diminish your ability to lift, and lifting is most beneficial to you.
this^^^ my trainer actually has me doing a 15 minute cardio warm up, then weights, then a 10 min cardio cool down. I went from 4-5 hours a week of cardio to no more than 3.0 -
well it looks like you all answered my question.
Now time to get my *kitten* lifting ... literally
thank you!0 -
If it is a day at the gym I am lifting (wait, everyday is a lifting day....) I lift first then finish with a little cardio (if any at all). I want to use all my energy to lift!!!!! if i did cardio first i would feel exhausted to lift.
that makes sense, guess I was getting stuck on being a cardio queen haha! Tomorrow I will lift first. I don't know what all I should be doing, but I don't care! I'll just have to dive in and figure it out
Or should I wait till I lose the last 10lbs??
Oh NO!! Do not wait!! My body has changed in so many good ways by lifting instead of being a cardio bunny.0 -
You're over thinking it. In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit in what order or what exercises you do.
However, most aficionados will tell you to do weights first, then cardio. Cardio will diminish your ability to lift, and lifting is most beneficial to you.
i have been told by my trainer to do cardio last so i have energy to do weights. doing cardio first can diminish your energy level for weights.0 -
Now, can some one come show me how to lift hahaha0
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Weights then cardio to experience best if both worlds if you are just doing cardio for the weight loss.
Actually, if you can pull it off: weights..eat something...cardio a bit later in the day.0 -
If it is a day at the gym I am lifting (wait, everyday is a lifting day....) I lift first then finish with a little cardio (if any at all). I want to use all my energy to lift!!!!! if i did cardio first i would feel exhausted to lift.
This is what my trainer told me at the beginning, and I've never done it backwards. I know that my lifting sucks the day after I do my all-out hill sprints, though, so I have to have a complete rest day in between.0 -
Ideally, you'd do them on alternate days.
If that's not an option, then order is personal preference based on your goals. Whichever you do second will suffer, so you should do the one that's most important to you first.
If you're not sure which is most important to you, then let me suggest that gaining strength takes much longer and is much harder than improving cardiovascular fitness. Also, heavy lifting while fatigued is more likely to result in a serious injury than running while fatigued.
Personally, even though running is probably more important to me, if I had to do them on the same day I would do weights first. I know that sounds like I just contradicted myself, but it's just the choice I would make based on all the factors.
As to food - eat when you need to. There's little evidence that working out fasted is better.0 -
You're over thinking it. In terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit in what order or what exercises you do.
However, most aficionados will tell you to do weights first, then cardio. Cardio will diminish your ability to lift, and lifting is most beneficial to you.
i have been told by my trainer to do cardio last so i have energy to do weights. doing cardio first can diminish your energy level for weights.
Your trainer is spot on. In order to enjoy some muscle growth then you have to exert a certain level of stress to cause the growth. If you are too tired from cardio to do that then you are not going to get much benefit. Also, just because you are tired (from cardio) and its hard to lift a lighter weight than normal doesnt mean you are generating enough stress on the muscle to stimulate growth.
On the other hand with cardio to burn calories. Your body is going to consume energy regardless of how tired you are when you drag your butt on a run. It's going to burn regardless if you are tired or not.
Kuddos for being the first person I've read on here who has a trainer that didn't say something completely backwards.0 -
Weights then cardio to experience best if both worlds if you are just doing cardio for the weight loss.
Actually, if you can pull it off: weights..eat something...cardio a bit later in the day.
I have a two hour window in my morning to really get in my work outs.
I work a full time job, then home to a one year old.
Most of the time I'll take my daughter on a 60 min walk and I'll jog in intervals
when I get home from work 0 -
Weights first everytime as it is more strenuous than cardio so you need all your energy for it. Also some struggle to keep up intensity after cardio0
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