Lifting before cardio?

MyiahRose

So i hear that you should lift before cardio.
But the only reason i get is because it burns the carbs or something like that and you have more energy afterwards.
Well what if i am on a low carb diet and i have the great energy while doing cardio first then weights.
Will i still get the same results?

jwdieter

If you're lifting heavy, doing 30+ minutes of high heart rate activity immediately prior will probably impact your lifting results.

But there are a lot of different effort levels in "cardio" and "lifting weights". So if what you're doing feels fine, it's probably fine.

Timshel_

Meh. I like a bit of cardio first to warm up. Works for me just fine.

MyiahRose

If you're lifting heavy, doing 30+ minutes of high heart rate activity immediately prior will probably impact your lifting results.

But there are a lot of different effort levels in "cardio" and "lifting weights". So if what you're doing feels fine, it's probably fine.

I run for 30 minutes on the treadmill beforehand and i still lift heavy for about an hour afterwards.

MyiahRose

Meh. I like a bit of cardio first to warm up. Works for me just fine.

How long do your cardio sessions last?

2dare2dream

I think many are of the belief that if you do cardio before weights, that you limit the time in order that you don't drain your strength, especially if you are doing strength lifting.

MeanderingMammal

So i hear that you should lift before cardio.
But the only reason i get is because it burns the carbs or something like that and you have more energy afterwards.
Well what if i am on a low carb diet and i have the great energy while doing cardio first then weights.
Will i still get the same results?

Depends what you mean by "lift" and "cardio" as it's a function of intensity, energy utilisation and objectives.

In principle lifting benefits from the availability of muscle glycogen, in terms of ease of access. If you burn that up prior to lifting then it'll affect both form and results. Of course the converse also applies, if you burn up all of the glycogen in lifting that reduces the range of types of cardio you can do in terms of intensity, and format. You wouldn't be up to doing a hard interval session after lifting.

What are you trying to achieve?

Timshel_

Meh. I like a bit of cardio first to warm up. Works for me just fine.

How long do your cardio sessions last?

I do general active stretching for 10-15 minutes, then 15-20 minutes of interval training cardio and conditioning.
Then about 30 minutes of lifting.

chelso0o

I like to row 2k before I lift. It warms me up and uses most of my muscles, so no matter what I am doing I feel ready for.

I lift first for safety because I don't want to be tired when I am lifting heavy things. It feels like I could drop something or my form could suffer if I am tired. And bad form can lead to injury.

MyiahRose

So i hear that you should lift before cardio.
But the only reason i get is because it burns the carbs or something like that and you have more energy afterwards.
Well what if i am on a low carb diet and i have the great energy while doing cardio first then weights.
Will i still get the same results?

Depends what you mean by "lift" and "cardio" as it's a function of intensity, energy utilisation and objectives.

In principle lifting benefits from the availability of muscle glycogen, in terms of ease of access. If you burn that up prior to lifting then it'll affect both form and results. Of course the converse also applies, if you burn up all of the glycogen in lifting that reduces the range of types of cardio you can do in terms of intensity, and format. You wouldn't be up to doing a hard interval session after lifting.

What are you trying to achieve?

I do c25k 3 days a week for about 30 mins or so then i do dumbbell and barbell workouts.
Im just trying to lose weight and get fit.

MeanderingMammal

I do c25k 3 days a week for about 30 mins or so then i do dumbbell and barbell workouts.
Im just trying to lose weight and get fit.

In that case it's probably not a big deal at the moment. As you progress you'll probably want to separate out the running and the resistance training. Subject to what your running priorities become you'll probably find those start to become much more demanding.

I do five runs per week, One of about an hour and a half to two hours, three of about an hour and one of about half an hour. The latter I follow with a bodyweight session, the others are hard and I wouldn't get the best from a resistance session afterwards as I do tempo or interval training in those.

MyiahRose

I do c25k 3 days a week for about 30 mins or so then i do dumbbell and barbell workouts.
Im just trying to lose weight and get fit.

In that case it's probably not a big deal at the moment. As you progress you'll probably want to separate out the running and the resistance training. Subject to what your running priorities become you'll probably find those start to become much more demanding.

I do five runs per week, One of about an hour and a half to two hours, three of about an hour and one of about half an hour. The latter I follow with a bodyweight session, the others are hard and I wouldn't get the best from a resistance session afterwards as I do tempo or interval training in those.

Ok, thanks!

MeanderingMammal

I do c25k 3 days a week for about 30 mins or so then i do dumbbell and barbell workouts.
Im just trying to lose weight and get fit.

In that case it's probably not a big deal at the moment. As you progress you'll probably want to separate out the running and the resistance training. Subject to what your running priorities become you'll probably find those start to become much more demanding.

I do five runs per week, One of about an hour and a half to two hours, three of about an hour and one of about half an hour. The latter I follow with a bodyweight session, the others are hard and I wouldn't get the best from a resistance session afterwards as I do tempo or interval training in those.

Ok, thanks!

Note that on here when the lifters mock cardio they generally mean moderate pace on hamster wheels in the gym.

It's reasonable to do a short warm up, as mentioned above a rower is very good as it's a whole body exercise, for ten minutes.