Weight Lifting

spennato

What is more important when losing weight Cardio or weight lifting. I would like to do both but after an hour of treadmill and elliptical I don't have any more energy for weights........

binary_jester

What is more important when losing weight Cardio or weight lifting. I would like to do both but after an hour of treadmill and elliptical I don't have any more energy for weights........

You could try lifting first. When I lift first, i find it easier to maintain a higher heart rate for cardio.

SoldierDad

Luft your weights first. Lighter weights and more reps if you are wanting to shed weight. Then do your cardio.

edorice

ditto.

miqisha

If you are doing Cardio and weight lifting, in the same routine, then do the weight lifting first. The cardio does exactly what has happened to you, it wears you out. With the weight training first, you have the energy needed to still do Cardio....

They are both important, when losing weight.....The cardio burns the fat, and the weight training tones the body, so you are not left looking flabby.....

Goodluck

GorillaNJ

There is a school of thought that says serious weight lifting is far superior to fat loss then cardio. The TNT plan more or less does not encourage any cardio. It is better to spend your energy going all out on the weights in a well balanced program then you are to burn a few extra calories with a cardio session after or even worse before the workout.

sblowes

I agree with all the above... life weights first. It burns off the glycogen in your muscles, so as soon as you start your cardio, you jump straight to burning fat, instead of burning glycogen for the first 5 minutes.

carl1738

Another alternayive is to simply alternate your workouts so that you do weight lifting one day, and cardio the next. That would help give your muscles a chance to recover from the strength training. Or, as everybody else has mentioned, weights first, cardio second.

spennato

Lift weights first what a great idea, thanks everyone will try that for now on.......

chelekaz

What is more important when losing weight Cardio or weight lifting. I would like to do both but after an hour of treadmill and elliptical I don't have any more energy for weights........

You could try lifting first. When I lift first, i find it easier to maintain a higher heart rate for cardio.

Just what I was going to say. I actually do 10 minutes on the elliptical just to get the heart rate up. Then I hit the weights. Takes me about a good hour to get through my routine and then I hit the elliptical or the Arc for 30 - 60 minutes. I found that if I do it the other way around I will never get through the strength training!

mrsbuzz

I usually do the treadmill then lift weights then do elliptical

binary_jester

I usually do the treadmill then lift weights then do elliptical

Showoff

pursuinghappiness

I do what chelekaz does. I do the elliptical for 10-20 min, then hit the weights. Also, from my research, I would not do light weights with more repetition. That does not shed the weight. I mean, I'm sure it will over time, but why not start out strong. From what I've read, you want to lift heavier. Read a book called The New Rules of Lifting (link at the bottom). You want maximum results, right? The more muscle you build, the faster the fat cells shrink. You could lift weights three times a week and then do cardio on the other days so that your muscles have time to repair.


http://astore.amazon.com/eatcleandfolt-20/detail/158333338X

Bamacraft

Personally, I think its important to mix it up for weight loss and more importantly to make sure your doing both cardio and strength exercises with proper eating. You could alternate your current workout. M_W_F do cardio. T_TH weights (light). the next week do a 3 day split (weights heavy) with cardio between or use it for a warm up by doing only 20 minutes.

I am looking for weight loss and OA conditioning. For some weeks (3-4 at a time) i will do M_W_F long runs, and use T_TH for lifting w/upper body. every other week use W as a leg day, TH a easy 20 minute walk or stationary (for leg recovery) prior to upper body and adding a run on the weekend (run speed dist etc..depending on how i feel). If sore, i do walk jog intervals, if i feel good i may do a long easy jog. Another alternate to mix this up is (what i am currently on this week and the next 2-3). M - I run 4 miles with a sprint every .4 for .1 then do Bodyworks (aerobics with weights), T - run 2 miles then do kickboxing for an hour and finish with a 2 mile run, W - run 6 easy and do body works, TH - run 2 followed by kickboxing finish with 2 mile run, F - same as TH. Recover over the weekend with a walk or easy stationary bike, chores etc...Some weeks i only do HIIT work outs. These are usually 30 minute max M_W_F and includes a 10 minute easy warm up. Example is step ups for 1 minute fast, 12 reps bicep curls, 12 reps tricep extensions, 20 reps lunges, 12 reps up right rows, 12 reps setaed row, then rest 1 minute. Thats one set with no rest between. takes about 5 minutes with the rest at end (if i dont get to 4 minutes with the exercises i compensate the delta with adding that time to the steps ups to get my HR up more or add jumping jacks to the end. start with 3 sets (15 min) and work up to 4 sets (20 min). The one area that gets neglected with some of the above for me is chest. I try to get that in (5 sets 8-10 after aerobics for example).

I'm not saying do these distances if you are starting out. several months ago i couldnt jog 5 minutes without stopping to walk ...just trying to provide examples how you can mix things up to get in weights, cardio and shed off some inches. Best of luck reaching your goals!

OneFitLady

Why not combine the weight lifting with the cardio = Circuit Training

Example

Start with a 5-10 min burst of treadmill work
Set of Bi's
Set of Tri's
Set of Shoulders
Repeat Sets (2 sets of 8 heavy weight or 3 sets of 15 light weight)
Head over to the stair master and a good 1-2 min burst (work hard, but don't kill yourself)
Set of Chest
Set of Back
Set of Shoulders
Repeat Sets (2 sets of 8 heavy weight or 3 sets of 15 light weight)
Back to the treadmill 1-2 min good paced run
Repeat Bi/Tri/Shoulders
Repeat stair master
Repeat chest/back/Shoulders
End with a 5-10 min treadmill cool down

Or.....

On every other cardio day do intervals instead of steady pace. Intervals increase endurance if done intermittently

These type of workouts help me to avoid boredom as well.

Sweet13_Princess

I support the idea of weightlifting first. I would do a 10 minute, easy paced cardio warm-up though first. Just so your muscles are warmed up and you don't pull anything. Then do the weights, then save your cardio for last. I find if I go the opposite route that I tend to be too tired from the cardio and don't end up lifting as much.

I also suggest, a shade of gray... intervals. Do 10 minutes cardio, 10 minutes of weights and go back and forth until you've finished your workout. Interval training is supposed to help blast calories, plus I find it to be re-invigorating when I'm starting to tire out.

Shannon