Cardio or abs first? Also, do HRMs work for ab workouts?

SolidGoaled

Is there a rule of whether you should do cardio or strength training first? I want to do a HIIT dvd along with my ab dvd. Was thinking I'd do abs first. Any reason why not?

Also - do HRMs work with toning dvds?

jamaka1

i think its personal, i like to do cardio first bc i feel like i'm being warm- up for anything. Then again some ppl might feel tired after the cardio; its a matter of trial & error. good luck

grouch201

I've been doing Insanity for a while now and it has me scheduled doing Pure Cardio and then Cardio Abs. The Ab workout is just an extra 20 minutes after doing the cardio. I wear my HRM the whole time and figure it can't be too far off since Insanity is a combo of Cardio and Strength training. I am not sure it makes a difference what order you do it in.

chicnsweet83

I was told by the instructor at the gym to rotate cardio and strength training. You could try it this way:

Do 30mins to 1 hour of cardio, either treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical. Then rotate out strength training.

If you do an hour of cardio, work on your upper body with strength training.

The next time you do cardio, only do between 10-30 minutes, then work on your lower body strength training.

The next time do 30mins to 1 hour of cardio and work on your abs strength. That way you aren't wearing your muscles out by over working them.

Or what I do sometimes is just 10 minutes of cardio and do all upper/lower and abs. It gives a pretty good work out.

OLP76

:flowerforyou: I do Power90 (not P90X) ...

My Cardio is 'Sweat 3&4' & 'Ab Ripper 200'...Depends on my mood...somedays I do Ab Ripper 200 first, than do my Sweat 3&4, and finish off with another dose of Ab Ripper 200.

Somedays I do Sweat 3&4 & Ab Ripper 200...

I'm unsure if it makes a difference - when I do my Ab Ripper first - I find I have more energy to push myself to get up high and get my pose in the right place...

200 means = 10 Ab exercise, 20 times each...it's a killah lol

Best wishes xo :flowerforyou:

keschuh79

Any time I do a sculpting, toning, or an ab workout I notice that my heart rate is significantly lower than during a cardio workout like zumba, elliptical training, running etc. The HRM still works of course... you just won't see big calorie burn numbers.

I'm also a fan of the cardio warm up before the toning. And in most of the body sculpt classes I've taken, the instructor usually does a good 5-15 minutes of cardio prior to the weight training.