solve this for me: cardio or strength first???

mfisher16508

First let me say I am new to all this again, in the past I lost 80 lbs, had babies and gained it all back, I am having surgery next week.


I have read numerous things, where one is better than the other.

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

I usually do weights first, then fly over to cardio and do the treadmill with an incline

I also read that the elliptical is one of the most UNbeneficial machine out there, true or false or partially true...

what cardio machine is the best to use for max burn ect ect....I know you can be complacent on ANY machine and it all depends on how much effort you put in that gives you the result you want.

Ultimately it is getting warmer and I will be hiking alot more, which I love and always have even at my heaviest.

Thanks in advance

atjays

Personally a bit of cardio gets everything warmed up prior to lifting. To each their own. You're over thinking the workout way too much. Your muscles do not store sugars and there isn't any research to support doing one prior to the other yields any different results. Do whatever you enjoy doing that gets your heart rate up, weather that be hiking, lifting or elliptical

ninerbuff

First let me say I am new to all this again, in the past I lost 80 lbs, had babies and gained it all back, I am having surgery next week.


I have read numerous things, where one is better than the other.

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

Whether is lifting or cardio, you always burn glycogen first. Better to use the glycogen for lifting then cardio, so lift first then cardio.

I usually do weights first, then fly over to cardio and do the treadmill with an incline

Then you're doing it right.

I also read that the elliptical is one of the most UNbeneficial machine out there, true or false or partially true...

It can be if the resistance doesn't challenge the user.

what cardio machine is the best to use for max burn ect ect....I know you can be complacent on ANY machine and it all depends on how much effort you put in that gives you the result you want.

If you're talking challenging for yourself in particular, try doing the Stepmill or Jacobs ladder at high speed.



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mariobrochill

Focus on you macronutrient intake first. Then focus on lifting. Add cardio to increase your TDEE.

myak623

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

Strength first. Doing an intense round of cardio before strength training may lead to poor form on your lifts because your body is tired. Poor form could lead to injuries.

UponThisRock

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

Don't concern yourself with this kind of thing. It all boils down to calories in/calories out.

Sweet13_Princess

I've read a lot of articles in Fitness, Shape, and Self magazines and they all recommend doing cardio first, because otherwise you have less endurance.

I, myself, prefer to do intervals. I start with cardio for 5-10 minutes, then do two weight lifting exercises, then hit the machines again. Interval training is really supposed to burn the most calories anyways.

Shannon

PercivalHackworth

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/516601-why-you-wouldn-t-mix-cardio-and-strenght-training

kateroot

A bit of cardio to warm up (say, 5-10 mins), strength training, then your longer cardio session. Too much cardio before you strength train can increase your risk for injury. Plus, you don't want to deplete whatever glycogen stores you have in your muscles before you strength train.

mfisher16508

ok, good info still conflicting but good info none the less, which leads me to believe that no matter what way I do this, every little bit helps...

I am not trying to be a power lifter or anything like that, but I want the tone and def back I once had, and I will have again.

I forgot to mention that I LOVE the kettlebell, love love love it, did I say that enough?? hmmmm.........

also as silly as it sounds it is fun to have control of your pectoral muscles as a girl because you can make things dance that some cant, ;0;0;0 (dont be hatin that comment either, its for fun)

Thanks guys and gals. Now can you help me get thru the liquid diet I am on?? Time to drink some lunch......

mfisher16508

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/516601-why-you-wouldn-t-mix-cardio-and-strenght-training

hmmm going there now thank you

clickmaster

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

Do your strength training and your aerobics on different days to allow yourself time to replenish the glycogen burned from muscle cells and to ensure your body recuperates from the previous workout.

I usually do weights first, then fly over to cardio and do the treadmill with an incline.

Train for strength. You needn't do aerobics at all but if you do, do something you'll enjoy such as a sport, dancing, Zumba, hiking, etc. If you do enjoy grinding on a treadmill, do that but don't do it on the same day as the anaerobics (weights).

I also read that the elliptical is one of the most UNbeneficial machine out there, true or false or partially true...

Ellipticals, treadmills, and stationary bikes are all going to put you at risk of repetitive stress injuries. They are all poor ways to exercise though better than many others such as running on bad terrain. I do a minimal amount of exercise on a treadmill but spend most of my training time on a 4-way split anaerobic system.

what cardio machine is the best to use for max burn ect ect....I know you can be complacent on ANY machine and it all depends on how much effort you put in that gives you the result you want.

Forget max burn. If you must run 5 miles every day of the week to burn one pound of fat and your diet must have you in a fat burning mode, is it really worth all that work just to lose a pound? Diet is the key to fat loss. Exercise should be done for fitness and fun.

Strength training is far superior to "cardio". It has many more benefits including increasing your BMR, improving bone mineral density, building more robust organ and systemic fitness body-wide, making mechanical work easier, improving immunity to injury, increases "afterburn" for easier fat loss, and many more which "cardio" does not offer. It is also easy to introduce an aerobic component to your anaerobic training.

"Cardio" is a trend built on bad information. If you read this book --> http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=18 you'll learn how we got exercise and fitness so wrong and how "cardio" is the worst of the two methods of training (anaerobic & aerobic).


Good luck and good health!!

♠

Grandysl

I will only deal with best cardio machine. I love my bowflex treadclimber. It gets my heart rate going quickly, it gets me sweating profusely and according to my HRM I can burn a lot more calories in a shorter period of time then any of the other cardio exercises I do.

Captain_Tightpants

I prefer a short cardio warmup (maybe 10 mins on an elliptical) then lifting, then if I have the energy left, cardio at the end.

Cardio wears me out and I consider lifting both more beneficial and more important to my weight loss, so I like to make sure I get it in before the energy flags.

sportsciencegirl

I'm studying a degree in sport and exercise science and I also have gym instructor qualifications.

Going on what I've learnt at uni, strength would be more ideal first because as another forum member said, it will utilise your glycogen stores first.

Then your body will utilise fat stores as the next fuel for exercise.

However, when I had a lecture on fat metabolism, our lecturer (professor, advocates walking for health etc) says that low intensity exercise will tap into your fat stores first because your body wants to save your glycogen stores for when you are doing mod-high intensity exercise. Imagine two people, one running at high intensity burning 200 calories, and one walking low intensity burning 200 calories. Although the runner burns the same amount of calories, they do it in less time, however their body uses glycogen stores first - so of the 200 calories burned, most will likely be glycogen stores (depending on their carbs intake prior to exercise), whereas the walker's body will start with the fat stores in order to save glycogen for when it needs it for high intensity.

Once your body is depleted of glycogen, it will utilise the fat stores regardless of intensity (though you won't be able to go at a high intensity for a long time)

So if you're doing strength training and intervals - then do the strength training first - though do a 5-10 min cardio warm up first to warm up the muscles....although it's probably better doing strength and cardio on different days

irridia

First let me say I am new to all this again, in the past I lost 80 lbs, had babies and gained it all back, I am having surgery next week.


I have read numerous things, where one is better than the other.

I read that you should do strength first because it burns off the sugars in your muscles so that when you do cardio you go straight to burning the fat....true or false or partially true.

True, but it's specifically ATP, and contrary to what the prev poster says muscle DOES uptake sugar. I believe it then stores that in the form of ATP.

I usually do weights first, then fly over to cardio and do the treadmill with an incline

I also read that the elliptical is one of the most UNbeneficial machine out there, true or false or partially true...

Weights first is best and the best program I've found is stronglifts 5x5 google it or look it up here on mfp. I don't know anything about the elliptical other than it makes my knees hurt despite the fact that it isn't supposed to.

what cardio machine is the best to use for max burn ect ect....I know you can be complacent on ANY machine and it all depends on how much effort you put in that gives you the result you want.

Ultimately it is getting warmer and I will be hiking alot more, which I love and always have even at my heaviest.

Thanks in advance

The best/most lasting calorie burn is from the weight program I mentioned above. #2 is cardio in the form of HIIT (high intensity interval training) Basically you go as hard as you can for as long as you can and then slow down untill you get your breath back and then do it again for as long as you can go. Swimming is the ultimate (crawl and butterfly), Burpees (squat thrusts), biking (esp uphill), running up hills or stairs, and lastly just straight up sprinting. If you have kids a rousing game of tag would probably be a good one. Oh jump rope and boxing are also good