Women weight training?

RachFace1000

I'm going to start weight training with my dad tomorrow (idk how to do it properly by myself) and he said I should lift every other day, and do some kind of cardio everyday (excluding rest days of course) but I was wondering when i should do cardio on the days I weight train? Before or after lifting weights?

Also, if any ladies on here had success with weight lifting, feel free to post before and after pictures (: at 5'9 and 150, i carry the weight well and it's hard for me to stay off the scale, when I know lifting might keep me the same weight, but with less fat and inches, and more muscle.

Thanks!

PeterThompson

Cardio first before weights. It's like you are having a warm-up. According to study, it is more beneficial.

linzijoy

I would really like to get into weight training, I'm keen to get my fitness up to a good level firt though. I would be keen to see any responses too!

TheFunBun

Noooo cardio before weights. You warm up quickly, but you can warm up doing -anything-. You want to save the exertion for the actual weight lifting... you quickly use your glycogen stores lifting and then when you do cardio you are actually using fat stores for energy. If you do it the other way your lifts will suffer.

There are lots of awesome, awesome, awesome weightlifting success story photos. I hope they chime in because they are so-damn-inspiring!

victoria4321

Do cardio after weights if you're going to lift heavy. I do it that way more so for safety reasons. I don't want to be tired and try to lift a big weight over head.

nz_deevaa

I warm up with 15-20mins on a bike then lift, then cool down walking.

I also do a round of each lift with no weight on the bar before lifting as heavy as I can.

I lost the first 18kg with BodyPump as my cardio (light weights lots of reps) but this year I've been lifting heavy, any my body is changing a lot faster.

HeidiMightyRawr

Cardio after weights, so that you have more energy for the lifting.

jennkain97

Noooo cardio before weights. You warm up quickly, but you can warm up doing -anything-. You want to save the exertion for the actual weight lifting... you quickly use your glycogen stores lifting and then when you do cardio you are actually using fat stores for energy. If you do it the other way your lifts will suffer.

There are lots of awesome, awesome, awesome weightlifting success story photos. I hope they chime in because they are so-damn-inspiring!

This is so true! I learned through experience (and later read up on it -- geez!) that lifting comes first. And even w/o the scientific evidence, logic tells you that if you do your cardio first, you won't have the energy to lift afterwards.

jennkain97

I would really like to get into weight training, I'm keen to get my fitness up to a good level firt though. I would be keen to see any responses too!

You'll get your fitness level up faster by doing the weight training. Unless you have a medical reason not to (post-op, etc), there's no reason to wait. Just start slow, w/ a weight you can handle, and work your way up.

surferfreak07

I like to do one day lifting one day cardio then take a rest day, my current plan is
Monday: interval training
Tuesday: warm up cardio (5 mins), heavy lifting for Triceps, chest, shoulders, 5 minute cooldown
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: interval training
Friday: warm up cardio (5 mins), heavy lifting for legs, bum, core, 5 minute cooldown
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: interval training
Monday: warm up cardio (5 mins), back and biceps 5 minute cooldown
Tuesday: Rest day
then repeat so the days never remain the same but its working for me, the last 8 weeks I have lost 11 inches and 5 lbs. Hope this helps

Martucha123

cardio can be used as a warm up (5-10 minutes)
then lifting
then if you want to more cardio

but it's not really necesarry, you can do cardio every other day on non lifting days

if you decide to do it every day, I recommend low intensity (walking, biking leasure peace) after lifting, and moderate (running, spinning) on non lifting days

Generalle

If you can, buy or read 'the new weight lifting rules for woman' it's a great start way to start and has the fundamentals. It's recommended that cardio is best after a weight lifting workout to burn more fat. However if that's not really your goal - ie your happy with your size (notice I said size) but want to firm up, I wouldn't worry too much about the cardio.
I've dropped 12% body fat and 35lbs in the last 8 months from pretty much weight training only as I hate cardio! Haha

dad106

I always do my cardio on separate days from weight training.

Mainly because once i'm done with whatever program my trainer has designed for me that week, I'm so wiped that I don't even want to look at a treadmill.. all I want to do is collapse on a bench and go home.

Generalle

I always do my cardio on separate days from weight training.

Mainly because once i'm done with whatever program my trainer has designed for me that week, I'm so wiped that I don't even want to look at a treadmill.. all I want to do is collapse on a bench and go home.

Lol I hear ya!

HMVOL7409

Heck no, I save my energy for lifting and do cardio after. There could be debates all day about this as there been studies supporting both sides, so you need to find what works for YOU.

squishycow7

if I do my cardio first my weight training seriously suffers (especially w/ leg-related exercises).
if I do weight training first I don't notice a difference in my cardio.

2143661

I'll do a 5-10 minute cardio warm up just to get lose and ready to throw some iron.
Weight lift then cardio. I used to do cardio before weights and let me just tell you that lifting was a struggle.

Swissmiss

Good idea to have someone with you to show you the proper way to lift. I have heard that strength training should be before cardio because if it were reversed then you could be to tired for the weight workout. BUT, where I workout it is just the opposite.

UrbanRunner81

I only do cardio like twice a week and lift 4 times a week. I lift as heavy as I can.

Savyna

I usually do cardio first and then weight train, it works for me.

RachFace1000

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm going to try cardio first for a couple days, and then i'll try cardio after just to see what works best for me! Thank you everyone for your input (:

twinmom01

On the days I lift I don't do a cardio warm-up - I do a bunch of dynamic stretches and will spend some time doing spot things before lifting...i.e. if I am going to do strict or push presses I do some extra dynamic stretches on my arms...if I am going to be doing some squats I'll warm up with some squats and lunges.

Cardio definately after weights - you need all the energy you have for the weights first

cgray

I might try your Dad's method for a week or two. You don't have to do cardio every day, you get results not when you switch things up. Try weight training one day/cardio the next and see if it shocks your body. You can over train. I get "dunked" to test my body fat twice a year and while training for the Chicago marathon I jumped from 17% body fat to 21% my trainer said I was over training and burning muscle. I admit I thought he was crazy but as soon as we took my workouts down, I went back to 17%! If it doesn't work for you you can add the cardio back in later.

marie_2454

Noooo cardio before weights. You warm up quickly, but you can warm up doing -anything-. You want to save the exertion for the actual weight lifting... you quickly use your glycogen stores lifting and then when you do cardio you are actually using fat stores for energy. If you do it the other way your lifts will suffer.

There are lots of awesome, awesome, awesome weightlifting success story photos. I hope they chime in because they are so-damn-inspiring!

I totally agree! Lift, then cardio.

yourenotmine

Whichever way you'll stick with it and not get hurt.

tdmcmains

I've heard people (maybe it was helloitsdan?) saying not to do cardio on weight days. if you're trying to build muscle, you need protein and calories to do that. Cardio is for burning calories so you're just taking stuff away that your muscles want so they can repair themselves and make more muscle.

I am not an expert myself... but remember reading this from someone who knew his stuff...

contingencyplan

It depends on the intensity you plan on going at weights with. If you plan on doing heavy lifting then you should not do your cardio and weight training in a single session. The cardio you do on weight training days should be moderate intensity but longer duration and should be a good 4-5 hours before or after your weight training session.

When I say lifting heavy, I mean hitting failure in single digit rep numbers.

matt_h76

As most have mentioned definitely don't do any cardio before weight training. Do cardio on a separate day on its own. You need every available ounce of energy to weight train to the maximum, otherwise you will not be getting the most from your workout and results will take a lot longer to achieve. The aim of the weight training is to "break" the muscle fibres, so when they re-grow back they grow back stronger and more muscle is developed. If you do cardio before commencing weight training you will have less energy available to do the "breaking" phase of the muscle fibres.

As mentioned, you also want to aim to lift heavy (as long as is comfortable), and keep going until you can't do any more (muscle failure), ideally with a heavy enough weight limiting you to doing no more than 12 repetitions. You want to keep the repetitions low, and the weight heavy.

Always have a rest day after weight training, to allow the "re-growing" of the muscle fibres.

Also, if possible, eat plenty of carbs before your workout, as a source of energy, and a mixture of carbs and protein following the workout, carbs to replenish the lost energy, and protein for your muscles' re-growth. And plenty of rest afterwords.

The more muscle you develop long term the more calories your body will effectively burn in normal daily activity.

Heavy weight lifting is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. Weight training is known to burn twice the amount of calories that cardio does.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

PeterThompson

well cardio before weight training i guest and it will be successful if you have the dumbbells that suites your need check this they can help you bestadjustabledumbbellsreviews.com

meerkat70

cardio can be used as a warm up (5-10 minutes)
then lifting
then if you want to more cardio

but it's not really necesarry, you can do cardio every other day on non lifting days

if you decide to do it every day, I recommend low intensity (walking, biking leasure peace) after lifting, and moderate (running, spinning) on non lifting days

This is the closest you'll get to the 'right' answer.

The proper proper right answer is to do the thing you value most first - you need to work out your priorities. But if, on a lifting day, your priority is lifting, then what's been suggested here is right.

meerkat70

Heavy weight lifting is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. Weight training is known to burn twice the amount of calories that cardio does.
.

Measured how, and 'known' by whom?