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MyFitnessPal Community

Cardio on or alternating with lift days?

tajmel

I'm just learning to weight train. Right now I'm lifting three days a week (MWF). I do cardio (jogging or cycling) after I lift. Becoming a runner is an important goal of mine, as is having better cardiovascular fitness, so yes I intend to keep doing cardio.

Is it better to cardio on lift days or alternate cardio and weight lifting days?

I do squats, bench, deadlifts, lunges, rows, curls, lying leg curls, and overhead press. Any other lifts you would consider "essential"?

Oh, and many beginner's guides insist that dips and chins are essential. I'm pretty overweight, and there's no way I can do either. Is it okay if I put these exercises off until I weigh less?

Replies

tajmel

Bump

usmcmp

My suggestion is to find a program (starting out I like Lee Labrada's 12 week lean body trainer). It has lifting and cardio sometimes on separate days and sometimes on the same day. I highly suggest finding a lifting plan PERIOD until you understand weight training better. From what I see you are just picking a few lifts at random, you really need to learn a variety of lifts and utilize some sort of routine. Bodybuilding.com has lots of free programs that can help you.

nuskin

Actually they havefound that cardio after lifting does have some extra benefit, so doing it on lift days is good. Adding cardio to you non-lift days as well will give you a better boost, but vary it from day to day: bike mon, treadmill tues, elliptical wed, rest thur, then just cycle thru again. If you can't do pull-up/chin-ups yet then try a lower bar where your feet still touch and begin by using both legs and armsto pull body up, gradually working to just straight pull-ups. I'm sure someone at your gym can illustrtae what I'm trying to explain, better than I can type here.

MoreBean13

I am amongst the minority on here who equally values running and lifting. I don't do them on the same day- but I do do cross-training cardio on lifting days (bike, elliptical, arc machine, etc.). The reason is you can't give 100% to both things on the same day- whichever you do first, if you give it all your effort, takes away your gusto for the second one. I do cross train cardio instead of running after lifting because it's benefical for joint health and balanced muscle development. I have done a lot of experimentation, and for me what works is running the day before lifting and rest the day after lifting. If I try to run the day after lifting my legs feel like lead and its miserable. So My schedule is:
Day 1: Run
Day 2: Lift followed by cross train cardio
Day 3: Rest
Repeat.

Re: your lifting program- ditch the leg curls and add a bench press. I would try the dips and chin ups on an assisted chin up machine, or alternately add lateral pull downs (instead of the pull ups) and tricep extensions (instead of dips) until you get to the point that you can do some assisted ones. Dips especially you can practice using a sturdy chair, just put your hands on the front or the sides towards the front, and lower your butt down to the ground, and use your legs to help your arms push you back up in to the chair.

tajmel

Actually they havefound that cardio after lifting does have some extra benefit, so doing it on lift days is good. Adding cardio to you non-lift days as well will give you a better boost, but vary it from day to day: bike mon, treadmill tues, elliptical wed, rest thur, then just cycle thru again. If you can't do pull-up/chin-ups yet then try a lower bar where your feet still touch and begin by using both legs and armsto pull body up, gradually working to just straight pull-ups. I'm sure someone at your gym can illustrtae what I'm trying to explain, better than I can type here.

I'm actually doing quite a bit of low impact cardio outside the gym - cycling to school, walking the dog in the evening, hiking on weekends, etc. I'm a big fan of mixing it up.

That's a good tip pull-ups, thanks. There's a set of bars at the park I walk my dog; maybe I'll work on it there for awhile. My gym actually has an assisted pull-up thing, but I haven't worked up the courage to use it yet... haha.

tajmel

I am amongst the minority on here who equally values running and lifting. I don't do them on the same day- but I do do cross-training cardio on lifting days (bike, elliptical, arc machine, etc.). The reason is you can't give 100% to both things on the same day- whichever you do first, if you give it all your effort, takes away your gusto for the second one. I do cross train cardio instead of running after lifting because it's benefical for joint health and balanced muscle development. I have done a lot of experimentation, and for me what works is running the day before lifting and rest the day after lifting. If I try to run the day after lifting my legs feel like lead and its miserable. So My schedule is:
Day 1: Run
Day 2: Lift followed by cross train cardio
Day 3: Rest
Repeat.

Re: your lifting program- ditch the leg curls and add a bench press. I would try the dips and chin ups on an assisted chin up machine, or alternately add lateral pull downs (instead of the pull ups) and tricep extensions (instead of dips) until you get to the point that you can do some assisted ones. Dips especially you can practice using a sturdy chair, just put your hands on the front or the sides towards the front, and lower your butt down to the ground, and use your legs to help your arms push you back up in to the chair.

Yay being in the minority! Your cardio/lift schedule seems sensible. Perhaps I'll try it out

. My plan has been to move to a 4 day/wk plan this fall, but we'll see.

Yeah, I know leg curls aren't normally recommended. I'm recovering from an injury in my back/calf (it's complicated haha), and my physical therapist specifically recommended that I do them. I am doing bench presses. I'll definitely try the lateral pull-down. Lots of great suggestions to fix the pull-up problem, haha. Also, I had forgotten you can do dips that way, doh. Thanks.

InfinitePoss

Well I willl just pipe in here as well. For years I ran every day and lifted every other day. At the time I was running six miles per day so did not even bother with doing and lower body stuff at all. From a fitness standpoint, however, I have gotten my best results when I have done cardio and resistance training on separate days and that's what I am doing now.

Also, its great you are learning to lift but remember you do not need to do traditional weight lifting to get great results in terms of muscle definition and strength. I have been doing Power 90, the precursor to p90x, for the past four months using only resistance bands and I am getting some wicked results. I am stronger than I have been in years and I am actually starting to see the outlines of the type of body I thought I could only get through lifting.

tajmel

Well I willl just pipe in here as well. For years I ran every day and lifted every other day. At the time I was running six miles per day so did not even bother with doing and lower body stuff at all. From a fitness standpoint, however, I have gotten my best results when I have done cardio and resistance training on separate days and that's what I am doing now.

Also, its great you are learning to lift but remember you do not need to do traditional weight lifting to get great results in terms of muscle definition and strength. I have been doing Power 90, the precursor to p90x, for the past four months using only resistance bands and I am getting some wicked results. I am stronger than I have been in years and I am actually starting to see the outlines of the type of body I thought I could only get through lifting.

Six miles a day is impressive, wow

. I have to say I'm leaning towards alternating days. I'm just too tired to do my cardio justice after I lift. Thank you for your input.

I absolutely agree that traditional lifting isn't a requirement for strength. I've been very fit and strong before, and like I said, I'm just learning to lift. I haven't done this long enough to know if it contributes to functional movement the same way more natural activities do, but I'm really enjoying it. That's awesome that you're doing and enjoying P90

meerkat70

How many times a week are you running and cycling and how often are you lifting?

I run x5 a week, cycle as often as I can, and to see any effect need to lift at least x 3 a week. So overlapping days are essential. But on the overlap days, I tend to train twice - e.g. run in the morning, lift in the evening. Try to avoid lifting on your long run days.

Good luck. Do try to keep both going - they're mutually beneficial. (I particularly find that I get fewer knee twinges from cycling and running when I'm maintaining strength, and research suggests lifting plays a role in injury prevention for runners.)

meshashesha2012

i do both.

but im unemployed right now so I have time to split it up on lifting days. on days i lift i do the weight stuff first, then a few hours later do my cardio. also I've found that doing HIIT on the same day a few hours later (i do sprints) is much better than doing it the next day.

tajmel

How many times a week are you running and cycling and how often are you lifting?

I run x5 a week, cycle as often as I can, and to see any effect need to lift at least x 3 a week. So overlapping days are essential. But on the overlap days, I tend to train twice - e.g. run in the morning, lift in the evening. Try to avoid lifting on your long run days.

Good luck. Do try to keep both going - they're mutually beneficial. (I particularly find that I get fewer knee twinges from cycling and running when I'm maintaining strength, and research suggests lifting plays a role in injury prevention for runners.)

My workouts are disordered, and wanting to structure them more is part of why I asked this question. I'm lifting 3x a week and doing some form of cardio pretty much daily (short duration), but I just started going to the gym. For the 6 weeks prior I had been doing home calisthenics and making just generally trying to be more active (cycling around town, walking, playing soccer, that sort of thing.)

Ooh, no more knee pain? See, now I have to keep lifting

tajmel

i do both.

but im unemployed right now so I have time to split it up on lifting days. on days i lift i do the weight stuff first, then a few hours later do my cardio. also I've found that doing HIIT on the same day a few hours later (i do sprints) is much better than doing it the next day.

I'm actually a student, and my gym is on campus, so that's a completely feasible schedule. I mean, my husband probably wouldn't love me leaving him with the kids for an extra hour, but...