If you have to cut your workout short...

bahacca

what do you sacrifice? I usually do about 40 min lifting and 1 hour of cardio when i go to the gym. Today I only had 1 hour, so I did 20 min lifting and 40 of cardio. Then I kept wondering"Should I have just not lifted at ALL? Should I have done my full lifting and cut cardio? Does it really even freakin' matter?"
So-what do you guys do if you don't have your usual time?

FullOfWin

Lifting would always be a priority

mominwi419

I would cut the cardio short. I feel much better after a good lifting session.

ahviendha

i cut cardio if i'm low on time. i'll do HIITs instead of a long session. i end up sweating more and breathing harder anyways.

bahacca

Lifting would always be a priority

Now here is my conundrum. My goal right now is to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining lean muscle mass. I need the cardio for the quick fat loss, but need the weights to help prevent as much muscle loss as possible. Hence, the reason I opted to cut them both short, but still do both.
Who else-and WHY are you choosing the cut the way you are?

n0ob

lifting for me...I actually cut out cardio now.

_Peacebone_

That's a long time at the gym! I prefer to keep my workouts under 45 minutes, so I just skip the cardio all together. I get my cardio doing fun things (sports, bedroom, etc )

DontStopB_Leakin

Lifting would always be a priority

Now here is my conundrum. My goal right now is to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining lean muscle mass. I need the cardio for the quick fat loss, but need the weights to help prevent as much muscle loss as possible. Hence, the reason I opted to cut them both short, but still do both.
Who else-and WHY are you choosing the cut the way you are?

You lose fat at a calorie deficit. You're body is constantly burning fat.


Always, always cut the cardio if you have to cut something. That's the best way to get the body you desire.

Just my advice.

angieleighbyrd

I work out at home. I like to get it all done in one sweep but I couldn't today. I did half, then the other half when I had more time.

Alex_is_Hawks

cut the cardio...if you are eating at a deficit, then you will be losing anyways. Always keep the lifting IMO

Capt_Apollo

cardio. i always cut out the cardio.


i never ever ever cut short my warm up or cool down and stretch.

iulia_maddie

I give up cardio if i am short on time. You can lose weight without it, just restricting calories. Lifting helps with preserving more muscle mass while losing weight, therefore, lower body fat percentage when you're done!

taso42

Prioritize the main lift, ditch the assistance work.

But this really all depends on personal goals. My goals are currently strength and hypertrophy, so of course cardio is the first thing I would ditch. If my goal was to run a marathon, then I would prioritize running.

missprincessgina

I've had days where all I can fit in is a fast 10 minute run. I try to get some form of exercise everyday and I usually work out for an hour. The days I don't have time are the days I'll normally run as fast as possible or throw in some hill work to burn as many calories in whatever time I have.

yo_andi

I cut the cardio short.

Never the warm up, never the cool down and NEVER EVER the strength training.

danasings

Lifting would always be a priority

Now here is my conundrum. My goal right now is to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining lean muscle mass. I need the cardio for the quick fat loss, but need the weights to help prevent as much muscle loss as possible. Hence, the reason I opted to cut them both short, but still do both.
Who else-and WHY are you choosing the cut the way you are?

You lose fat at a calorie deficit. You're body is constantly burning fat.


Always, always cut the cardio if you have to cut something. That's the best way to get the body you desire.

Just my advice.

Agree 100%.

gadenni34

add me to the cut the cardio list. I would definitely prioritize lifting over cardio...and often do.

crazy4lulu

lifting always takes first priority!!!!

bcf7683

When that's my predicament, I always skip cardio. I can make up for not burning a large amount of calories by my eating, I can't make up for tearing the *kitten* out of my muscles.

darrensurrey

After lifting, I'm too screwed to be doing an hour of cardio. At best, 10 minutes of HIIT.

Time to step up your lifting, perhaps?

ChristyRunStarr

I usually only have a certain amount of time so what I do is this:
M, W, F-lift days
T, Th-cardio
Saturday and Sunday-cardio with a lift day as well if I have extra time or want to feel awesome

BUT if I had to pick, as much as I love running, I'd cut the cardio short and lift instead. For me, cardio is easier to add an extra few minutes here or there to get that back than it is to lift since I don't like doing less sets/reps than I always do

yo_andi

Lifting would always be a priority

Now here is my conundrum. My goal right now is to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining lean muscle mass. I need the cardio for the quick fat loss, but need the weights to help prevent as much muscle loss as possible. Hence, the reason I opted to cut them both short, but still do both.
Who else-and WHY are you choosing the cut the way you are?

Lifting is what will get you where you need to be. I have lost more fat lifting than I ever did with cardio. It's worth reading up on it. Nia Shanks talks about it at www.beautifulbadass.com and so does Steve Kamb at www.nerdfitness.com too. I still do cardio because I play a sport that requires me to be able to run the equivalent of about two thirds of a half marathon in an 80 minute game but I only do one run that's longer than 40 mins a week now and do high intensity sprint intervals and hill runs otherwise. I love what the combination of lifting and sprinting is doing for my body and my overall cardiovascular fitness. Do a little bit of research, and welcome to the "dark side" of not being a cardio queen anymore hahahahahaha :drinker:

MoreBean13

Lifting would always be a priority

Now here is my conundrum. My goal right now is to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining lean muscle mass. I need the cardio for the quick fat loss, but need the weights to help prevent as much muscle loss as possible. Hence, the reason I opted to cut them both short, but still do both.
Who else-and WHY are you choosing the cut the way you are?

You lose fat at a calorie deficit. You're body is constantly burning fat.


Always, always cut the cardio if you have to cut something. That's the best way to get the body you desire.

Just my advice.

Agree 100%.

Cubed. And believe me, I'm a fan of running.

But you can squeeze cardio in here and there all day. Do your proper lifting routine.

letjog

do a 20min hard interval cardio session on the bike (or cross trainer if you have to) then lift.

taso42

After lifting, I'm too screwed to be doing an hour of cardio. At best, 10 minutes of HIIT.

Time to step up your lifting, perhaps?

I tend to agree. 100 minutes of exercise per day, though not necessarily a bad thing, is definitely not required for excellent strength fitness. Figure out 3 hrs of strength training and maybe 1 hr of cardio type work per WEEK is an excellent baseline.

starcatcher1975

After lifting, I'm too screwed to be doing an hour of cardio. At best, 10 minutes of HIIT.

Time to step up your lifting, perhaps?

I was thinking the same. After lifting, I can manage about 20 mins of cardio but then I'm ready to fall out. Maybe I'm just more out of shape than I realized. That's a long time at the gym. I'm usually in and out in 45 mins or less. I'd keep the lifting and cut the cardio

bcattoes

Unless it happens on a frequent basis, I don't believe it matters. I would cut whichever I was least in the mood for that day.

DontStopB_Leakin

Another recommendation to the OP:

Why do you feel the need to both on the same day?

I lift three days a week, and try to run at least two, if not three. I devote no more than 50 minutes to either (the runs are normally a good deal shorter than that). That way, I'm able to give lifting my FULL attention one day, and then work on improving my endurance the next day.

I agree with some of the above posters. If I am able to do a full hour of cardio after my lifting, I didn't lift hard enough, at all.

yoovie

I like to do a 15 minute warm up of cardio and then lift for about a half hour or 40 minutes - alternating with someone else - figure in an hour?

BigMech

I cut the cardio when I'm short I'm time. I just eat less that day to make up for the cardio I didn't do. I can't make up for lifting I didn't do by changing anything else, so I prioritize it at the top. This is how I did it when I was losing weight, and while I've been maintaining.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

If I'm doing strength training that day, I don't tend to do more than 30 minutes of cardio before weights, and by the time I'm done with that, which for me a max session before I'm spent is 60 minutes. Maybe lift harder for a shorter time, and don't do so much cardio on strength days.