At the gym ...

yoovie

trial and error until you figure out what works best for you, like all the rest of us had to do.

daj150

I love this question. From a pure weight lifting and muscle-building standpoint, you should NEVER do cardio before lifting. However, I will explain everything, and then you can choose which fits your workout goals; since for many people cardio before lifting really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

First, if you are trying to gain muscle and muscle mass, then NEVER do cardio before lifting. The keyword of this paragraph is "glycogen". Cardio typically will deplete your glycogen levels, and although weight lifting typically doesn't use a lot of your glycogen stores, the final lifting sets that you push to complete is where you need that glycogen in order to stimulate muscle growth. Also, during any long or intense cardio, protein synthesis drops and protein breakdown goes up. This is very BAD if you are trying to build muscle, as you need that protein.

Now, typically for men and women who are just interested in lifting to help tone or prevent injuries from long and intense cardio, then the order doesn't matter as much. Just know that cardio before lifting severely impacts the effectiveness and gain you get from your lifting.

In regards to warming up, cardio should be kept to a minimum and very low intensity and effort. For example, a half mile warm-up is fine. But I really recommend active stretching. Then do your lifting, and then hit up the cardio. There is a lot more detail that I can go into, but I think this should help.

jofjltncb6

I've gone both ways and never had an issue. Dave4d's statement is the one I see most often in support of doing lifting first. That being that if you exhaust yourself with cardio first, your lifting can suffer both in terms of your overall stamina and more importantly in terms of your form.

I used to do cardio first and what I found was that I had to be very focused on form and breathing to get through my lifting sessions. On the flip side, the cardio made for a nice warm up leading into the lifting. I've since switched and now do my lifting first. I can go more intense with my lifts and it's easier to maintain form, however, it does in turn impact the intensity of my cardio session.

lol... i'm sorry, this made me laugh so hard, and i really needed to laugh today.

I read that...snickered...thought about commenting on it, but decided that it would be immature, so didn't.

Fortunately, there are others (on my FL even) with lower standards than mine.

:flowerforyou:

Jacwhite22

i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting

^this. Look at this guy. He knows whats up.

redheaddee

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Although really, I think that as long as you are doing, the order may not matter in the long run. Over time you will find what works best for YOU.

Jacwhite22

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Although really, I think that as long as you are doing, the order may not matter in the long run. Over time you will find what works best for YOU.

I'm confused.......You say you do weightlifting first.....and then cardio because if you did cardio first you would get sweaty and mess up the machines for others........but aren't you just using the machines for the cardio?

sjohnny

I warm up for lifting by lifting. I do cardio and lifting in completely different sessions. If I do them on the same day I generally do one at 4:00 am and the other at about 4:00 pm.

mustgetmuscles1

I do a 10-15 minute warm up, then lift and then go home. : )

djames92

i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting

You're reducing the potential effectiveness of your weightlifting. Think about the goals of weightlifting vs cardio and how heart rate plays into that

not really i dont do much cardio i just run a mile to keep in decent running shape for when i play rugby

redheaddee

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Although really, I think that as long as you are doing, the order may not matter in the long run. Over time you will find what works best for YOU.

I'm confused.......You say you do weightlifting first.....and then cardio because if you did cardio first you would get sweaty and mess up the machines for others........but aren't you just using the machines for the cardio?

I am confused by your confusion...I do weights first, then cardio, so I don't funk up the weight stuff. No one wants to see my sweaty @ss prints on the benches, that includes me.

MuslimFitnessInstructor

this is how i do mine

treadmil set at 9 speed, I do 10 30 sec sprints, i rest for 30 sec between each one.

i then go do 45 mins of weights

ellipical for 30 mins

finish off with 15 mins of abs.

killer workout but sooo effective.

T1mH

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Whether your actively sweating or not you should be wiping the machines down after so it doesn't matter if your sweating or not.

Bedazzled4u03

That's exactly what my personal trainer said......

neverstray

I don't know why this is debated. Everything I have ever read says you do cardio second because your glycogen is depleted from the weights, and then your body burns fat at that point. And, the cardio is great for that. So, weights then cardio is a perfect combo. There is no physical advantage doing it the other way around, according to everything I have ever read about this topic. If you do cardio first, you will deplete glyogen, and wont be able to max lift.

In the end, do it any way you want to, but the best physical benefit is weight then cardio.

dave4d

i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting

You're reducing the potential effectiveness of your weightlifting. Think about the goals of weightlifting vs cardio and how heart rate plays into that

not really i dont do much cardio i just run a mile to keep in decent running shape for when i play rugby

My heart rate goes up pretty high with my first set of deep squats, or heavy deadlifts. If I want to keep it high, I will do a metabolic type workout where I either reduce my rest sets to 30 seconds, or less, or superset with alternative lifts, or aerobic workouts.

iplayoutside19

I run on non-lifting days. On lifting days I get my HR up by talking smack to the barbell...before I lift.

NikoM5

I love this question. From a pure weight lifting and muscle-building standpoint, you should NEVER do cardio before lifting. However, I will explain everything, and then you can choose which fits your workout goals; since for many people cardio before lifting really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

First, if you are trying to gain muscle and muscle mass, then NEVER do cardio before lifting. The keyword of this paragraph is "glycogen". Cardio typically will deplete your glycogen levels, and although weight lifting typically doesn't use a lot of your glycogen stores, the final lifting sets that you push to complete is where you need that glycogen in order to stimulate muscle growth. Also, during any long or intense cardio, protein synthesis drops and protein breakdown goes up. This is very BAD if you are trying to build muscle, as you need that protein.

Now, typically for men and women who are just interested in lifting to help tone or prevent injuries from long and intense cardio, then the order doesn't matter as much. Just know that cardio before lifting severely impacts the effectiveness and gain you get from your lifting.

In regards to warming up, cardio should be kept to a minimum and very low intensity and effort. For example, a half mile warm-up is fine. But I really recommend active stretching. Then do your lifting, and then hit up the cardio. There is a lot more detail that I can go into, but I think this should help.

And seeing as muscle building is 50% of "toning" then cardio (excluding warmup) should ALWAYS be done AFTER lifting.

Jacwhite22

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Although really, I think that as long as you are doing, the order may not matter in the long run. Over time you will find what works best for YOU.

I'm confused.......You say you do weightlifting first.....and then cardio because if you did cardio first you would get sweaty and mess up the machines for others........but aren't you just using the machines for the cardio?

I am confused by your confusion...I do weights first, then cardio, so I don't funk up the weight stuff. No one wants to see my sweaty @ss prints on the benches, that includes me.

You said machines......not benches.......machines have no place in weightlifting.

wellbert

I honestly don't know if it matters, but I personally do weights first then cardio, because cardio makes me sweat like a wh0re in church and I don't want to funk up the machines for others :laugh:

Although really, I think that as long as you are doing, the order may not matter in the long run. Over time you will find what works best for YOU.

I'm confused.......You say you do weightlifting first.....and then cardio because if you did cardio first you would get sweaty and mess up the machines for others........but aren't you just using the machines for the cardio?

I am confused by your confusion...I do weights first, then cardio, so I don't funk up the weight stuff. No one wants to see my sweaty @ss prints on the benches, that includes me.

You said machines......not benches.......machines have no place in weightlifting.

some of the worlds strongest people incorporate some machine work.

Iron_warrior33

I don't know why this is debated. Everything I have ever read says you do cardio second because your glycogen is depleted from the weights, and then your body burns fat at that point. And, the cardio is great for that. So, weights then cardio is a perfect combo. There is no physical advantage doing it the other way around, according to everything I have ever read about this topic. If you do cardio first, you will deplete glyogen, and wont be able to max lift.

In the end, do it any way you want to, but the best physical benefit is weight then cardio.

^^totally agree.