Lift first, do cardio second

davidrip1

bump

avababy05

cardio burns away at muscle gains...so combining cardio with weight training, on the same day, seems counterproductive..

I hardly ever do cardio and have gone from 16% to 13% body fat over previous four months...

for a beginner program you are better off hitting total body workouts three days a week and cardio on other two days and eating at about 30% deficit..then once you melt off the fat, go for more weights and less calories and eat at abut 25% deficit...

or so my experience shows...

I messed around with cardio and circuit training for so many years and never understood why I did not get bigger until I finally realized all the cardio was costing my muscle gains...

But is it different for guys? Women are more prone to storing fat so should they do both? I'm asking because I'm new to weights.

bpotts44

its true, weights first, then cardio, muscle burns more calories , def boosting metabolism, just learned this myself about a month ago. I was doing the opposite, ok to warm up before for like 5 minutes, but do majority of cardio after your strength training.

So you are saying somehow that your strength training workout adds muscle that than increases your burn during cardio? That's crazy.

mareeee1234

bumpp

LoganAnthony6

I do mine at the same time! 2.5 minutes lifting for every 5 minutes of walking or jogging... I keep going until 45ish minutes are up!

eatcleanNtraindirty

OP what's the article? I completely agree! Not only you will get a better weight workout because you'll have more energy to push and pulls those weights, but it helps with extra fat burning.

ndj1979

cardio burns away at muscle gains...so combining cardio with weight training, on the same day, seems counterproductive..

I hardly ever do cardio and have gone from 16% to 13% body fat over previous four months...

for a beginner program you are better off hitting total body workouts three days a week and cardio on other two days and eating at about 30% deficit..then once you melt off the fat, go for more weights and less calories and eat at abut 25% deficit...

or so my experience shows...

I messed around with cardio and circuit training for so many years and never understood why I did not get bigger until I finally realized all the cardio was costing my muscle gains...

But is it different for guys? Women are more prone to storing fat so should they do both? I'm asking because I'm new to weights.

someone can correct me if wrong...but it does not matter if you are male or female...cardio will eat away at muscle gains...

i was running like six miles on sunday and doing HIIT on off days and plyo/weight lifting combos and I LOST muscle..four months switched up and almost completely eliminated cardio and have seen strength gains, and body fat reduction...

jillica

It may be better at fat burning but you'll also burn fewer overall calories. If you're trying to lose weight, even though a higher percentage of fat is being used, a lower total amount of fat is lost. When it comes to weight loss, what matters is how many calories you burn, not so much whether they are fat or carbohydrate calories.

mike_gee15

cardio burns away at muscle gains...so combining cardio with weight training, on the same day, seems counterproductive..

I hardly ever do cardio and have gone from 16% to 13% body fat over previous four months...

for a beginner program you are better off hitting total body workouts three days a week and cardio on other two days and eating at about 30% deficit..then once you melt off the fat, go for more weights and less calories and eat at abut 25% deficit...

or so my experience shows...

I messed around with cardio and circuit training for so many years and never understood why I did not get bigger until I finally realized all the cardio was costing my muscle gains...

Doesn't necessarily burns away muscle unless you're huffing and puffing, but walking at a slow pace your body looks to fat to burn instead of muscle. I used to do HIIT cardio like three times a week and I'll admit I wasn't eating properly therefore not growing and training efficiently. But to say it melts away muscle gains is completely false as it's hard to even pack on at least 5-9 pounds of solid lean muscle in a year, what you saw was glycogen storage deplete but just gotta eat carbs and you'll puff up again. But I'm not knocking your experience, just saying it doesn't KILL muscle gains.

jimmie65

It may be better at fat burning but you'll also burn fewer overall calories. If you're trying to lose weight, even though a higher percentage of fat is being used, a lower total amount of fat is lost. When it comes to weight loss, what matters is how many calories you burn, not so much whether they are fat or carbohydrate calories.

Huh?

shutupandlift13

Hmmm, just depends what my focus is at the time. I spent the last three months focusing on strength so I always did cardio after or on a completely different day. It's half marathon time now though, so running will happen before I lift and lifting will just be to maintain LBM, any strength gains will just be a bonus.

I just don't like being told what to do

DavPul

It really won't matter at the end of the day if you're eating in a caloric deficit

dcuevas6235

I think you should ignore science and this article because amybg1 prefers to do cardio first.

hahaha

ndj1979

cardio burns away at muscle gains...so combining cardio with weight training, on the same day, seems counterproductive..

I hardly ever do cardio and have gone from 16% to 13% body fat over previous four months...

for a beginner program you are better off hitting total body workouts three days a week and cardio on other two days and eating at about 30% deficit..then once you melt off the fat, go for more weights and less calories and eat at abut 25% deficit...

or so my experience shows...

I messed around with cardio and circuit training for so many years and never understood why I did not get bigger until I finally realized all the cardio was costing my muscle gains...

Doesn't necessarily burns away muscle unless you're huffing and puffing, but walking at a slow pace your body looks to fat to burn instead of muscle. I used to do HIIT cardio like three times a week and I'll admit I wasn't eating properly therefore not growing and training efficiently. But to say it melts away muscle gains is completely false as it's hard to even pack on at least 5-9 pounds of solid lean muscle in a year, what you saw was glycogen storage deplete but just gotta eat carbs and you'll puff up again. But I'm not knocking your experience, just saying it doesn't KILL muscle gains.

Not sure where you get your information from ..but excessive cardio will eat into muscle mass and you will lose muscle. Any mass building program involves limited cardio ...

dcuevas6235

I was always told that as long as your nourish your body with a recovery drink (cough cough 20g of protein and about 30g of carbs) immediately after lifting, you shouldn't have to worry about muscle breaking down.

Also, cardio after lifting helps remove the lactic acid build up in your muscle cells. If you're really pushing yourself, you should probably do your cardio after lifting and nourish your body with the proper amount of protein and carbs. This is what I have read as well as feel from experience.

ndj1979

I was always told that as long as your nourish your body with a recovery drink (cough cough 20g of protein and about 30g of carbs) immediately after lifting, you shouldn't have to worry about muscle breaking down.

Also, cardio after lifting helps remove the lactic acid build up in your muscle cells. If you're really pushing yourself, you should probably do your cardio after lifting and nourish your body with the proper amount of protein and carbs. This is what I have read as well as feel from experience.

well in my experience that is just not accurate. I used to slug down about 60 grams of protein after a work out and I got smaller, not bigger...If you look at any kind of strength building program they recommend limited cardio ...as in no more than 30 minutes a week....

stacylperry

Excellent information.... both ways.
My trainer has me doing both cardio-and light strength training - switch off every few minutes increasing weight and resistance for fat burn and sculpting
I like it

dcuevas6235

I was always told that as long as your nourish your body with a recovery drink (cough cough 20g of protein and about 30g of carbs) immediately after lifting, you shouldn't have to worry about muscle breaking down.

Also, cardio after lifting helps remove the lactic acid build up in your muscle cells. If you're really pushing yourself, you should probably do your cardio after lifting and nourish your body with the proper amount of protein and carbs. This is what I have read as well as feel from experience.

well in my experience that is just not accurate. I used to slug down about 60 grams of protein after a work out and I got smaller, not bigger...If you look at any kind of strength building program they recommend limited cardio ...as in no more than 30 minutes a week....

yeah . . . you're only supposed to take 20 g of Protein immediately, cause that's all your body can absorb at once : /

Shadowknight137

I do something similar: Lift first. F#%* cardio.

Amazing results thus far.

rduhlir

I do my cardio and lifting on different days...usually. Unless I am off of work in which case I will walk 3 miles at the dog park with the pups on top of my actual workout. When I lift I do a 5 minute walk just to get my blood pumping, but my cardio and work out days alternate.