cardio work out help!

lillith1991

I'm currently trying to figure out a work out schedual for my self. Something pretty basic. Three days a week strength training for 30-45 mins a day with 10-15 mins of cardio on my strength days. Followed by two or three days of cardio for 30 min with 10-15 mins of strength training. I know what to do for the strength training, but not the cardio. Any suggestions for good cardio exercises or routines?

vorgas

On strength days, please don't do actual cardio (HR above 65%) as that can limit your muscle gains. You will already by low on glycogen, so your body will turn to muscle for fuel if/when it runs out.

On non-strength days, go for High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). You can do some research and find a program that you like. Anything from 5 minute tabata wipeouts to the elliptical to sprinting/walking cycles to swimming can be made into intervals.

lillith1991

Thank you, your advice is very helpful. I'm going to look up a cardio program. I plan on alternating my work out days.

heybales

If you want the max gain and benefit from the lifting, and since it'll do more than the cardio for body improvement and weight loss why not, might try the following.
This isn't new fadish advice.

Cardio after the lifting is fine. If you did a good lifting workout, that will automatically limit how hard you can go. Since the upper body isn't as strong, many times swimming is great for blood flow in, but elliptical with swinging arms to engage them might be useful too.

Agree on not doing the cardio before the weights, unless you do leg cardio, and upper weights, that would work. Though, if the cardio is good, you'll notice a difference with energy levels doing the upper lifting, probably not getting the max out of them you could.

HIIT is the recommendation for those ONLY doing cardio to include a lifting type workout to get the same benefits.
You are lifting, skip the HIIT.
Since it is like lifting - max anaerobic effort with rest and do it again, it needs to be treated like lifting.
Would you lift with the same muscles day after day? Why not? Same thing applies.
At the least, it'll make you tired the next day for that lifting session, preventing you from being as strong as you could be.
At the worst, it'll ruin the repair process from the previous day lifting, wasting that effort and potential.

If you are lifting, skip the HIIT. It's become a fad response and activity, just like the fat-burning zone was.
Now, if you are doing lifting with alternating upper and lower body, and do a HIIT on lower body day, and have rest day for same muscles day after, and not overloaded the day before, and you want improvements in some cardio sport you want to get better at - then do the HIIT. But it's hard to schedule in.

As to general cardio, some running is good as weight bearing exercise will help with bone density better than lifting.
Conversely, spin bike if not too intense to ruin repair process is good workout too without the joint impact. Elliptical for same reason.
Swimming great for upper and stretching. Rowing too.

jacksonpt

it doesn't matter much. after lifting I'd do something relatively low intensity, but it can be about whatever you want (if you lift upper body, lower body cardio like running, biking, etc might be good... if you lift lower body, upper body cardio like swimming might be best).

on non-lifting days, id do 2 days of hiit and 1 day of longer steady state cardio (again, whatever you like).