Cardio THEN Weights Training OR Cardio&Weights Training?

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  • elri1908
    elri1908 Posts: 160 Member
    Bump! Thanks to OP for asking this question.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Strength training 3 times a week and cardio twice tops if you must, IMO.

    That's a tad absolute, isn't it? Surely it depends on goals.... ?
  • smilesalot1969
    smilesalot1969 Posts: 392
    In my humble opinion you need both Cardio and Weights to get the most effective workout.

    Generally you want to do a 5-10 minute cardio warmup. Then you do your weights - weight machines or free weights - your choice. You want to put most of your energy into your weights. I would suggest one set of 8-12 repititions to start (this strengthens existing muscle on your body). You can always add a second or third set at any time when you start to feel like you need a little more (this will begin building new muscle). You should feel somewhat fatigued with your weights. Push through it.

    Once you are done your weights I suggest doing another 20-30 minutes of cardio afterwards.

    Burning calories doing cardio is great but, in the long run muscle burns more than fat, and muscle needs to feed so the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn (while sedentary/at resting heart rate).

    Just my opinion though.

    This, although i lift heavy with less reps and min 3 sets
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    I always do a cardio warm up a good 7-10 minutes and hit it pretty hard get a good sweat going, then I do my weights, sweating like a pig, and then go do another 20+ of cardio depending on the day, and how much time I have that day :)
    this is what I do, too. Except for the last bit of cardio because my weight training is actually pretty cardio-friendly (for example, right now I'm doing split-jumps as part of my routine. Before that it was squat-leg-raise-to-elbow which looked like a slowed-down cancan but let me tell ya, it got my heart going!)

    When I was first starting out though, I did 10 min warm-up, then a grouping of 3 strength excercises (15 to 20 reps, 3 sets each), then 10 minutes of cardio, then another grouping of 2 or 3 strength excercises etc; ending with a nice long 20-30 min cardio bit.

    The rule of thumb is to not spend more than 1,5 hours working out but to use that time to really break a sweat! And, whenever you do strength, always warm up properly first, otherwise you cramp (I learned that the hard way, lol)
  • nlwilliamson
    nlwilliamson Posts: 225 Member
    the trainer I have been working with wants me to to strength training first (weights or machines) because after a lot of cardio it can make you a little fatigued so you can't put as much into your strength training.
    He has me doing 10-15min warm up (treadmill, bike or elliptical) then strength, then my cardio.

    seems to be working for me :)
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Strength training 3 times a week and cardio twice tops if you must, IMO.

    That's a tad absolute, isn't it? Surely it depends on goals.... ?
    I was assuming weightloss at a sensible rate.
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    Strength training 3 times a week and cardio twice tops if you must, IMO.

    That's a tad absolute, isn't it? Surely it depends on goals.... ?
    I was assuming weightloss at a sensible rate.

    well, uh... I average twice a week. I did before I started MFP and I still do. The weight I've lost is really, truly 80% because of what I (don't) eat rather than how many hours I spend in the gym. Gym is just to get my body toned up and improve my overall condition, but I don't rely on the calories I burn there.

    Now, granted, I set my goal to a loss of 1 lb/week because I was in no hurry and I wasn't all that heavy to begin with but for my height I was, in fact, obese. I'm now aaaalmost in the normal range and I do see the weight loss going harder but that's because I'm getting closer and closer to my goal. And, my BMR is at 1240.
  • l3rob
    l3rob Posts: 28 Member
    If you do weights and cardio in the same day, do the weights first...

    ^^This - Trainer told me the same thing and to be sure to eat (protein shake will do) within an hour of exercise. He also said only do 20-25 minutes of cardio if you do it on the same day. If you alternate days with strength training and cardio, do 30-35 minutes of cardio. (this does not apply to highly fit athletes....)
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    I personally do my cardio and weights at different time of the day, but I would always do weights before cardio if I had to chose.
  • schwest76
    schwest76 Posts: 77 Member
    I do weights then 30 minutes of cardio. I wouldn't have any energy left if I did cardio first. I've seen more results doing it this way than when I was just doing cardio.
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