Cardio on the same day as weight training

shirleygirl910 · November 2012

One of the guys that works at my gym suggested cutting back on my cardio on the days I weight train. He says when I go from weights to cardio my body starts to break down the lean muscle. Is that correct? I ususally only have 2-3 days of weight training usually Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I walk the dog 40 min everyday. Three days a week usually Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I do an hour of cardio only. On the days I do weight training I do 10 min of cardio to warm up, 45 min of weight training, and end up with 30 more minutes of cardio. Am i doing doing too much cardio?

bdunt2646 · November 2012

bump.... im curious about the statement on the lean muscle....i personally LOVE cardio... i do some weight training but im more concerned with loosing weight first before i tone to an extreame... so id love to see the responses on doing both at the same time as well!!

chelle_fri · November 2012

bump... I'm curious as well

ShaniWulffe · November 2012

Bump... Ditto XD

wellbert · November 2012

Your cardio is walking?
Don't worry about it.

SideSteel · November 2012

There's an interference effect that can occur but it's something I wouldn't even consider worrying about unless you're doing excessive amounts of cardio and are at a rather advanced level of fitness.

See here for some information about this. I think your trainer is neglecting to apply proper context to this question (and I'm not personally attacking him, I'm sure he's a nice guy with beautiful lines in his glutes). Could it matter for some people (small female contest bodybuilder who needs high amounts of cardio to create a big enough deficit to go from lean to very lean -- might matter). For most people who are weight training and doing "some" cardio for preferential reasons? I believe it's not very important in this case (but I'd be willing to be proven wrong, if anyone has any data to support this being relevant in a much wider population).

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-mistakes.html

shirleygirl910 · November 2012

My cardio is mostly eliptical. I watch my heart rate to that I stay in the fat burning mode. (108-130)

txbutterfly69 · November 2012

I think it depends on your body as everybody responds differently. What could be too much for somebody else may be a warm up for you.

I do a zumba class and P90x video on the same day. Do what makes you feel good. If you feel too worn out and very sore the next day, probably too much. Otherwise, enjoy!

amann1976 · November 2012

it is ok to lift and do cardio on the same days... just switch it up some days lift first then run and then other days run first than lift

fatt_boyy_slimm · November 2012

Personally, I do cardio every single day, usually anywhere from 2 to 5 miles a day. For me, I'm not interested in becoming super bulky. My weight training is focused more on maintenance (with a lil bit of bulk) moreso than becoming an amateur bodybuilder. Some folks believe cardio and weight train on opposing days. For me, I cardio in the morning before work (5 a.m.) and lift after work in the evenings. Regardless of what anyone tells you, your mileage WILL vary. What works for some does not work for others.

heybales · November 2012

One of the guys that works at my gym suggested cutting back on my cardio on the days I weight train. He says when I go from weights to cardio my body starts to break down the lean muscle. Is that correct? I ususally only have 2-3 days of weight training usually Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I walk the dog 40 min everyday. Three days a week usually Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I do an hour of cardio only. On the days I do weight training I do 10 min of cardio to warm up, 45 min of weight training, and end up with 30 more minutes of cardio. Am i doing doing too much cardio?

If you only have so much time and want to spend it on that which will effect weight loss the most, then you could cut back the post-lifting cardio and do more lifting.

But that's not a bad combo. Post lifting likely means it isn't intense anyway since you should be tired from lifting.
It's not the next day while muscle is trying to repair and you doing an intense cardio workout then.

Walking is great the day after, get's blood flowing into muscle trying to repair.

If you are going to do it, I think you got the great combo going there.

Now, is the lifting 3 days in a row on different muscles day after? So you can really lift heavy for you and get the most bang for your time?
That is a scrunched schedule, but it can be done for best effect at least.

Sarauk2sf · November 2012

My cardio is mostly eliptical. I watch my heart rate to that I stay in the fat burning mode. (108-130)

To be honest, do not worry about trying to keep your heart rate in the 'fat burning zone' as there is really no such thing - however, the amount of cardio you are doing is perfectly fine.

wellbert · November 2012

Unless you're doing some kind of maximal-lift linear progression thing, don't even sweat it. If you're doing circuits/random machines/not really overtaxing your CNS.. stick to it.

LaurenAOK · November 2012

I'm curious about this as well. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do weight training in the morning and then go to cardio classes (kickboxing and hip hop) at night. I don't necessarily want it that way but it's the only thing that works with my class schedule. I hope it's not counter-productive!

Dave198lbs · November 2012

Am i doing doing too much cardio?

no.

although your time could be better utilized than by spending an hour on the elliptical (stair climber for 30 minutes is probably worth 90 minutes on the elliptical)

I am not bashing the elliptical

it is ok for beginners to start getting fit but eventually (hopefully) you will out grow it and the sooner the better IMO

DawnEH612 · November 2012

You're fine... Ideally its better to do cardio on different days or split your day up like cardio in AM lifting in PM but it doesn't sound like you're doing intense lifting or cardio to worry about it.. The only exception may be on the days you do strength training for your legs as most cardio workouts utilize your legs. Make sure you lift first then do cardio.
I do cardio everyday i lift. However, i make sure that i am not overdoing it. Sometimes i will do an hour of cardio, like spinning, and an hour of lifting and other times i lift harder and do only 20 minutes of cardio. I must add, i do utilize snacks (such as nimble bars as well as protein powder while i am at the gym to support my energy needs and recovery). Tonight i did shoulders/abs and then a hour long spin class. But because they were different muscle groups i did not use up my glycogen stores in my legs to do cardio/spin...
Know what YOUR goals are. The guy at your gym most likely has different goals than you.. Someone that is trying to bulk up and lifting intensely will not likely want to do excessive cardio during the same session asa lifting. However, if you're just lifting your standard few sets of between 8-12 reps and looking to improved your cardio fitness with walking and half hour of steady-state cardio, such as the elliptical trainer... You're ok. The below are some good links to help explain in more detail!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beast52.htm
http://www.sagewoodwellness.com/Doc0006.htm. (Basic glycogen cycle)
http://scoobysworkshop.com/does-cardio-burn-muscle/

DawnEH612 · November 2012

Am i doing doing too much cardio?

no.

although your time could be better utilized than by spending an hour on the elliptical (stair climber for 30 minutes is probably worth 90 minutes on the elliptical)

I am not bashing the elliptical

it is ok for beginners to start getting fit but eventually (hopefully) you will out grow it and the sooner the better IMO

I agree... My heart rate barely reaches 65% of my max on the ET trainer.. I have to use something more intense like the stair stepper, running or a spin class to get my heart rate to anywhere near my upper limits...

yecatsml · November 2012

Great links - thanks

DavPul · November 2012

If I'm reading this correctly, the cardio we're talking about is walking your dog? If that's correct, continue doing what you're doing. Walking has negligible effect on muscle recovery.

Note: Even if we were talking about a 45 min run, it's still okay to do it on the same day as lifting. It does have an effect on recovery, but as long as your goal isn't about gaining as much strength or mass as possible, it's perfectly fine.

ilovedeadlifts · November 2012

Your cardio is walking?
Don't worry about it.

This.

Walking isn't really cardio, I'd consider it as more of an "active recovery" in which case you could do it pretty much every day.

If you were running right after lifting, recovery could become an issue.

shirleygirl910 · November 2012

I have a knee injury so I've worked up to the eliptical. I don't think I will ever do the stair stepper because stairs kill my knee. I like to change up my cardio with the rower and recumbent bike sometimes, but mostly the eliptical. I'm not trying to buld up or be miss universe, but I would like to tone and firm. I've lost a lot of weight in the last 2-3 years so I have the hanging skin thing going on. I just don't want to hinder all my work by tearing down the lean muscle when I'm trying to tone it.