At the gym ...

Pinkyivy
Pinkyivy Posts: 21
in Fitness and Exercise
I read that it's better to start my workout session with lifting and at the end finishing up with my cardio workout.

What's your thoughts on this?
«1

Replies

  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
    Yes, that's a good game plan.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    explain your current program and progression plan
    define your goals
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    Warm up with 5-10 minutes of cardio then lift then more cardio. That way you'll get the max out of your lifting.
  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
    KirstenTheFamilyCoach Posts: 327 Member
    I've done a ton of Googling this questions and both answers seem to be right. It seems to come down to what is going to work best for your body. The suggestion that makes the most sense is to try both ways for a couple of weeks each and see how you feel after each.
  • djames92
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    Do about 10 mins cardio on the treadmill/elliptical/bike, then go and lift. After lifting, do your regular cardio
  • JezzD1
    JezzD1 Posts: 431
    I do ten minutes cardio then lift then five or ten minutes of cardio =)
  • NatashaB8
    NatashaB8 Posts: 202
    Yep I run for around 5 - 10 minutes to warm up and then I lift. I then run some more before my cool down :)
  • Roeri011
    Roeri011 Posts: 77 Member
    I do a 10 minute warm up and lift. If I can still walk/move after lifting I'll do cardio until I'm spent.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Most people will recommend 5 to 10 minutes of light cardio for a warm up, then a few warm up sets with very light weight to get your form down, then your work sets... followed by stretching. Cardio is preferred on non-lifting days, but can be done after.

    If you do your main cardio first, You will use all your energy for cardio, and will have none left for your lifting. That can lead to poor lifts, form, and injury.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    You can warmup with a few minutes of cardio before you lift but keep any serious cardio AFTER your lifting sessions. Weight lifting is difficult (if you're doing it properly) so you don't want to waste energy doing cardio beforehand.

    I actually don't do any cardio. MY lifting sessions keep my heart rate elevated and my diet keeps the fat off. My diet isn't even that restrictive. I basically eat what I want in moderate volume plus I keep carbs low whenever possible. Simple.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Dropping a barbell on yourself is no fun, so the less exhausted you are when you start lifting, the better.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
    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.
  • annasensei
    annasensei Posts: 39
    I will echo what everyone has been saying... 5-10 minute cardio warmup (my favorite is the rower: 1000 meters in 5-6 minutes is perfect!). Making sure your body is warm is so important for lifting so you don't hurt yourself.

    Dependent upon how much I lift on a given day, sometimes I'll do cardio afterwards, but much of the time I'll save cardio for a lighter day.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    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
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting

    i do this.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    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.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I do cardio on non lift days...I warm up with about 5-10 minutes of light cardio and cool down the same...but I leave my true cardio workout for non-lift days.
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    :indifferent:
  • _skittybang
    _skittybang Posts: 970 Member
    :bigsmile:
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    trial and error until you figure out what works best for you, like all the rest of us had to do.
  • daj150
    daj150 Posts: 815 Member
    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
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    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
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    i start with cardio so my heartbeats up for lifting

    ^this. Look at this guy. He knows whats up.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    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
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    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
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    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
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I do a 10-15 minute warm up, then lift and then go home. : )
  • djames92
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    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
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    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.

Categories