Cardio, before or after weights?

I do mine after, as you have already suggested if affects my lifting if doing it before.

It depends on which is easier for you, I've heard arguments from both sides. Personally I like to use my weights before cardio because I am usually too tired to do anything but shower after the treadmill!

I also like to do circuit training to incorporate both and then get on the treadmill after that.

Hey everyone, forgive me if this has been talked about before... there are so many topics it is impossible to go through them all. My big question is... Should I be doing cardio before weights or after? I have heard some say before and others say after. Is there a difference, really? What would be the benefits each?? I feel like when I do cardio before that my heart rate stays higher through my entire workout and sweat constantly, if I do it after I tend to be able to lift heavier. Any opinions? Thanks!!

I actually do both. I do 15 minutes on the treadmille before strength training and 15 minutes on the treadmill after strength training.

I do my cardio first this makes me fight all the harder and really endure on my lifting. Let's me take it to a different level. But I lift for endurance more then anything.

I do weights first because I feel like I need to be more alert of my form when lifting.

Depends on your goals. If you're looking to increase your strength/build lean muscle mass, do weights first. If your goal is to increase your cardio endurance, start with that. I don't usually do both at the same time (I usually alternate days) but when I do, I always do weights first.

I used to always do it before because I liked to get my cardio out of the way. Then I would lift. I never noticed much of a difference in terms of how much or how long I would lift.

I worked with a personal trainer last year, who swore by cardio warm-up, then lift hard and heavy, and then cardio at a 6/7 effort out of 10. And of course, cool down. When I lift now, I work into it some cardio, such as burpies and bicep curls, so my heart rate is exploding and I'm sweating like crazy. Then, when I move to cardio, I don't even have to work as hard to still get in a great sweat.

Really, truly, it's up to your personal preference. Whatever is going to make you do both, do it that way. You can't get caught up in 'what the research says' or other people, because you won't stick to it unless you enjoy it.

If you're focusing on strength gains: lifting first.

If you're focusing on running endurance and speed: cardio first

Depends on your goal really.

After

Gawd I ran 1/4 mile the other day and tried to do 5 min rest then did powercleans - I couldnt catch my breath at all through the whole workout even with 2-3 min breaks.

Funny I ran 2 miles the other day and went inside and drank chocolate milk through a straw. NOT A DROP WAS SPILLED whaaa?!

Just do it.

How about weights instead of cardio?

More seriously, I do cardio afterwards. If I slip and fall running because I'm tired, I get a scrape. If I screw up doing weights, I could end up under a 300 lb barbell.

I do 10-15 minutes of elliptical or rowing machine as a warm up before lifting.

Hey everyone, forgive me if this has been talked about before... there are so many topics it is impossible to go through them all. My big question is... Should I be doing cardio before weights or after? I have heard some say before and others say after. Is there a difference, really? What would be the benefits each?? I feel like when I do cardio before that my heart rate stays higher through my entire workout and sweat constantly, if I do it after I tend to be able to lift heavier. Any opinions? Thanks!!

Just wanted to say great post!

I think it's optimal not to do both lifting and cardio in the same session. By doing so, you invariably will perform worse on the activity you do last. But if you must do both at once, do the one which you consider to be the highest priority first.

There are usually two days a week in which I both lift and run, but on those days I always lift in the morning and run in the afternoon. This may not work with many people's schedules, but I find that I am able to maximize both workouts that way. Additionally, it is easier psychologically to do the workouts separately, as well as easier to give a maximal effort.

As many have stated, the most important method is the one you stick with.

That being said, an understanding of how your muscles get energy may help.

Weight lifting is an anaerobic exercise. That means it doesn't use oxygen to provide energy. All of the energy comes from the glycogen which is stored in your muscles.

Cardio is an aerobic exercise. It combines oxygen with fat to provide energy, but it also uses glycogen. The more intense your aerobic exercise, the more glycogen is used. This is because the fat/oxygen method is relatively slow to provide energy and just can't keep up.

If you lift first, you will have less glycogen in your muscles. Therefore your body will be more likely to pull energy from fat stores instead of stored glycogen when you do the cardio. If you do cardio first you will burn off some fat, but mostly glycogen. So you will have less energy to lift weights, meaning you will get a less effective workout. In addition, you will burn less fat.

http://www.shapeyou.com/old/weights_first.html