Weight Lifting Combined With Cardio.....

I do my weights first and HIITs with whatever time I have afterwards ( usually 15-20 minutes, sometimes i don't have time).

I don't push myself to do cardio though, it's not necessary if you're on a weight lifting program. I'm developing a bangin' body in the 2 months since starting 5x5 Stronglifts.

I don't know if it's the right way to do it, so if not, suggestions are welcomed. I do at least 30 - 60 minutes of cardio on my elliptical, then finish with weight training and ab work. Sometimes it takes me a minute for my legs to stop wobbling after the cardio, but for some reason I like doing it in that order.

I do weights after C25K...have you tried that? I chill in the locker room for about 5-10 minutes, then tackle the weights. I know it's better to do weights first, but if you can't manage it, then do the cardio first. I don't think it's a big deal. Or like someone else said, do weights on different days. I do weights 3 times a week and only workout 5 times a week, so regardless, I'm going to end up combining the two.

I do Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred and she has it set up with 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio and 1 minute abs. And then you repeat for 3 circuits. Maybe you can come up with something like that? I don't know if that was helpful or not.

Honestly just keep at it! It gets easier! When I started to add squats, leg press, and extenstions to my lifting, I couldn't run a mile right after, but now after almost 2 months I'm running 3-4 miles after a leg workout. It's a slow 3-4 miles, but I can get through it.

I run and lift weights on alternating days. M-W-F is lifting, Tues, Thursday and either Saturday or Sunday (depending on how I feel and/or weather) is running.

I rotate cardio and lifting by days. On lift days I typically don't do much cardio other than walking. On days I don;t lift I do cardio.

Generally you want to do the "more important" one first. Are you trying to focus on weight lifting or the cardio portion? If focusing on weight lifting but doing cardio first, a lot of the time you'll use up a lot of energy during the cardio and can't push yourself during your weight lifting segment.

Vice versa is also true. If you are training to run a 5k, but strain yourself lifting weights before your treadmill session, you won't be able to push your cardio training to the level you'd like.

If your talking about when to do it, I would suggest doing it after the resistance training. Bro-science suggests (I don't have any scientific data to back this up) that since Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy, it is assumed that if you use your carbohydrate energy for resistance, you are left with fat as an energy source to use. Now this isn't backed by any scientific data to my knowledge, but if there is/isn't tha'd be great.

I find that running/elliptical/cycling RIGHT AFTER my leg routines are probably the best time to do it. Sure, my legs feel like jelly and my energy is mostly sapped but you just gotta push. After a day or so your legs get really sore and it becomes more painful to jog/run. I prefer the less painful route, but I still do my cardio while my legs are sore anyways. Just make sure you warm up and stretch and you should be fine.

To sum it up, in my opinion just as long as you get the cardio in (if you need it) whether it be HIIT or a brisk walk, that's all that matters. Cardio in my opinion, is supplementary to a fitness regime focused on fat loss. Fat loss is all about macronutrient intake, calorie accountability and caloric defecit. If your eating less than your burning on a regular basis your fine. Cardio exists to increase cardiovascular strength and to create a larger caloric defecit.

Just my two cents.

Always lift first, and then cardio.

"After a workout, your body continues to burn additional calories up to 48 hours. This is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. EPOC occurs because your body needs energy to repair your muscles after you've challenged them. It occurs at a much higher rate after intense weight-training than after low-intensity, steady-state cardiovascular training; that's why it's important to put as much energy into your lifting sessions. If you do steady-state cardio before you lift, you won't have the energy to work as hard as you can. A less productive weight-training session can impact EPOC. Less calorie incineration for you! "
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-cardio-before-or-after-weights.html

Nice!

In addition, the original poster mentioned that they enjoyed the strength gains from resistance training. This is awesome! But just remember that in order to reduce the potential loss of gains, you want to maintain a good caloric intake. If you consume far less than you need, your depriving your body the nutrients it requires to recover and grow. So while it is excellent to incorporate Cardio with a resistance training regime, just don't over-do it, otherwise you'll be sacrificing muscle gains / strength.

the best answer is it will differ from person to person so a little experimenting on your part would be needed. I personally start my day with 20-60 minutes of cardio then go to 30-60 minutes of strength training. This works very well for me but may not for you. The body is an incredible machine that adapts to the demands put on it but each one reacts differently to different situations as well. As long as you are not running yourself into the ground, you maintain a healthy diet, listen to and get a good nights rest you will be good to go

I'm surprised this didn't have a bacon turtle....:grumble:

I do 30-40 minutes of cardio...either bike, elliptical, or treadmill, then 20-30 minutes of strength training. I too was a bit compulsive with the weights, but I have backed off a bit and am still happy with the results. Also do hot power yoga a couple of times a week which I feel is a nice combo of strength and cardio. I have heard its best to do strength training first, but I never have. Old habits die hard.

My trainer always said 5 minutes of cardio followed by weights and then 30 more minutes of cardio.