Cardio before Strength/Weight Training?

The type of exercise that gets done is what works best lol it really doesn't matter when.

it matters when. do strength first. if the strength training leaves me fatigued it doesn't really matter when i'm on the treadmill later. if the treadmill leaves me fatigued it's going to be a crappy strength session

I think she means is if she burns more calories or something depending on what is done first.

I've wondered the same thing...have been reading that you should do weights before cardio. Here is a link to nonscientific article that you can take or leave:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/cardio-or-weights-first-exercise-order_n_1739089.html.

it matters when. do strength first. if the strength training leaves me fatigued it doesn't really matter when i'm on the treadmill later. if the treadmill leaves me fatigued it's going to be a crappy strength session

I agree with this. While I am pretty new to serious weight lifting/strength sessions, I lifted heavy today and there was no way I culd give my full forced effort in a cardio routine on top of it. When I was lifting a lot lighter I could have, and I did.

I usually stick to 15-20 minutes of cardio as a warm up (light jog on a treadmill or elliptical) then strength training and then if I feel like it a 15-20 minute cardio session at the end. Sometimes I'll blast out 30 minutes at the end if I still have a ton of energy.

Why? I don't know. Because that's how I've done it for the past 15 years. Doesn't make it ideal or the best way, just my way. I also feel like it helps keep my heart rate up while I do my weights.

I feel like the 15-20 minutes at the end helps prevent DOMS. I don't even know if that's true but it makes me feel better so I do it.

I used to run a lot but I had a couple ankle surgeries and with traumatic osteo arthritis it's really painful to do and I hate a stationary bike so I don't use one. My cardio is pretty much limited to warm up/cool down and whatever time I keep my heart rate up while lifting.

everything I have read on this topic suggests (and this makes sense to me) is to do the cardio after because if you are fatigued from cardio, you may sacrifice form during strength training, potentially leading to injury and making the strength training less effective.

5-10 minutes of walking is the most I'll do before strength training, just to get warmed up.

I know this is not the most efficient advice, but it is the most pleasant, IMO: Do what you enjoy. Seriously. If you don't LIKE it, it will be much harder to keep on doing it in the long run.

I am sure I could be doing more effective time in time out stuff, but I LOVE hot Bikram and vinyasa yoga for strength training training, I LOVE watching HGTV while paddling the elliptical at the YMCA, I LOVE hiking with my dogs.

I do not love running, exercise DVDs, Zumba, anything DANCEY, lifting weights, weight machines, bicycles, swimming laps, treadmills, stairmasters, rock climbing -- some of these activities I absolutely HATE. Find what you LOVE, and you will do it.

If you hate all exercise, just pick the thing that is least odious to you, or, even better----TRY a bunch of things. You might find you really like a thing you never considered...try WEIRD stuff like water aerobics or kayaking or horse back riding (anyone who says this isn't exercise is doing it wrong! Learn to ride well and you get a gorgeous butt and trim, muscular thighs) --- go ahead and dork out on what you enjoy.

it depends which part of the workout is more important to you. if your goal is to build muscle it's not happening when you're tired from sprinting.

if you're planning an all out real HiiT session, you won't be able to if you do real weight lifting. weights first that are actually challenging.
if not to failure, close, and no more than 2-3 sets.

whatever the second workout is, it needs to be a light version, light cardio, light weights, or do the workout later in the day so you can recover a bit

years ago, I used to do cardio first and weight training after BUT everything that I have read lately, has said to do weight training first, then cardio. You'll have more strength and better form (which will decrease your chance of injury) b/c you will not be as fatigued as you would be if you did cardio first. This is turn will allow you to max your effort w/the weights. Yes, some cardio requires good form too but really cardio in simply about getting you heart rate in the zone for a period of time so you just have to keep moving.....it doesn't really matter what you are doing to get it there.

People are often left dumbfounded when I tell them I never do any “cardio.” Of course, this isn’t to say that I never get my heart rate elevated, which, speaking technicaly, is what “cardio” really is (i.e., anything that elevates your heart rate). I elevate my heart rate all the time.

I challenge anyone to tell me that that isn’t cardio. It’s not aerobic (a sustained elevated heart rate), but it is cardio.

Even still, and this is just the strength coach in me talking, I feel that “cardio” is drastically over-emphasized in today’s society. Now, before everyone starts reaching for their pitchfork, hear me out. I am not in any way saying that including some direct cardiovascular training is wrong, or a waste of time – it’s obviously a component of a well-rounded program.



All I’m saying is that I feel it’s waaaaaaay over-emphasized, and that people have no idea what the term “cardio” really means - as if all that “BRISK” incline wallking you see many people do on the treadmill six times per week while they watch The Price is Right (or Grey’s Anatomy, depending on the time of day) is somehow superior to placing a barbell on their back and squatting it.

Please.

Again, I AM NOT saying that traditional cardio is bad, or dumb, or shouldn’t be included in a program. If anything, I just want people to understand that lifting weights can be “cardio” in nature, too! You don’t have to be on a treadmill, or stair-master, or ellptical trainer for 45 minutes a day, 4-5-6 days per week, hating life, contemplating Sepuku, in order to get a cardiovascular benefit. I know I just rocked someone’s world out there, but it’s true.

So, to summarize:

1. Older guys who admit to “watching you,” is downright creepy. Nuff said.

2. Anything that elevates your heart rate is technically “cardio.” Taking it a step further, I think it’s the semantics that people often get confused on. There’s a difference between “cardio” (elevated heart rate) and aerobic (a SUSTAINED elevated heart rate). As Alwyn Cosgrove has noted on several occasions:

“Everything that’s aerobic is cardiovascular, but not everything that’s cardiovascular is aerobic.”

3. This post is amazing .

4. Traditional cardio is important – no doubt about it – but if we’re honest with outselves, I think most would agree with me that it’s over-emphasized.

5. Donna Feldman is hot.

My goal is to be efficient...not big.

Anyways, here's what I did this week.

Monday - 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday - Weights
Wednesday - 30 minutes cardio
Thursday - Weights
Friday - Off
Saturday - AM: 15 minutes cardio, a little resistance, 15 more minutes of cardio. PM: 30 minutes cardio

It works for me

There's debates and studies on that all over the web. Personally, I do not mix the two. I do hard cardio several times a week, and in the days in between I focus on weight training. When I do cardio, I do a total of 5 miles for the day. When i weight train I only do a quick 8 minute jog in between one of my sets. It loosens my body, keeps my heart rate strong, and gets me ready for the next set. When i combined both, I did cardio first, then weight training, but my work was not all that great because I was tired after the long cardio session.