Should I do my cardio and strength on different days?

Abram86
Abram86 Posts: 282 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Currently I go to the gym and do 40 minutes of strength training and 20 minutes of cardio after. One day its Triceps and biceps, another days is Legs and then another day of Back, Shoulder and Chest followed by cardio.
My goal is to burn fat and maintain muscle or gain if possible.
Ive heard I need to seperate my cardio and strength training to be more effective. I also been told to do strength training in the AM and Cardio at night or vise versa. What do yall recommend?

Replies

  • SusanleeBee
    SusanleeBee Posts: 144 Member
    I do all mine every time I go to the gym because I feel weird going there without doing any cardio, and then I figure, well, might as well do some weights.

    I do 50 minutes of cardio and then about 30 of strength before I let myself tan and have a massage. If I don't do the workout, I don't do the pampering.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gmWodFl2NLE#t=248s
  • jgcurry3
    jgcurry3 Posts: 172 Member
    I do cardio in the afternoons and weights in the am. I will change it up every now and then, no cardio on leg days. By splitting it up you can focus on going heavy in the gym, eating and resting and then hitting your cardio with good intensity as well. I generally will do cardio on mon wed and sat but I allow room for shifting it around.
  • apaleous
    apaleous Posts: 6
    It's more beneficial to do cardio on opposite days, 10 minute warm up before training is fine. Cardio after weights becomes catabolic( Muscle is breaking down and eating itself), especially if you haven't taken a post workout shake or restored your glycogen levels. Your glycogen will be depleted, if the work out is intense. I recommend doing HIIT cardio on opposite days of training, to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

    The body releases Cortisol roughly an hour after weight training, which is what triggers the catabolic stage and muscle breakdown, so by doing an extended cardio session after strength/resistance training you are actually losing muscle.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I do some cardio as a warm up for lifting. 10-15 mins high intensity. Just enough to start sweating. Thats pretty much all the cardio I do unless its riding my bike or hiking or something on the weekends.
  • running_chic82
    running_chic82 Posts: 6
    I say do it while you have the time. I usually do cardio 5x a week on average and I like to do strength on the same days.
  • Abram86
    Abram86 Posts: 282 Member
    Thanks for giving me an idea on what I should do
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
    If you ask 5 different people you will get 5 different answers. If I do cardio, I will do 10-15 after lifting. I like to have days for rest which means no cardio.

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