Hey heavy lifting women!

My lifting routine usually takes around 45-60 minutes, followed by about 15-20 minutes cardio.

I usually spend about 40-45 minutes lifting and keep my cardio to a 15-20 minute warm up and a 10-15 minute cool down.

The stronglifts 5x5 guys workout usually takes 30 minutes (or less) and he recommends no cardio (or cardio on off days only). Depends on your preference. IMO, you can get in a great lifting workout in 30-45 minutes, I like a warm up and cool down but not much more cardio than that.

ETA: I don't do the stronglifts routine but just because I've got a pretty good routine and decided not to switch.

Most of the heavy lifting girls are following specific programs such as either Stronglifts or NROLFW. Try one of those.

you don't want to be lifting every day of the week. If you're lifting heavy then your muscles need adequate recovery time. If you're doing a full body workout, then 3x a week not on consecutive days (e.g. mon, wed, fri) is enough.

If you're doing a split routine (e.g. upper body one day, lower body another, or similar) then you need to ensure each muscle group gets 48 hrs rest before working it again, so you could do (for example) mon: upper body, tues: lower body, wed: upper body, thurs: lower body, fri/sat/sun: rest/cardio

You need adequate rest days, but you can do most kinds of cardio on rest days as it works the muscles in a different way and won't interfere with muscle recovery. You don't need to do any cardio on lifting days, apart from 2-3 minutes at the start as part of your warm up. Avoid very intense cardio, e.g. high intensity interval training, or cardio that includes heavy lifting such as crossfit, on rest days. But moderate steady state cardio should be fine. Most people recommend having a complete rest day at least once a week. Remember that your muscles repair themselves and develop as you rest. Training gives them the stimulus to do that, but they actually strengthen and develop when you rest. So rest is a vital part of a good lifting programme.#

ETA: you don't have to do any cardio if you don't want to

3 times a week ususally. I will do about 10-15 minutes of cardio to warm up and get the heart going. Then I stetch for about 15 minutes, then I do about 45-60 minutes of weight lifting.

An hour or just over twice a week

Cardio is optional (but good for CV health). I do strong lifts and apart from a 5-10 min light warmup, I do no gym cardio. I do walk a bit most weeks. I am about to add running back in 2 days a week.

I have done cardio then lifting in the same session but it was stretching up to 2 hours by the time I was finished, and my lifting suffered.

I'd decide which is more fun and most important for your goals, plan that in, then work the other around it. So for me that's heavy lifting 3x week with 2 lots of 30-45min running on off days, and accepting that my running will not progress much while my lifting is.

I lift 3 times a week. I started heavy lifting a few months ago. I lift heavy twice a week, for about 20 minutes each session(strong lifts). The third day I do my bowflex, for about 50 minutes. I do cardio(treadmill) every day, from 35 to 40 minutes. I do my cardio first, then lift.
The cardio is for my heart (have been doing it for over 4 years now). I am a believer in cardio most days of the week, for heart health! The strong lifts are (hopefully) building strong bones, along with building lean muscle! I just love heavy lifting! The tone in my muscles, coupled with the high I get from lifting is awesome. I highly recommend it! By the way, I am 55 years old!!!

Flip it. Cardio after lifting and I bet your lifting will improve greatly.

That's the first time I have heard that! I thought cardio first, to get the pulse rate up, then lift!

Nope. You're depleting your glycogen stores that way and all energy should be focused on lifting to preserve your mass.

5 days a week. I do isolation exercises and wait 2 days in between working the same muscle group again. I work with a trainer and she has it all set up for me. I do between 45 and 60 minutes, usually with 5 minutes walking beforehand ( a quick walk to my apartments gym). Any major cardio is done after my weights and ends up being about 25 minutes.

Bump interesting thread!
:drinker:

I lift 5 days a week, 45-60 minutes a session. I only do 15-20 minutes of cardio twice a week. I was doing a fullbody routine 3 days a week with 45 minutes of intense cardio on my days off, but I wasn't progressing with my lifts and my weight plateaued. Two weeks into splitting my routine and decreasing cardio I noticed a big difference in my strength. I've also been steadily losing weight as well as body fat.

I lift 3 times per week for 30-40 minutes and do cardio once or twice a week (HIIT for 10 minutes that's it) and I wear a fit bit that I aim to get 10 000-11 000 steps a day, so apart from work I usually need to add in a short 20-30 minute walk each day.

I heavy lift three times a week, for about 20 to 25 minutes. I am very proud of my defined muscles!!! Especially for being 55 years old! When you lift, make sure you have proper form, and do it correctly, so you get the defined muscles.
I do cardio on my treadmill for 35 to 40 minutes every day(it's good for my heart). I have been using the treadmill for 4 years already. Very handy when it's raining, snowing or icing outside!
I do believe in rest between total body lifting workout days.
Good luck!!!