Cardio first or Strength Training first

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  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    I'd say unless your specifically training for someone cardio related then you should do weights first. You dont want to blow your load on cardio and have nothing in the tank to lift those heavy weights :)
  • hellokittymaui
    hellokittymaui Posts: 226 Member
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    I do cardio first and then weights. But I don't lift very heavy or mega-intensely, so it works for me.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    I've worked with three personal trainers and all three had me doing cardio first...It is a matter of preference. I could not start lifting weights until I am good and warmed up.

    IMO a warmup session is different that a cardio session. And yes, you should warmup before you lift.

    I walk into the rack and do a set with the bar, a set with half my working weight and then I'm on to the main event, whatever the lift may be. That's a warm up and it's a warm up that actually grooves the move I'm about to attempt. I'm not sure running on a treadmill for 10 mins is going to warm me up for the bench press, but that's just me.

    Now for cardio/conditioning, I do a 10 minute warm-up to get the blood flowing and the heart rate elevated. That may involve jumping rope, burpees, kb swings, etc. Again it'll be appropriate to the physical activity I'm about to attempt.

    If I'm doing something like Kung Fu, I may actually spend the first 30 minutes or more ramping up to full explosiveness. Try to kick someone in the head when you're not warmed up properly..... ouch!

    But this may be specific to me. I've been working out a long time and know how to listen to my body and how my body reacts to different exercise types. Most people think that they need to do the same warm up for everything they do. They do not.
  • MrsBioChem
    MrsBioChem Posts: 80 Member
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    I don't do the cardio warm up before, I just stretch real well, hop on the foam roller and do a couple warm up sets for that muscle group..

    Same
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    So I am a new member to a gym so I'm just getting into the whole working out thing. I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio (Treadmill or Elliptical) then I do 30 or so minutes of weights. Recently someone told me that I was "ruining" my body and doing it wrong by doing cardio first. Just wanting opinions

    Anyone who says that is a total f---king moron.
  • Csoldano
    Csoldano Posts: 34 Member
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    unless you're training specifically for cardio performance, you do weights first.
    Do whatever works for you.

    Pretty much this. I do weights then cardio...I suppose it's working....maybe..
  • missADS1981
    missADS1981 Posts: 364 Member
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    Me personally I warm up for 5-10 on treadmill, then hit the weights. if its a day i am adding in HIIT i do it after my lifting. your body is in a different zone at that point.
  • EPhinn
    EPhinn Posts: 119 Member
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    I usually do cardio before and after. I do my first cardio in the morning, then weights late afternoon, and a very short cardio session before bed.
  • ahmadfahmy
    ahmadfahmy Posts: 214 Member
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    So I am a new member to a gym so I'm just getting into the whole working out thing. I've been doing 30 minutes of cardio (Treadmill or Elliptical) then I do 30 or so minutes of weights. Recently someone told me that I was "ruining" my body and doing it wrong by doing cardio first. Just wanting opinions

    you should just stick to strength training only...if you really want some type of cardio then walk for half an hour after you lift.

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