Cardio Then Weights?

I was once told by a trainer to do a light 15 minute Cardio warm up, then 20/30 minutes of weights, then 30 minutes Cardio. On Cardio only days it was 15 minute Cardio warm up then 45 minutes of Cardio. However I do 30-45 minutes of Cardio then go hit the weights. Mostly just because that is the way I like to do it.

I read that if you do Cardio first then your metabolism stays reved up while you are doing weights (although I see someone posted it was the opposite so who knows). There are too many contradictions about the right/wrong way to do things and really it only matters if it works for you and if you will stick with it. What I do works for ME - I have been doing it for almost a year and have lost 70 lbs and my muscles are much more defined then before so no one can say I'm doing it "wrong" LOL.

Weights always ALWAYS first regardless. Especially important if you run intense cardio.

Even if you are just a tiny bit fatigued by the cardio then your weights will suffer. The whole point of weights is to put enough stress on the muscles to cause adaptive change. If you are even just a tiny bit fatigued you will have the cards stacked against you in terms of causing that high level of stress in your workout for those muscles to grow.

Sure, it might be hard to lift a lower weight when you are not at 100% and you will still benefit from it as opposed to not lifting that lower weight but it is just not an efficient way to spend your time for results. You would benefit vastly more from hitting the weight when you are at 100% rather than 80%. You will just have more energy to put more stress on that muscle to trigger the adaptation (which is already a slow progress)

On the other hand with cardio, it is mostly aerobic. You can hit up cardio when you are still at 80% and have a really REALLY effective workout.

If your doing something such as HIIT, than definitely hit that directly after weights for the most benefit. If you are training more for just heart health, cal burn, distance or such as a runner than you best bet would be to space out the days and if training days overlap than hit your weights in the morning, feed yourself during the day and then hit your cardio at night.

I currently have two days a week where my weight training and cardio share a day and I found this to be the most effective way to navigate it after hours upon hours of research, talking to peeps I look up to and experimentation.

Just my 2 cents

Which is the best way? Cardio then weights or the other way around? I have always done cardio first but I think I read somewhere that weights first is better.

What is the general census? Does it matter?

I do cardio first because I don't like it as much and because lifting is the less intense activity. So if I lift first, I'll mentally be less inclined to put up with running because I 'did a workout already.' But it's just a matter of preference.

I think the stigma against doing both on the same day is hogwash. I have lifted without doing cardio first and was able to do the same progress as if I ran first with the difference being that I didn't even break a sweat. On top of that a 'compromise in workout', which won't happen once your body adjusts, is better than no workout. Deciding to forfeit an exercise for another is already compromising your fitness.

If lifting is less intense than cardio, then you're doing both of them wrong.

Which is the best way? Cardio then weights or the other way around? I have always done cardio first but I think I read somewhere that weights first is better.

What is the general census? Does it matter?

I do cardio first because I don't like it as much and because lifting is the less intense activity. So if I lift first, I'll mentally be less inclined to put up with running because I 'did a workout already.' But it's just a matter of preference.

I think the stigma against doing both on the same day is hogwash. I have lifted without doing cardio first and was able to do the same progress as if I ran first with the difference being that I didn't even break a sweat. On top of that a 'compromise in workout', which won't happen once your body adjusts, is better than no workout. Deciding to forfeit an exercise for another is already compromising your fitness.

If lifting is less intense than cardio, then you're doing both of them wrong.

Whatever you gotta say to validate your poor fitness.

Almost every proven weight lifting routine has you lift something between 1-10x and then put it down for 2-5 min. You spend about 25% of your time strength training actually doing work. It's not intense for someone who has good cardiovascular fitness no matter how much you lift. That is unless you superset, but if you're concerned about cardio causing undue fatigue and negativily impacting strengtg performance, then supersets are off the table for the same reason.

Compare this to maintaining 185+ bpm by running for 20-30 min as fast as you can. Maybe you trot along for your cardio or convince yourself that you're doing HIIT the moment you get short of breath and quit, but I don't.

The energy expended running far exceeds the energy expended lifting. And if you get in shape, a 5 min rest between the run and lifts will recover you to 100%.

But hey, I only put all my lifts into "advanced" territory according to strstd. com and I run a 5k in the top 20%ile for my age group. And I did it in just 5 mo, but I'm clearly the one doing it wrong.