treadmill cool down question

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feliciapeters
feliciapeters Posts: 525
in Fitness and Exercise
I know theres debate - should u do cardio b4 or after strength, this isnt a debate question. I like doing the treadmill (or bike or elliptical) before my weights, BUT if the target is to get my HR up,l should IDO the cooldown on the treadmill or just stop & go straight to the weights?

Is it better to get my heart rate up on the treadmill, cool down, THEN do the weights, forget the cooldown and go straight to the eights, OR doesnt it really matter either way?

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  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
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    My personal preference is to use the treadmill for 20-25 minutes as a warm up and then I go straight to the weights. After I'm done with the weights, I will stretch to cool down (for 10-15 minutes) or hop back on the treadmill for 10 minutes or so and walk at a nice pace. That's just my personal preference though, I have no scientific wisdom behind it.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
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    good question! I just added strength training w/weights and machines in to my workouts this week and don't have my routine all worked out yet...but I did do the cooldown on the treadmill...although I was doing jogging intervals on the treadmill and had the heart rate up pretty high, so I felt like my body needed the cooldown...I've heard some people recommend doing short bursts of cardio in between your weights to get the HR back up...
  • theresnoeggs
    theresnoeggs Posts: 188 Member
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    I like my cardio first, 30-45 minutes on the treadmill with a *slight* 2-3 minute cool down
    followed by weights,
    then stretching or some yoga as an over all cool down
  • b_alanna
    b_alanna Posts: 15
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    depends if you are toning muscle or burning fat as a work out and which one you are most focused on. It does matter which order you exercise in to see the results you want.

    If you would like to see the scale go down faster do the cardio first

    If you are trying to tone your muscle do that firt.

    My whole theory behind this is that you grow more tired toward the end of the work out so you wont work as hard as you are when you first start.

    If you want both then maybe alternate days.
  • b_alanna
    b_alanna Posts: 15
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    By the way its a total myth that you need a cool down. =) Im majoring in this stuff lol Its fun for me to tell you guys stuff
  • FlyEaglesGuy
    FlyEaglesGuy Posts: 436 Member
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    I Usually warm up for 10 minutes on the treadmill, walking to very slow jogging, then the last minute i do 7.0, this gets my heart rate up and my mind and body ready to attack the weights.

    After the weights (45 minutes) I do the treadmill for 30 minutes. Currently I track week by week how many minutes straight i can run without stopping.

    After that my body is done, time for protein shake, shower and sleep. lol
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
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    Good question. I typically do 30-60 min. of cardio (elliptical, stairmaster, rowing) with a very slight cool down, and then move to strength training (arms / abs / chest / back) for another 15 min. or so. I have no scientific reason for this, other than it's what feels good & works for me.
  • jsteras
    jsteras Posts: 344 Member
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    I do the treadmill for a 20 min walk, 5 min cool down, grab couple sips of water, weights , then 30 minutes on the elliptical.

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