So am I the only one that has been doing it all wrong?

Who the hell gets their sports science from Yahoo?


Doing exercise burns calories. As far as is important it doesn't matter what order you do it in.

A real training programme probably wouldn't put cardio and resistance training in the same session anyway.

Heart Rate != Calories burned, and I have no idea why so many people on here think that it is.

Dang Debbie Downer...it was an article that was sent to me and the science behind it makes sense. I am pretty sure that most trainers would tell you to incorporate cardio into EVERY workout. Most will tell you that there is no such thing as too much cardio.

As a trainer, I disagree with this. I don't like doing cardio and weight training in the same session (regardless of the order). There's science behind this, it's not just a preference. Yes, if you absolutely find it necessary to do both cardio and weight training in the same day, do your weight training first (after a warm up period) so you maximize glycogen usage and can perform all the required Maximal lifts needed.

BUT

Cardio and resistance are two separate activity types, and they don't necessarily complement each other with regards to hormone secretion, energy recovery, and muscle work. It's a complex dance we play with exercise, but to keep it as simple as possible I'll just say this, cardio requires high amounts of energy, and burns lots of glycogen. Heavy resistance (weight training for example) requires high amounts of glycogen at the muscle site as well. Either way you're burning enough energy to reduce your total energy available for a while. Simultaneously while this is going on, resistance training triggers certain hormones and enzymes be released, these hormones stimulate muscle repair and growth, which pulls energy and material for that purpose. Cardio training stimulates different hormones (actually they're all the same hormones basically, just at vastly different levels depending on the exercise type).
The thing to remember is many of these hormones compete for the same resources in the body. So what happens is you receive the maximum benefit from neither, while incurring a higher cost (in both energy needed, energy used, and strength and endurance gains).
I don't say this to discourage anyone. If you're looking for fat loss, and just to maintain existing muscle mass and/or endurance levels, doing both resistance and cardio (or a hybrid routine like HIIT training) may be just the thing. But remember, if you perform both types of exercise together, you'll maximize the results from neither.

Ok, so I am a former athlete that had a good muscle base at one point and feel I could get it back fairly quickly with the proper program. I am most concerned with fat/weight loss for the moment because I feel once the weight comes off I can start doing other things like actual running outside without risk to my knees and ankles. I know right now I struggle with muscle endurance because my first set or weights is usually ok but for sets 2 and 3 I fall off quickly. I'm not trying to get bulky but want to get back to where I was strength wise.

What would be your suggestion to a proper program for losing max fat/weight while gaining muscle endurance and strength?

When you want to lose fat and gain muscle, you have a bit of a compromise to make. In order to get the best out of a weight gain programme, you need to be in a positive energy balance. Which is obviously counter-intuitive to fat loss.

So what I'd advise is to try to maintain energy balance. But to add a proper lifting regime to your exercise.

What that involves is the following:
- lift to failure, the last lift of every set has to be the last you can do, this is easier with a spotter, so if you don't have one, it's fine to stop one early
- lift no more than 6-8 reps, whilst following the above advice (unless you're just starting out, in which case maintaining form is more important)
- lift no fewer than 3 sets.
- lower the weight slowly, and make sure you hold the lift at the top and the bottom.
- lift the weight as fast as you want as long as a) you're not relying on momentum and b) you're maintaining form.

And don't worry about supplements, if you're maintaining energy balance and eating a healthy, balanced diet you'll be taking in all the nutrients you need to worry about.