Cardio and Strength Training?

It depends. I do cardio and weight train on the same days, but I have hours between sessions as I will do my cardio work in the morning and lift in the evening...plenty of time to get fresh for my lifts.

The reason people keep them separate is to maximize the FITNESS benefits of their workout. You can't maximize a heavy lifting session for example if you're already tired from running 10 miles...conversely, you're not going to have the greatest run of your life after an hour of Oly-lifting with heavy snatches and clean and jerks.

In terms of what you should do, you should look into actual routines that are already programmed for you...trying to program your own routine is largely going to be a waste of your time and efforts. Look into New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Curves...something along those lines...both are great general fitness resistance programs. If you prefer more traditional strength training (not all resistance training is "strength" training...it's an actual thing) then look into programs like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5...both are good beginner strength programs.

I do light cardio on my lifting days, mostly just to create a little larger deficit. I devote one day to a longer cardio session. You can do whatever you want. My only thing is I must lift first, cardio second. That didn't matter until the weight got heavy though.

arditarose wrote: »

I do light cardio on my lifting days, mostly just to create a little larger deficit. I devote one day to a longer cardio session. You can do whatever you want. My only thing is I must lift first, cardio second. That didn't matter until the weight got heavy though.

^^THIS

adowe wrote: »

Both are not necessary.

There are plenty of healthy people that do one or the other.
Depends on personal goals

I do both, on different days.

M/W/F lift
T/T/S/S cardio

Both are not necessary BUT they go hand in hand-- imo

adowe wrote: »

indianwin2001 wrote: »

adowe wrote: »

Both are not necessary.

There are plenty of healthy people that do one or the other.
Depends on personal goals

I do both, on different days.

M/W/F lift
T/T/S/S cardio

Both are not necessary BUT they go hand in hand-- imo

again depends on personal goals.

True

cwolfman13 wrote: »

It depends. I do cardio and weight train on the same days, but I have hours between sessions as I will do my cardio work in the morning and lift in the evening...plenty of time to get fresh for my lifts.

The reason people keep them separate is to maximize the FITNESS benefits of their workout. You can't maximize a heavy lifting session for example if you're already tired from running 10 miles...conversely, you're not going to have the greatest run of your life after an hour of Oly-lifting with heavy snatches and clean and jerks.

In terms of what you should do, you should look into actual routines that are already programmed for you...trying to program your own routine is largely going to be a waste of your time and efforts. Look into New Rules of Lifting for Women or Strong Curves...something along those lines...both are great general fitness resistance programs. If you prefer more traditional strength training (not all resistance training is "strength" training...it's an actual thing) then look into programs like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5...both are good beginner strength programs.

Nailed it, really good post

I used to do cardio in the mornings and weights in the afternoon or during lunch break, but now I am trying trendy fitness routines for the first time. The Insanity / P90X hybrid workout has me too tired to want to throw in weights also. I'd be too afraid of how weak/sore I would be for the next day's workout. lol

I'll generally play basketball on days that I do not lift. If I lift before playing, I get blown by all the time because I am tired. If I play before lifting, I can't maximize my strength because I am tired.

So I alternate days.

While my ulcerative colitis is in remission, I still retain body inflammation. That means, I HAVE to do cardio first (at least 30 minutes) to fully warm up my muscles. Otherwise, I truly cannot lift weights. So ...

I do at least 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical for 6 days a week. I have two personal training sessions a week on Mondays and Thursdays so on the off days, I will alternate body parts - arms and abs one day and legs and abs on another day. If I am overly sore from a prior workout, I may bump up the cardio and forgo the weights OR I do regular cardio and weights but only lift half as much weight per machine to stretch things out a bit.

Matp75 wrote: »

philwrightfitness wrote: »

The answer really depends on what your goal is....If you want to lose fat then excessive cardio can be counter productive. I would do five to ten minutes of light cardio before lifting as you will lift better warmed up and reduce the chance of injury. then after lifting do 15 to 20 mins of steady state low intensity cardio. Low intensity cardio burns a higher proportion of fat to carbs and as you've depleted your carbs lifting it allows you to continue exercising ... If you want to do high intensity cardio I would do it on a different day to when you're lifting.

You really should research this statement... The general thought now is that is a myth. High intensity burns more overall calories thus 30 min of high intensity will burn more fat cals than 30 min of low intensity... However I subscribe to the hiit cardio theory

You should read my statement more carefully, what you said is correct but I wasn't comparing different types of intensity... Low intensity cardio burns a greater proportion of fat to carbs....fact! You are confusing this with the fat burning zone myth.