Cardio before or after weight lifting

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Motions28
Motions28 Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is there a definitive answer on this? I have spoken with many people who swear it should be before and people who swear it should be after. What is the answer???

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  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,989 Member
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    Don't think there is any "right" answer. It all depends on how much cardio you do and how it affects your lifting (or vice versa).

    I know for me personally, any cardio I do would negatively affect my lifting. So, I normally do them on different days or, if done on the same day, I'll do cardio no sooner than 4 hrs after I have finished lifting.

    You just need to experiment and decide what works best for you.
  • auzziecawth
    auzziecawth Posts: 244 Member
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    ^^ agreed
    Totally depends on your goals. To me lifting is the thing that's most important to me so it's where I want to have the most strength and energy to devote to so it always comes first.
  • gregsbutler13
    gregsbutler13 Posts: 29 Member
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    I personally do Cardio after Weight training. If I do cardio before hand I tend to be to winded to get a completely effective weight routine accomplished. You could do it either way though.
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
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    If I do cardio, it's always after lifting. I have better strength that way...
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Well I did intervals on incline on a treadmill after squats, lunges and rows and I wanted to die as I lugged my leaden legs up a 15% incline for a minute ..and OMG the DOMS

    So I'm thinking as a warmup ..or depends whether it's a leg day
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I generally recommend strength 1st. However depending on what you are doing, how intense each is, & what's your overlying goal, they can be done in either order. There is really no absolute correct answer.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited August 2016
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    It truly depends on your goals and training intensity. I don't want to run 5 miles then lift heavy my energy would be shot and intensity down. I workout with weights six days ( each body part twice) a week at 5 am then drive home and ride my bike 30 or 50 min depending on how.

    I feel it just works for me I would do what keeps you personally Motivated.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    Cardio after, as I need maximum energy for my weight training.
  • PandoraGreen721
    PandoraGreen721 Posts: 450 Member
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    I typically always do cardio after lifting...though to be fair I hardly do any cardio at all.
  • King_Spicy
    King_Spicy Posts: 821 Member
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    Agreed with above. Cardio after if directly combined with lifting. If they are separated in the day, I can do cardio in the first half of the day and weights after. However, right now, I do cardio both before and after since I ride to the gym on my bike :lol:
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
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    I usually do cardio before lifting, but only a very short 5 minute warmup [I only do one extended set of cardio per week].
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
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    Depends on the day. Cardio day I run( or other cardio routine) with light or no weights. Lifting day, I start with a slow cardio warm up, do my lifts and core and cool down with a slow cardio activity and stretches.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    Just do both.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    Motions28 wrote: »
    Is there a definitive answer on this? I have spoken with many people who swear it should be before and people who swear it should be after. What is the answer???

    Which ever one is your primary focus, that's the one you should do first.

    If you're looking first, and foremost, at strength gains: Do strength training first, so as to not deplete glycogen you'd use for lifting.

    And, the reverse is true, if running improvement is your goal.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    I do both. I get on the dreadmill and run for approx 1.5 miles, or get ont the stair stepper to get my HR up, then go lift weights, and do something like walking or ellicpical to slow down my HR.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    Motions28 wrote: »
    Is there a definitive answer on this? I have spoken with many people who swear it should be before and people who swear it should be after. What is the answer???

    You forgot the third option - do them in different sessions. :+1:

    Strength training takes a lot of alertness to do safely, and a lot of energy to do it with the proper effort level. So doing lots of cardio first might not be wise, especially for newbies.

  • Motions28
    Motions28 Posts: 18 Member
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    Sounds like most people are saying after if I do them both in the same session. My main goal when I started was weight loss so I was doing heavy cardio. I've never lifted weights in my life due to a medical issue (amputated pinky finger and avenus malformation throughout my hand and wrist). When I started I read how beneficial weight lifting can be with cardio and a diet change. I've lost 18 pounds so far and I am truly enjoying the weight lifting. With my job I can't spend more than an hour and a half at the gym a day. I've expanded my lifting and cardio so time is tight. And I now dread cardio days as they bore me. I think I will be going with a weight session followed by 20 mins of cardio and have one day a week of heavy cardio (I am up to 65-70 minutes and will be looking into high interval next). What do you all think???
  • Madux1818
    Madux1818 Posts: 307 Member
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    I alternate, Monday Wednesday and Friday I lift, Tuesday Thursday Saturday I run. The lifting has made my runs manageable.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I do cardio 5-6 days a week and 2 of those days include lifting and another 2, HIIT on the elliptical. I always do my cardio before weight lifting. Besides it being a preference, I also have ulcerative colitis and proctitis that, while in remission, does mean I tend to hold onto inflammation more. That means, I am often sore and need that 30 minute cardio session before I lift. It takes almost that long to get loose! So far, cardio first has not hindered my progress with the weights.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I like doing my cardio (when I bother) after my lifting. I used to do a 15-30 minute cardio warmup but found it affected some of my lifts. Now I just do 5 minutes of dynamic stretching before and save my cardio for after, if I'm in the mood. Granted I'm often not in the mood and will usually just dance for 15-30 minutes. Dancing is much better cardio for me. It's fun and it actually gets my heart rate up more than the stationary bike.plus it helps stretch out some of the muscles that may have tightened up from lifting.

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