Cardio and Strength

There are pros and cons to each but for most people just do what fits your schedule and preference.

Your preference.

If you do chose to do both in same day, it's ideal to prioritize which one is your primary goal and do that first.

There are no hard set rules. It's basically goal dependent from person to person. Define what you're trying to achieve and build your program around that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

fitqueenbess wrote: »

Can you get both strength and cardio from the same workout? For example: hiking, which burns the gluten and quads, or swimming, which challenges the upper body.

i think anything vigorous enough to get your heart and respiration rates up probably needs a certain amount of strength, so indirectly i guess yeah.

edena001 wrote: »

Yeah I can that's why I was confused to why people were only doing cardio days and Strength days

this is more about which outcome i'm focused on, personally. i can go into the gym and do 30 reps at low weights with speed if i wanted to make it more 'cardio', i suppose. but usually when i'm in there i'm lifting to work on my strength. i do need to catch my breath between sets, but that's just a side effect. it's not the thing that i'm focusing on.

and in the same way when i'm on a bike ride, i could stick to the toughest gear that i've got and tell myself that i'm doing it to build up my leg muscles and make them stronger. but usually when i''m on my bike i'm just about 'cardio' regardless of how easy or hard it might feel for my legs.

I've read that you only need one really heavy lifting session a month for a muscle group to maintain strength in it. That being said, if you train each muscle group once a week really heavy, you should see some good gains. When I say really heavy, that means as heavy as you can do with good form. When you start sacrificing form is when injuries happen, and they can be huge setbacks. A jog after a lift may be a good way to get rid of some lactic acid, if you're up for it. Otherwise, just do cardio on your off days from lifting. Your goals are what decides which one you do more often. Big muscles use up more energy, so that is going to reduce your endurance. You can also get stronger without making your muscles much bigger. People have accomplished this by bending bars and nails. Doing exercises, like the wall sit with weight. Basically, doing really low, long and slow, reps, like 0 (Isometrics)-1 rep, while creating a lot of strain.

fitqueenbess wrote: »

Can you get both strength and cardio from the same workout? For example: hiking, which burns the gluten and quads, or swimming, which challenges the upper body.

Yes. but they won't be 'equal'. I swim 3x a week, around 10,000yds total. I also lift 3x week to build strength and muscle.

trigden1991 wrote: »

mgalovic01 wrote: »

I've read that you only need one really heavy lifting session a month for a muscle group to maintain strength in it.

No idea where this has come from but I would say it's far from the truth especially if you focus on running in the time between lifting.

I checked my source, the ACTION personal trainer certification book page 177. It's actually only every 10- 14 days you need to work out a certain muscle group at the same intensity as you used to get to that point to maintain strength in it.
I've heard a guy who bends nails and bolts with his hands say he does only one big nail bend per month. So, I think that's were I got mixed up.

trigden1991 wrote: »

mgalovic01 wrote: »

trigden1991 wrote: »

mgalovic01 wrote: »

I've read that you only need one really heavy lifting session a month for a muscle group to maintain strength in it.

No idea where this has come from but I would say it's far from the truth especially if you focus on running in the time between lifting.

I checked my source, the ACTION personal trainer certification book page 177. It's actually only every 10- 14 days you need to work out a certain muscle group at the same intensity as you used to get to that point to maintain strength in it.
I've heard a guy who bends nails and bolts with his hands say he does only one big nail bend per month. So, I think that's were I got mixed up.

10-14 days is not the same as once a month.

(Have to admit the nail bending gave me pause.)

I remembered Bret Contreras writing a bit about how much training you have to do to maintain strength/muscle. The answer is dependent on a variety of factors but here's the article:

https://bretcontreras.com/how-much-training-is-necessary-to-maintain-strength-and-muscle/