Cardio before or after?

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EllaLeahB
EllaLeahB Posts: 310 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any insight on whether cardio is best to do before or after lifting weights?
Thanks in advance :)
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  • EllaLeahB
    EllaLeahB Posts: 310 Member
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    Thank you.
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
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    It depends what's your goal. If u want to concentrate on lifting, muscles building, then do your cardio after weight. Running requires much less concetration. It's more on autopilot.
  • BhangraPrince
    BhangraPrince Posts: 123 Member
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    Normally I will lift first then cardio however today I did a 30minute treadmill run first then did squats and it felt light and easy. Can't really explain it .
  • nomorepuke
    nomorepuke Posts: 320 Member
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    I like to do it before lifting but my boyfriend argues I should do it afterwards. I think it's another controversy, people argue back n forth.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    For me, after. If I'm tired from cardio I'm not going to do well in the weight room. Like others have said it probably depends where your focus is. Whichever is more important to you do that first when you're fresh and focused.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    EllaLeahB wrote: »
    Any insight on whether cardio is best to do before or after lifting weights?
    Thanks in advance :)

    "Best" for what?

    For weight loss? It doesn't matter one bit. You're burning the calories either way.

    For training performance, it might matter. What is your main focus, improving your cardio or weight training? How intense is your cardio? If weight training is your main focus, does cardio interfere with your weight training if you do it first? How intense is your weight training program? If cardio is your main focus, does weight training first interfere with your cardio sessions?

    Prioritize it for your workout goals and what works best for you. For me, weight training is my main priority and if I do cardio first it takes away from the energy I can dedicate to the weights. I'd rather get my lifting done first and do cardio afterward.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    EllaLeahB wrote: »
    Any insight on whether cardio is best to do before or after lifting weights?
    Thanks in advance :)

    With any of this, as well as understanding your own goals you need to think about the context of any advice you're getting.

    With this there is no right answer there is only right for you.

    Personally my focus is running performance, so I prioritise that. My resistance training is largely plyometrics, not significantly heavy.

    For me, I'll warm up by running 2 miles or so on the treadmill before doing resistance training if I've driven to the gym. If I'm running I'll do a 6 mile run to the gym and then home again.

    For me, 2 miles is a warm up, for someone else that may be their CV workout.
  • BobbyLively1961
    BobbyLively1961 Posts: 38 Member
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    I do 30 min of cardio then weights and then finish up with 30 minutes more of cardio
  • giovanna8830
    giovanna8830 Posts: 80 Member
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    1Lifting weights... 2cardio
  • sfa90
    sfa90 Posts: 105 Member
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    I usually do 10 min cardio as warm-up, then weights, and after 30-40 min cardio.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    Lifting weights takes a lot of energy to do safely and with the proper effort level. That's a solid argument for doing it first. If you're training for a particular cardio goal, like a half marathon, for example, consider doing it in a separate session. :+1:
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,181 Member
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    A few years ago, there were studies on when to do cardio.
    i think it they said to do cardio after wl but i don't remember why
    you may want to look at menshealth.com for some answers
  • ajwcyclist2016
    ajwcyclist2016 Posts: 161 Member
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    Cycling is my main goal when I go to the gym for strength I will do a 5 mins warm up then 1 hour strength. I don't do after but my guess is do after acts as recovery session so a zone 1 easy to promote good recovery by flushing the body of toxins. I certainly wouldn't want to do 1 hour weights, then do 90 mins plus of hard intervals after
  • EllaLeahB
    EllaLeahB Posts: 310 Member
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    Thank you for all of your input, it's much appreciated.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    After. I'm not gonna do cardio then go squat over 200lbs. Then again, I don't do cardio.
  • tarothelp
    tarothelp Posts: 167 Member
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    Before to warm up. Or you could split your cardio session in half a bit before and a bit after
  • carmatiz
    carmatiz Posts: 124 Member
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    I do both actually
  • fattothinmum
    fattothinmum Posts: 218 Member
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    I can lift heavier after a run. No idea why, but perhaps it's being warmed up.

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