Weight training before or after cardio?

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Sheriemae
Sheriemae Posts: 248
in Fitness and Exercise
So should you lift before or after cardio? Some say to do before, others say after. Not sure what to do. Sometimes I'm too tired to lift after but, I've heard that you will bulk up if you do it before. Myth? Not sure. Help would be great! Thanks!
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  • Baroness
    Baroness Posts: 35 Member
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    I heard that you can lift better and with more concentration when you do it before. So are more likely to have proper form and get the max results...
  • ESVABelle
    ESVABelle Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Before. The increased circulation associated with cardio decreases the lactic acid build up in the muscles due to the increase in blood flow
  • raelynnjordan
    raelynnjordan Posts: 135 Member
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    Lift first. Then cardio.
  • namrettik
    namrettik Posts: 127
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    Before. Both activities really wear you out; but, I've noticed lifting makes me tired much later in the day, whereas cardio makes you tired immediately. If you plan on doing both, lift first so you can actually do both.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    you can not bulk up or build muscle if you are dieting.

    and it doesnt really matter which you do if you are trying to lose weight. if you are specifically trying to build muscle, cut out the cardio completely and eat!

    if you are trying to lose fat, it doesnt matter what you do first. although, when you are doing cardio you are depleting glycogen stores for your muscles..so you may find yourself not able to lift to heavy.

    its always good to lift when losing weight..as it helps to maintain muscle mass.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    So should you lift before or after cardio? Some say to do before, others say after. Not sure what to do. Sometimes I'm too tired to lift after but, I've heard that you will bulk up if you do it before. Myth? Not sure. Help would be great! Thanks!
    MYTH. You don't BULK on calorie deficit. You bulk up on calorie surplus.
    Doing cardio before lifting can deplete glycogen stores and doing that would cause catabolism in muscle tissue if more energy is needed to finish your lifting workout. In other words you're breaking down muscle to lift! And losing muscle causes a lower metabolic rate which reduces more effective fat burning at rest.
    So lift first.
  • nokittyno
    nokittyno Posts: 293 Member
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    After, there's a scientific mumbo jumbo thing about it.. I found an article here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/james4.htm :)
  • audressw
    audressw Posts: 1
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    I read in either a women's or men's health magazine that you should lift after. That is because doing cardio after decreases the results of your weight training, and therefore you have less muscle growth. This will not make you bulky, as long as your lifting lighter weights; it will create lean muscle. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns on a daily basis without added exercise. You also shouldn't do too much cardio before because then you will be too tired to lift weights. Try doing 20 minutes of cardio before lifting, enough to get your heart going and your muscles warmed up. You could also try circuit training. Better yet, since you should only lift around 3 times a week, swith off days doing cardio and weights. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are weight days and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are cardio days. Then rest on Sunday. Look your question up online using reliable sources to verify what I just wrote, but I'm fairly sure it is accurate.
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
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    So should you lift before or after cardio? Some say to do before, others say after. Not sure what to do. Sometimes I'm too tired to lift after but, I've heard that you will bulk up if you do it before. Myth? Not sure. Help would be great! Thanks!
    MYTH. You don't BULK on calorie deficit. You bulk up on calorie surplus.
    Doing cardio before lifting can deplete glycogen stores and doing that would cause catabolism in muscle tissue if more energy is needed to finish your lifting workout. In other words you're breaking down muscle to lift! And losing muscle causes a lower metabolic rate which reduces more effective fat burning at rest.
    So lift first.

    This is all correct. Another reason I've found is if you lift first you are really able to focus on form (which is very important) and do each activity correctly. If you do cardio first your muscles are fatigued and you may not be able to be as focused. By lifting first you are reducing the risk of injury.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    BEFORE.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    I read in either a women's or men's health magazine that you should lift after. That is because doing cardio after decreases the results of your weight training, and therefore you have less muscle growth. This will not make you bulky, as long as your lifting lighter weights; it will create lean muscle. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns on a daily basis without added exercise. You also shouldn't do too much cardio before because then you will be too tired to lift weights. Try doing 20 minutes of cardio before lifting, enough to get your heart going and your muscles warmed up. You could also try circuit training. Better yet, since you should only lift around 3 times a week, swith off days doing cardio and weights. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are weight days and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are cardio days. Then rest on Sunday. Look your question up online using reliable sources to verify what I just wrote, but I'm fairly sure it is accurate.
    Muscle can't be created with light weights. Muscle grows doing to things to it: overload and supplying nutrition. It's also almost impossible to build muscle on calorie deficit.
    And like I stated above, reduced glycogen stores will cause the body to sap energy from somewhere else if it needs it. Easiest way to do that for the liver is to break muscle down to amino acids for use.
    Also, you CAN lift everyday, just not the same muscles. Training one body part per day is VERY common in lifting.
    Lift first. Save your lean muscle.
  • Sheriemae
    Sheriemae Posts: 248
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    Thank you all so much! I'm going to go with lift before. I'm starting ChaLean Extreme next week....well hopefully, as long as it comes this week.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    For about 98% of the population, it makes no difference. If you think about this topic for 30 seconds--you've spent about 25 seconds too many thinking about it.
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
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    I read in either a women's or men's health magazine that you should lift after. That is because doing cardio after decreases the results of your weight training, and therefore you have less muscle growth. This will not make you bulky, as long as your lifting lighter weights; it will create lean muscle. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns on a daily basis without added exercise. You also shouldn't do too much cardio before because then you will be too tired to lift weights. Try doing 20 minutes of cardio before lifting, enough to get your heart going and your muscles warmed up. You could also try circuit training. Better yet, since you should only lift around 3 times a week, swith off days doing cardio and weights. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are weight days and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are cardio days. Then rest on Sunday. Look your question up online using reliable sources to verify what I just wrote, but I'm fairly sure it is accurate.
    Muscle can't be created with light weights. Muscle grows doing to things to it: overload and supplying nutrition. It's also almost impossible to build muscle on calorie deficit.
    And like I stated above, reduced glycogen stores will cause the body to sap energy from somewhere else if it needs it. Easiest way to do that for the liver is to break muscle down to amino acids for use.
    Also, you CAN lift everyday, just not the same muscles. Training one body part per day is VERY common in lifting.
    Lift first. Save your lean muscle.

    I completely agree with this and say lift first. Also, as a woman, you're not going to bulk up regardless of when and how much you lift, especially if you're eating reduced calories. (Most) women just aren't built for putting on crazy muscle mass like men. Obviously there are some women who do bulk up, i.e. female body builders, but they do that by training hardcore, supplementing, and most importantly on purpose. Lift heavy and don't worry about bulking up.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    I completely agree with this and say lift first. Also, as a woman, you're not going to bulk up regardless of when and how much you lift, especially if you're eating reduced calories. (Most) women just aren't built for putting on crazy muscle mass like men. Obviously there are some women who do bulk up, i.e. female body builders, but they do that by training hardcore, supplementing, and most importantly on purpose. Lift heavy and don't worry about bulking up.
    The "enhancement drugs" also play a big part.
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
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    For about 98% of the population, it makes no difference. If you think about this topic for 30 seconds--you've spent about 25 seconds too many thinking about it.

    Best answer ever!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I read in either a women's or men's health magazine that you should lift after. That is because doing cardio after decreases the results of your weight training, and therefore you have less muscle growth. This will not make you bulky, as long as your lifting lighter weights; it will create lean muscle. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns on a daily basis without added exercise. You also shouldn't do too much cardio before because then you will be too tired to lift weights. Try doing 20 minutes of cardio before lifting, enough to get your heart going and your muscles warmed up. You could also try circuit training. Better yet, since you should only lift around 3 times a week, swith off days doing cardio and weights. For example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are weight days and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are cardio days. Then rest on Sunday. Look your question up online using reliable sources to verify what I just wrote, but I'm fairly sure it is accurate.
    Muscle can't be created with light weights. Muscle grows doing to things to it: overload and supplying nutrition. It's also almost impossible to build muscle on calorie deficit.
    And like I stated above, reduced glycogen stores will cause the body to sap energy from somewhere else if it needs it. Easiest way to do that for the liver is to break muscle down to amino acids for use.
    Also, you CAN lift everyday, just not the same muscles. Training one body part per day is VERY common in lifting.
    Lift first. Save your lean muscle.
    I

    I'm sorry, but I think this is one area where there is a huge disconnect between hypothesis, hyperbole, and reality. Very few recreational lifters are ever going to be in danger of reducing glycogen stores during a single workout to make any appreciable difference--I would wager that for the average MFP weight loss member, it is near unthinkable.

    Doing cardio and lifting heavy are not mutually exclusive. IMO, there are a lot more people out there who risk overtraining from pounding themselves into the ground every workout then will ever be at risk of losing even1 gram of muscle mass from doing too much cardio.
  • DarcieC2389
    DarcieC2389 Posts: 146
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    I don't think it matters. Just need to watch out not to overwork the same muscles and it is recommended not to do weight training more than 2 or 3 times a week to give your body time to recover.
  • mideon_696
    mideon_696 Posts: 770 Member
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    yeah too much thinking about it going on here.

    its all about adaptation. do what keeps you motivated. you're body will adjust.

    :)
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I always feel better if I lift before but that's just me. I do think it's up to you and just find what works for you. Obviously if you're strength training HARD, you don't want to run afterwards. I can't 'cause my thighs get way too sore to run right afterwards so I try to do a low impact cardio exercise afterwards such as walking, the elliptical, crossramp, etc.

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