Cardio before or after lifting?

24

Replies

  • PowerliftingMom
    PowerliftingMom Posts: 430 Member
    I stretch, then lift, then do minimal cardio afterwards. But I lift heavy and do squats/bench/deadlifts all in 1 session 2x/week in addition to light upper/lower workouts. Light cardio after lifting has completely eliminated any muscle soreness for me
  • paniz_s
    paniz_s Posts: 44 Member
    PowerliftingMom wrote: »
    I stretch, then lift, then do minimal cardio afterwards. But I lift heavy and do squats/bench/deadlifts all in 1 session 2x/week in addition to light upper/lower workouts. Light cardio after lifting has completely eliminated any muscle soreness for me

    How would you define minimal cardio? I know everyone has different interpretations
  • GrenadeRachel
    GrenadeRachel Posts: 40 Member
    I prefer to do my cardio before my weight training. Gets me pumped up and ready to go, it’s my warm up exercise.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    Personally, I think it's best to focus on one or the other. If the "cardio" is just a warm-up, fine. But HIIT is not that. Just lift one day, cardio the next, or split your day into one a.m. one p.m. I do cardio am, lift pm twice a week. The other days may be cardio only or some circuit training.
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    I used to do a 10 min warm up before other stuff (crunches, squats, weight machines) then 20-30 min cardio at the end. Last week, I did 30 min cardio first, then other stuff & found that I had way more energy & stamina! I got through my sets of squats & crunches, etc., with much less fatigue than I normally had. It's great for me because it saves me time & I don't have to go to the gym every single day. Plus as someone else said, I hate cardio so getting it out of the way first really helps! Whatever works for you :smile:
  • paniz_s
    paniz_s Posts: 44 Member
    karla24687 wrote: »
    I used to do a 10 min warm up before other stuff (crunches, squats, weight machines) then 20-30 min cardio at the end. Last week, I did 30 min cardio first, then other stuff & found that I had way more energy & stamina! I got through my sets of squats & crunches, etc., with much less fatigue than I normally had. It's great for me because it saves me time & I don't have to go to the gym every single day. Plus as someone else said, I hate cardio so getting it out of the way first really helps! Whatever works for you :smile:

    Thank you for this! I always hated cardio so it was hard for me to do more than just 10min. But I guess I just have find a machine I like and stick with it
  • SusanMcMc
    SusanMcMc Posts: 252 Member
    It really is individual I think. I do a brief warm-up like squats or jumping jacks just get the blood pumping before doing my weightlifting workout. After that, I’ll do a circuit cardio bodyweight workout. My favorite is Daily Burn 365. I find that if I do cardio first, my weightlifting form suffers. But if I do cardio after weightlifting I come into the cardio with a nice endorphin high and if I start to experience muscle fatigue I can just dial down the cardio portion of the work out. It’s easier to dial down cardio intensity then weightlifting intensity and still have good form in my opinion.
  • paniz_s
    paniz_s Posts: 44 Member
    Asjohnson6889 wrote: »
    I work with a personal trainer, 10 minutes of cardio is a warmup before weights. I’ve been advised to save intensive cardio for after lifting. It’s much easier to hurt yourself weight lifting (especially with free weights) if you are fatigued from running.

    Oh I see! Thank you for this
  • xgir
    xgir Posts: 1 Member
    I'm working on building muscle but keep lean. For me, doing 5 minutes of cardio at a moderate pace (whether it be running, rowing, bike, elliptical) then 2 minutes cool down of going slow. Afterwards I do my weights then do another 15 minutes of fast walking or biking. The end part is easy because it's like cooling down while still burning calories :) Gets rid of the shakes before driving away!
  • kerrylkatriviera
    kerrylkatriviera Posts: 25 Member
    I used to do strength training after cardio, but I found that I was too tired from the cardio and would cut my strength session short, or sometimes skip it. So I switched to doing strength training first, and it's worked out well for me. I feel energized for the cardio, and it's nice to just go home after the cardio. Since I switched, I always do my complete strength routine, and I've lost four pounds.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Asjohnson6889 wrote: »
    I work with a personal trainer, 10 minutes of cardio is a warmup before weights. I’ve been advised to save intensive cardio for after lifting. It’s much easier to hurt yourself weight lifting (especially with free weights) if you are fatigued from running.

    This is also my take. If you are training for an event/specific purpose, prioritize that activity first (best case would be cardio and weights in split sessions during the day). If training for general fitness in one session do the weights first (after a brief warm up if you like). It's a lot easier to stop running if exhausted when running than with a barbell on your back.
  • paniz_s
    paniz_s Posts: 44 Member
    kerrylkatriviera wrote: »
    I used to do strength training after cardio, but I found that I was too tired from the cardio and would cut my strength session short, or sometimes skip it. So I switched to doing strength training first, and it's worked out well for me. I feel energized for the cardio, and it's nice to just go home after the cardio. Since I switched, I always do my complete strength routine, and I've lost four pounds.

    Congrats on dropping 4lbs! I’ll take that into consideration, thank ya!
  • PowerliftingMom
    PowerliftingMom Posts: 430 Member
    paniz_s wrote: »
    PowerliftingMom wrote: »
    I stretch, then lift, then do minimal cardio afterwards. But I lift heavy and do squats/bench/deadlifts all in 1 session 2x/week in addition to light upper/lower workouts. Light cardio after lifting has completely eliminated any muscle soreness for me

    How would you define minimal cardio? I know everyone has different interpretations

    I just walk on the treadmill for 10-15 minutes
  • mfpfreedomnow
    mfpfreedomnow Posts: 52 Member
    I alternate between days for cardio and days for body-weight resistance exercises. One day I do cardio--jogging 2 miles weekdays and longer on weekends. The next day I do body-weight resistance exercises--squats, heel raisers, pull up, push ups, and bicycle crunches.
  • BNY721
    BNY721 Posts: 125 Member
    I do about 5 min walking or on the bike now to warm-up..I also do an active recovery day and cardio then..if I have time I will do cardio for a bit after lifting.
  • emelym1993
    emelym1993 Posts: 4 Member
    10 min cardio before lifting isnt bad and doesnt matter much since in the end it boils down to simply burning calories. However this is assuming the cardio isnt too intense. For example, Hiit Cardio or Plyometric type cardio- Id do after lifting. You want more energy going into weight lifting since building muscle burns fat.
  • Spencerport
    Spencerport Posts: 270 Member
    I've been doing 15 minutes on the Arc Trainer, at a fairly high resistance setting, to get my blood pumping. Then I go lift for 30-40 minutes. This combination seems to help me.

Categories