Cardio Best BEFORE or AFTER lifting???

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hnsmith89
hnsmith89 Posts: 14 Member
edited December 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
I read in an article you’re supposed to do cardio AFTER lifting.What’s anyone else’s experience in your routines and cardio/lifting???

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  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    This is dependent on your goals. My goals have always been around endurance sports and recovery from surgeries. For that reason I do "cardio" first unless swimming is involved, in which case I'll lift and then swim (which is cross-training for me anyways).

    Now I typically lift on days that I don't have a cardio heavy workout, but I will warm up for 10ish minutes on the rowing machine or spin bike ahead of time.
  • hnsmith89
    hnsmith89 Posts: 14 Member
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    That’s what I do too. I’ve always been more inclined in cardio than lifting but I have recently gotten into heavy lifting and while I noticed it’s benefitted my running tremendously, I have to do cardio prior to lifting. I believe my muscle memory for running is just at a higher tolerance than lifting so I’m able to run miles prior to lifting and feel fantastic and able to lift heavy just fine but trying to do the reverse I literally was surprised my legs didn’t crumble beneath me!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    hnsmith89 wrote: »
    I read in an article you’re supposed to do cardio AFTER lifting.What’s anyone else’s experience in your routines and cardio/lifting???

    Well, you would have to define "cardio"...it's pretty broad. Walking is cardio...so is a spin class. I would have no trouble walking before or after lifting in that it's pretty light work. Right now I'm doing a lot of indoor spinning due to winter...some of the YouTube classes I'm doing are pretty intense and there's no way in hell I'm getting under a barbell afterwards. My weight lifting programming is also such that I wouldn't really have a particularly good spin session after lifting either.

    I lift 2-3x per week with a full body routine and either spin or road ride on the other days. If I do cardio on a lifting day, it's typically in the AM and I lift in the PM. Occasionally I will get on the stationary bike for 20-30 minutes after lifting on a Saturday, but it's a pretty mellow cardio session.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I know people who do one or the other exclusively, swear it makes a difference and that it's best to do it like they do.
  • PowerliftingMom
    PowerliftingMom Posts: 430 Member
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    I only do a little cardio (15 min) for heart health after lifting. I lift 5x/week, follow strict programming and compete a few times a year so I never do too much cardio
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Also depends on the cardio. Mine's walking and, with December days being short up here in Canada, I try to get mine done during daylight. For whatever reason, I find I prefer to strength-train in the afternoon or evening. In summer, I may do that first and then go out for a walk in the evening when it's cooler. But sunset's around 4:30 now. So I walk in the morning and then do strength-training later in the day.

    Now, on days when I can't get out to walk (weather or other commitments), I have a glider in the basement and I'll do that after strength-training. But if it's outdoor activity? I'm not doing that in the dark.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Linking the article would help if you want views on the quality of the article.
    Context and personal goals matters enormously even if it's a well thought out article.

    BTW - my "cardio" varies from a 2 mile gentle cycle to the gym to a 9 hour ride including a load of tough hills.
  • _aenyeweddien_
    _aenyeweddien_ Posts: 102 Member
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    I know people who do one or the other exclusively, swear it makes a difference and that it's best to do it like they do.

    Any idea why is that? Just curious what's the reason/science behind it
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 979 Member
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    I'm fairly sure it depends on your goals. I've read that if you're more cardio focused, then do your cardio first. If you're weights focused, do weights first.

    I think the idea is that you don't want to be fatigued for your main focus so you should do that one first.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Deviette wrote: »
    I'm fairly sure it depends on your goals. I've read that if you're more cardio focused, then do your cardio first. If you're weights focused, do weights first.

    I think the idea is that you don't want to be fatigued for your main focus so you should do that one first.

    This is pretty much what my trainer told me.
  • tirowow12385
    tirowow12385 Posts: 698 Member
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    When I deadlifted, I'd be huffing and puffing and sweating, I don't really feel the need to do cardio.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
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    I'm a runner training for a marathon so running comes first I only do weight bearing exercise on lighter cardio days after the run.
  • Silkysausage
    Silkysausage Posts: 502 Member
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    https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/ask-the-ripped-dude-cardio-before-or-after-weights.html
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
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    Agree with the align things to your goals (and time constraints). I often do 10-15 min of light cardio (elliptical, jogging ) before lifting as a warm up, then do another 15-20 after. If I’m trying to be aggressive with cardio, I’ll do 3 days of lifting and alternate with 2 days of abs/hard cardio/HIIT, one day of active recovery (slow cardio, light lifting, etc) and then a rest day. If I’m focusing on lifting, I’ll do 4 days of lifting with one hard cardio/abs day, one active recovery, and a rest day.

    If I want to get it all done, I can’t do it in a 3 day week (cardio and lifting together). I would rather take the te extra days for shorter cardio workouts and dedicate my “big” days to lifting, though you could reverse that.
  • newhopeind
    newhopeind Posts: 34 Member
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    Coming from someone who primarily lifts, and does cardio to help, I can say that there is science out there behind it. I’ve often seen that it comes down to your energy stores, but it presented it as two different scenarios (or pronounced scenarios).

    First: you’re training to be a runner. Runners are often “leaner” and while they have muscle, certainly, it isn’t power muscle it’s endurance muscle. So, if you’re training to be a runner, then do cardio first, because you will have the energy to put all you can into it, while weight training will help give you added strength to go further and faster.

    Second: you’re training to be a lifter. Again, it comes down to energy stores. If you’re training to be a lifter, you’ll want to devote the majority of your energy towards muscle gain and strength, so cardio just adds to the calories that you’ve burned in order to get fit.

    Either way, it comes down to YOUR goals. If you prefer running, use your energy for that and use lifting to help muscle definition. If you’re training to be a lifter, lift and use cardio to help definition. Either way, whatever you do first is going to use up the most protein and carbs for initial energy, and the second will help tap into fat stores. Which is why if you lift first, then cardio, you’ll be able to lift a lot more and perhaps won’t be as able to go hard on cardio. Vice versa, if you do cardio then weights, you’ll be able to train harder on cardio first and weights you’ll be exhausted.

    Always remember, you are what you eat. Lifters need more protein, cardio needs more carbs. And your initial macros that MFP puts out are perfect for runners, but lifters will want to dabble with theirs to increase protein.
  • 911Doughboy
    911Doughboy Posts: 80 Member
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    When I was going to the gym regularly, I did a short cardio (1/4 mile) as warmup, then circuit training, then finished it off with long cardio (1 mile)

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