Cardio before or after

Does cardio work best or after weights?

Replies

  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 393 Member
    I do cardio on non lifting days. If you must cardio, probably best to do it after heavy lifting.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    A little cardio before or after to warm up /cool down is fine. But if you do longer cardio before, your ability to lift will be diminished. And if you can do long cardio after lifting, you weren't working hard enough :lol:

    Consider splitting it up, whether than be on different days or different times of the day. Personally, I like cardio at lunch time, which I do outside the gym, and lifting at night.
  • bham6154
    bham6154 Posts: 14 Member
    My main goal is weight loss. I’ve lost 25 lbs since the beginning of the year. I need to lose 15 more. Not trying to be a body builder but I do want to gain some muscle. All these comments are very beneficial. Thanks guys
  • BattyKnitter
    BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
    edited April 2019
    I lift weights to help minimize muscle loss while I'm losing weight, plus I like feeling strong, and I do cardio because it burns more calories and makes it easier for me to stick to my calorie deficit since I am a short woman. Once I am in maintenance I will scale back the cardio but keep doing some cardio for my heart health and because I enjoy running.

    I try to do cardio every day. On lifting days I do it after lifting and on cardio only days I jog, I workout 6 days a week.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    @bham6154, based on your answer, my answer, if you must do both on the same training day, is begin with your lifting weights first and then close with cardio. You might prepare for the lifting by doing some brisk walking or the elliptical trainer for 5-10 minutes to "oil" the body and get it ready for work but save the heavy duty cardio for the tail end. My two cents.

    This is what I do.
  • scribblemoma
    scribblemoma Posts: 115 Member
    A 5-10 minute warm up with cardio is ok before heavy lifting but I’d avoid the heavy cardio work before a lift session since it’s practically begging for injury. I do heavy lifts first and light cardio immediately after...OR heavy lifts in the morning and heavier cardio much later in the day. Best of luck!
  • Daisy_Girl2019
    Daisy_Girl2019 Posts: 209 Member
    I keep my heart rate in check while doing cardio for an hour since I don't wanna over exert myself. Don't want rhabdo on my case. I do weight training very minimal reps but max weight as I can tolerate.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
    I do cardio and weights on alternate days. I run 4 days a week, and lift 3.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited April 2019
    Unless you are training for an endurance event, I suggest cardio after weights, or on different days. lifting weights while tired can set you up to lose form or injury, especially if you push yourself or lift heavy. And since muscle building is part of your goal more so than somehting like getting a PB in a triathlon, weights first fits with that.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Both works. I did calorie deficit with strenght training and cardio. Cardio for 30 mins then strenght training for 1.5 hour. I am still in cutting process so I change my routine to cardio for 1 hour then strenght train for 1 hour about 3-4x a week max 5. I go slow, I try to keep my HR around 130's max.
    I read once you hit that 30mins with cardio the body starts pulling energy from stored fats instead of carbs, so cardio works really well for fat burning. Also hiking works really well in using stored body fat, but I don't have time to walk 5 hours straight.

    Just FYI since this is misunderstanding often repeated.

    You burn fat from resting all the way up to anaerobic point (and beyond actually, just not for long anyway).

    The % of fat burned depends on intensity. Around 90% while resting and less and less as you go more intense.

    When you first starting exercising, the ratio of carbs to fat burned is slightly higher than what happens at about 30 min in if you maintain intensity level.

    The difference isn't that great (say 60% to 40% carb), and it really only matters to endurance workout/event, where the carbs required to merely finish is very important to have, so burning extra at start is no good for the ending to be kept as intense.

    This is also what leads to the myth about doing cardio fasted burning more fat - you generally skip or lessen that 30 min delay and start at the lower carb ratio. But again it's not much, and only matters if endurance training is your goal.

    At the end of the day for either misunderstanding - it doesn't matter.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited April 2019
    heybales wrote: »
    Both works. I did calorie deficit with strenght training and cardio. Cardio for 30 mins then strenght training for 1.5 hour. I am still in cutting process so I change my routine to cardio for 1 hour then strenght train for 1 hour about 3-4x a week max 5. I go slow, I try to keep my HR around 130's max.
    I read once you hit that 30mins with cardio the body starts pulling energy from stored fats instead of carbs, so cardio works really well for fat burning. Also hiking works really well in using stored body fat, but I don't have time to walk 5 hours straight.

    Just FYI since this is misunderstanding often repeated.

    You burn fat from resting all the way up to anaerobic point (and beyond actually, just not for long anyway).

    The % of fat burned depends on intensity. Around 90% while resting and less and less as you go more intense.

    When you first starting exercising, the ratio of carbs to fat burned is slightly higher than what happens at about 30 min in if you maintain intensity level.

    The difference isn't that great (say 60% to 40% carb), and it really only matters to endurance workout/event, where the carbs required to merely finish is very important to have, so burning extra at start is no good for the ending to be kept as intense.

    This is also what leads to the myth about doing cardio fasted burning more fat - you generally skip or lessen that 30 min delay and start at the lower carb ratio. But again it's not much, and only matters if endurance training is your goal.

    At the end of the day for either misunderstanding - it doesn't matter.

    I also find that fasted you can't go as intense or for as long, so, if your intake for the day is the same you will actually lose less body fat overall if you burn fewer cals fasted.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Depends on what you mean by cardio...cardio sessions can very in intensity and duration. Doing a long, moderately vigorous cardio session before lifting is likely to not leave much in the tank to perform your lifts properly.

    I typically do my cardio on non-lifting days. I usually do a 10-15 minute cool down on the stationary bike after lifting, but I don't really consider it to be cardiovascular training.
  • Chelle8070
    Chelle8070 Posts: 165 Member
    My personal preference is to do cardio before and after upper body weight lifting days and after on leg days. If I do it before leg day, I am too tired for leg presses, lunges, etc.
  • matrosov65
    matrosov65 Posts: 25 Member
    Depends. What weights are you doing, what body parts are you training and what do you mean by cardio. For example. I am cycling thru a 6 months weight program I really love, after 8 months injury hiatus. First 6 week is adaptation stage circuit like training lower weights higher reps first week one circuit second week two circuits third week three circuits. Rinse and repeat for another three weeks with some variations. So for those 6 weeks I'll do weights first and cardio depending on how many circuits I've done I do either after weights or weights in the morning cardio in the evening. Since with lower weights being warmed up is not that critical. After that I'll be doing heavier weights and lower reps and some really heavy weights and with those I'd do 10 minute low-mid level treadmill cardio for warm up because it is really important especially for legs and back exercises, before weights and real cardio on days in between weights. Some people get their cardio and HIIT with weights alone and have good results.
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  • tammie614
    tammie614 Posts: 48 Member
    fat loss is my goal so for me personally, i do cardio after weights unless its LISS. I found myself getting fatigued if i did full blown cardio before weights. I'd much rather have my energy full blast on my lifts/reps/sets and then save cardio for last.
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
    after always.