Cardio&Strength - Together or Separate?

Most of the stuff I've read suggests doing them different days. As you indicated, you probably get a better strength training workout if you are well rested and ready to pump some iron.

keep em seperate. you don't want to over work your body and keeping them seperate allows you to focus on certain muscles. But just my opinion.... I've had better results this way.

I have heard a lot of people suggest (if you do both in the same session) to do lifting then cardio.

Hmmm, interesting question! I personally do cardio, cool off a bit and stretch, do conditioning/strengthening, and then stretch some more. I've heard different things from different people, but I can't do it the opposite way!

Good evening pals! I've got a simple question. Is it better to do intense cardio and strength training together or separately? As in, is it better to do a really good 500+ calorie burning cardio session then immediately follow it up with weights or calisthenics or is it better to focus on cardio one day and strength the next?

I ask because I typically do my intense cardio, allow myself a short break to rehydrate and collect and then immediately jump into my strength. Tonight, I decided to give just strength a try (with a little 5 minute cardio before just to warm up) and it feels to me like my muscles feel more worked. It was also much easier to keep form since I wasn't worn down from running or jump rope.

Well if you do intense cardio first, you're depleting your glycogen stores and by the time you lift, the energy required is usually taken from the break down of lean tissue to amino acids.
Since you had more glycogen to lift today, the workout was much more effective.
You can do weights and cardio on the same day, but lift first then do cardio.

Hmmm...I usually do both but i change the focus of my routine daily. If I do a heavier cardio day, i relax on some strength training and focus mostly on free weights and arm/chest [as my cardio usually fatigues the leg muscles]. If I'm going to focus more on strength training I limit my cardio sessions to 20 minutes max depending on how Im feeling. I always do stretching and crunches [working my core] in between the two. Sometimes if my body isnt feeling up to it I do a short intense workout with fifteen mins cardio and fifteen mins strength and that usually works well. I generally try to listen to my body and how much fatigue Im feeling. I'm trying to lose weight so I have a more cardio-centric focus but since I dance and snowboard I also need to rely on my body's strength ability, so it works for me to do both. I usually keep my regimen rations [cardio-core-strength] at about 70-10-20 for a cardio day and 20-20-60 for a strength-training day. Hope that helps!

The only way to build muscle is to let them recover. I think it's overkill to do both on the same day.

The only way to build muscle is to let them recover. I think it's overkill to do both on the same day.

I agree with this!

So as always depends on your goals, if you are primarily working on gaining strength & muscle then eat right, lift and recover.

If you working on some kind of hybrid general fitness, then still better to do them separate days if you can. recovery is king in any exercise routine!

If your aim is to work up to some kind of cardio endurance event, then still lift if you can! but maybe twice a week would work better in this scenario.

I keep them separate. I lift 3days a week and do cardio 3 days a week, I feel this way I can give my max at each. Good luck.