cardio before or after strength training?

manasunshine
manasunshine Posts: 130
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
hey,
ok i need to know if on some days im doing strength and cardio both. which one should i be doing first?for cardio i normally do high impact aerobics for more than 25 mins

thanks in advance =)

Replies

  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    Kinda depends on the goal/purpose. I need my form in my cardio to be spot on so lifting prior can and will compromise that. Most folks should do the opposite however.
  • adamb83
    adamb83 Posts: 719 Member
    I was always under the impression that you should do cardio first, to pump up your heart rate and metabolism, then do strength training. But everything I’ve been hearing/reading lately says to do your weight lifting first and cardio second, or to do circuit training where they are inter-mixed. Recently, I’ve started doing the latter… I start with a warm-up/stretch – then do two circuits of strength training, 10 minutes of cardio, two circuits of strength training, 10 minutes of cardio, etc. for a total work out of about 90 minutes. Then cool down & stretch at the end. It seems to be pretty effective (I only do this on days when I’m doing both strength training + cardio – most days I’m doing cardio only).
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    Kinda depends on the goal/purpose. I need my form in my cardio to be spot on so lifting prior can and will compromise that. Most folks should do the opposite however.

    ^^^^

    However based on the fact that you said you're doing aerobics which I assume just means jumping around/stepping/whatever purely for calorie burn that means you should be doing your weights first. If you were training for an aerobic sport like running/cycling/whatever I'd say do the cardio first (And don't expect to be able to get as much strength progess).

    I do strength for the strength building and muscle retaining so I Care about it the most. I do cardio just to burn some extra cals so I can eat what I want. So cardio comes after for me. (I don't even do a warmup on a cardio machine, I just warm up with light weights)
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    Kinda depends on the goal/purpose. I need my form in my cardio to be spot on so lifting prior can and will compromise that. Most folks should do the opposite however.

    This. It depends on your goal.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    do both at the same time! circuit training is IMO the best thing that's ever happened to me
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    do both at the same time! circuit training is IMO the best thing that's ever happened to me

    Best of both worlds or not reaping the full potential of either???? Just kidding. Kinda
  • manasunshine
    manasunshine Posts: 130
    my goal is to lose weight
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    My recommendation for general weight loss is a short (5-10 minute) brisk walk on the treadmill or elliptical to get the blood flowing. Then lift. Then a solid cardio session.
  • sma83
    sma83 Posts: 479 Member
    bump....ive been wondering the same thing!
  • dokihara
    dokihara Posts: 14 Member
    It also depends on the type of cardio, and for how long.

    HIIT? Interval training? Steady state cardio?

    15 minutes? 30 minutes? an hour?

    Long story short... the longer you do cardio, on the same day / near a strength workout, you will destroy all of your gains / progress from the strength training.

    If you plan to do steady state cardio like running, do that on a different day than your strength training. If you are doing something like 15-20 minutes of HIIT, then that's okay to do before your strength training, but it will impact your strength performance.

    I personally would avoid cardio after strength training if possible, so your body can get the proper nutrients it needs + repair itself.
  • dane11235813
    dane11235813 Posts: 682 Member
    My recommendation for general weight loss is a short (5-10 minute) brisk walk on the treadmill or elliptical to get the blood flowing. Then lift. Then a solid cardio session.

    this
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    Honestly, I think it doesn't really matter. Especially if you aren't a super-elite athlete trying to win stuff.

    Just workout as hard as you can, mix things up so you aren't doing the same thing every day, listen to your body, and have fun!

    Sometimes I think we make everything way too complicated... with all these rules to try to 'maximize' everything and it just puts too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect all the time.
  • dane11235813
    dane11235813 Posts: 682 Member
    It also depends on the type of cardio, and for how long.

    HIIT? Interval training? Steady state cardio?

    15 minutes? 30 minutes? an hour?

    Long story short... the longer you do cardio, on the same day / near a strength workout, you will destroy all of your gains / progress from the strength training.

    If you plan to do steady state cardio like running, do that on a different day than your strength training. If you are doing something like 15-20 minutes of HIIT, then that's okay to do before your strength training, but it will impact your strength performance.

    I personally would avoid cardio after strength training if possible, so your body can get the proper nutrients it needs + repair itself.

    not this!
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    It also depends on the type of cardio, and for how long.

    HIIT? Interval training? Steady state cardio?

    15 minutes? 30 minutes? an hour?

    Long story short... the longer you do cardio, on the same day / near a strength workout, you will destroy all of your gains / progress from the strength training.

    If you plan to do steady state cardio like running, do that on a different day than your strength training. If you are doing something like 15-20 minutes of HIIT, then that's okay to do before your strength training, but it will impact your strength performance.

    I personally would avoid cardio after strength training if possible, so your body can get the proper nutrients it needs + repair itself.

    Meal timing has been repeatedly debunked by dieticians like Alan Aragon and Lyle McDonald. Most athletes will break cardio and weights into two different sessions during the day. Most normal folks don't have that type of time. Put the more important activity to you first so that you're fresher and have more energy to perform it. Then follow with the other.
  • dokihara
    dokihara Posts: 14 Member
    not this!

    care to explain?
  • philco41
    philco41 Posts: 68 Member
    I'm 70 yrs. old, so my experience may not be too relevant, but lately I've found I do better mixing things up. Most of my cardio consists of walking, and I try to walk every day around the neighborhood. At the gym, I like to do maybe 10 minutes of cardio as a warm-up, then do a few sets of resistance exercise, walk a few more laps, then resume the strength exercises. I may do 3 sessions of each in one evening at the gym.
  • dokihara
    dokihara Posts: 14 Member
    Meal timing has been repeatedly debunked by dieticians like Alan Aragon and Lyle McDonald. Most athletes will break cardio and weights into two different sessions during the day. Most normal folks don't have that type of time. Put the more important activity to you first so that you're fresher and have more energy to perform it. Then follow with the other.

    I agree with you, I think what I'm missing is that a lot of people have a different meaning of "cardio". A 10 minute walk on a treadmill is a "warmup" and definitely should be done before weight training. It gets your blood flowing and can help prevent injury. But to me, "cardio" could be a 5 mile run @ a 10:00 minute pace, or 400m intervals @ a 2:00 minute pace, etc. Really depends on type of cardio and length of cardio (Hey you guys can tell me I'm wrong).

    Good to know about meal timing. I try to avoid cardio after strength training also, because most of the time I'm so beat up I can't even put in a good cardio session anyway.

    Also again it goes back to what your goals are.
  • Abbdul
    Abbdul Posts: 103 Member
    if you want to lose weight you do the cardio before strength training ,
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    if you want to lose weight you do the cardio before strength training ,
    And yet I lost 100 pounds doing cardio after strength training. :laugh:

    Seriously, there is no compelling science to argue doing one before the other. Do what works for you and what you can sustain over the long run.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I'm a fan of different things on different days. I'll do HIIT on day, then low itensity cardio the next, then strength training the next, rest day, low intensity cardio, then either strenght or HIIT. I rotate the strength and the HIIT week to week to get in 2 sessions per week of one of them. Honestly, if you are going hard enough in your full cardio or full strength, it's hard to imagine having the energy for both and there is some research that was being quoted on a thread here the other day that doing both can raise cortisol and have you going catabolic because you are competing too much for the bodies resources. This exclues a cardio warm up of 10 minutes or less before strength training. My .02!
  • jancli
    jancli Posts: 11 Member
    Honestly, I think it doesn't really matter. Especially if you aren't a super-elite athlete trying to win stuff.

    Just workout as hard as you can, mix things up so you aren't doing the same thing every day, listen to your body, and have fun!

    Sometimes I think we make everything way too complicated... with all these rules to try to 'maximize' everything and it just puts too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect all the time.
  • jancli
    jancli Posts: 11 Member
    Well said! I agree with you 100%.
  • kkrondon
    kkrondon Posts: 46 Member
    Personally, I do my cardio first because I usually do a steady 30 min. run. Then I either weight train or circuit train (which involves weight lifting) for another 30 min. or so. I find that if I reverse the order, I don't have the energy to get thru my run as efficiently/effectively. But, it really depends on what works/feels best to you.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    My recommendation for general weight loss is a short (5-10 minute) brisk walk on the treadmill or elliptical to get the blood flowing. Then lift. Then a solid cardio session.

    ...this
  • jesusHchris
    jesusHchris Posts: 1,405 Member
    One of my favorite articles on this topic:
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek34.htm

    Might be best to split them at least a few hours apart if you can.
  • cgsr
    cgsr Posts: 113
    I like cardio before lifting...but as many have said, it depends on your goal....there is no exact science to this (that i know of)
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
    Personally, I do an hour on the elliptical and then an hour on weights. I LOVE lifting weights and only sometimes love the elliptical (most of the time I think of it as a necessary evil). So my "reward" for doing my cardio, is lifting weights afterwards.
  • Kanzaki3
    Kanzaki3 Posts: 656 Member
    I separate the 2. If I decide to do both in one day, I either do cardio in the morning and strength training at night or vice versa. Depends on how I'm feeling.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i dont usually do cardio and strength on the same day - im supposed to, according to my program (20 minutes cardio after lifting) but i just dont. ill lift for 20-30 minutes 3 times a week, and do 60 minutes of cardio 2 times a week with two rest days

    if i do extra cardio, i do it in the morning and then lift at night
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