Do you Weight Lift or Do Cardio First?

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  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    I personally strength train then do cardio as I don't like being dripping wet while before lifting weights.

    Exactly this as my process and logic for it as well.
  • Miss_Krissy87
    Miss_Krissy87 Posts: 214 Member
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    It depends on what workout I am doing.. sometimes i stregnth train first and then do cardio then sometimes I cardio then stregnth train.. I like to confuse my body .. it makes me lose more weight..
  • GoldspursX3
    GoldspursX3 Posts: 516 Member
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    I run in the morning before work 5-6 days a week. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I do my strength training (Currently SL 5X5) in the evening after work. I feel this gives me adequate time to recover after my morning run and my lift session doesn't suffer.
  • trysha1231
    trysha1231 Posts: 163 Member
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    Nothing wrong with doing a 5 min warmup before lifting, but you should do your 30 min cardio sessions always AFTER lifting.

    Why?

    1. Improved Recovery
    2. Maintaining Conditioning / Work Capacity
    3. Improved Calorie Partitioning
    4. Keeping Fat Burning Pathways Active
    Thank you for stating this. I am starting TurboFire/Chalean X tomorrow and was wondering which to do first.Thanks.
  • DFWTT
    DFWTT Posts: 374
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    I run in the morning before work 5-6 days a week. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I do my strength training (Currently SL 5X5) in the evening after work. I feel this gives me adequate time to recover after my morning run and my lift session doesn't suffer.


    This works too. A-la two-a-days...I haven't missed those since high school and I won't be missing them anytime soon. :wink:
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Interesting

    I always do cardio first, whether it is intense or light

    I may try strength first now!

    I'm thinkin this too... Couldn't hurt to switch things up that way regardless!
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Nothing wrong with doing a 5 min warmup before lifting, but you should do your 30 min cardio sessions always AFTER lifting.

    Why?

    1. Improved Recovery
    2. Maintaining Conditioning / Work Capacity
    3. Improved Calorie Partitioning
    4. Keeping Fat Burning Pathways Active
    Thank you for stating this. I am starting TurboFire/Chalean X tomorrow and was wondering which to do first.Thanks.

    That's exactly what I've been doing too :)
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I mix it up and just make sure I get to the gym 5 days a week, 6th is a bonus.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
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    Depends if I can make it tot he weights before Zumba starts. Usually it's Zumba first then weights.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    I keep my days separate.. IE One day I do a light warm up(like 5 min on the treadmill and then lift) and then the following day it's a cardio day.

    Reason being by the time I'm doing lifting, the last thing I want to do is hop on a treadmill/elliptical/whatever your cardio choice is.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i do a 15 min cardio warm up before lifting. if possible i finish off with a 12 minute HIIT session if i have the energy. if not then it's just a 15 easy cool down before stretching.
  • jastarki
    jastarki Posts: 14
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    I keep my days separate.. IE One day I do a light warm up(like 5 min on the treadmill and then lift) and then the following day it's a cardio day.

    Reason being by the time I'm doing lifting, the last thing I want to do is hop on a treadmill/elliptical/whatever your cardio choice is.

    Agreed. I run, and I don't like doing it after strength because my legs are so shaky. If I do strength and cardio on the same day, I split them up and do one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening.
  • Fit4Evolution
    Fit4Evolution Posts: 375 Member
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    to gain strength and size lift first.. to reduce and lose weight and shred cardio first!
  • Fit4Evolution
    Fit4Evolution Posts: 375 Member
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    the first thing you do will burn the sugar stores in your blood and muscles so if you need to lift heavy you dont want to burn them up first. if you do cardio first you will burn through the sugar and the rest of the whole workout will be a mix of fat protein and sugars
  • Guajardo73
    Guajardo73 Posts: 17 Member
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    You have to rotate! If u get in a set routine ur body wil plateau! Keep your body guessing what is gna come next!
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    If you can bang out 30 minutes of cardio any more intense than walking it might be time to put some more plates on that bar.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    always strength first ,use up all your stored energy on weights .so its all fat burning doing cardio

    Care to expound? And back it up with some proof in the form of peer reviewed research. For this to be true, your weight routine would have to burn somewhere around 400 grams of glycogen. This occurs during distance running somewhere between the 1.5 hour and 2 hour mark. Running burns far more glycogen than weight training so how long would you have to strength train to get to the point where you burn "all fat" when you switch to cardio. Then there is always the issue of bonking or "hitting the wall" when you did totally expend your glycogen stores. Feeling weak, and like you can't go on? That'd be a fun time to do some cardio!!

    When people do strength or cardio is up to them. Most professional athelete do them on different days with the exception of 5 to 10 minute cardio warmup and the same for cool down before and after strength training. I'm not a professional athelete but I figure if it's good for them, its good for me.
  • aproc
    aproc Posts: 1,033 Member
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    I always do weights first so I can get the most out of it.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    If you can bang out 30 minutes of cardio any more intense than walking it might be time to put some more plates on that bar.

    Yeah boy! I'm totally feelin' you! :laugh:
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I've always done cardio first as well, because I thought warmed muscles would benefit more from lifting... but some of you are saying I will burn more fat if I do cardio last... It seems to be 50/50. Not helping!!!! lol

    It doesn't matter what you do first. If you utilize your glucose during cardio, your body will utilize fat in strength training. If you utilize your glucose during strength training, your body will burn fat during cardio.

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