Cardio before or after weightlifting?

[kicknitinkc]

I did some research and from what I read, it's better to do cardio after lifting weights because by that time all your stored energy is used up and your body starts burning fat. I tried that and it is soo much harder for me to do my cardio workout as long as I normally do it before weightlifting. I feel like I don't increase my stamina as much when I do cardio afterwards because I'm only on there for about 15 minutes instead of the normal 30-45 minutes. So, in your opinion, what gives you the best results? Cardio before or after weightlifting?

I did a search but didn't come up with anything so if there is any threads on this, please point me in the right direction.

[angelo25]

what i do is i run or walk (at an incline) for about 10-15min before i workout and after my workout i run or walk for about 30-40min, i get pretty good results because before the workout is a warm-up to get the blood flowing and after the workout is when i burn the fat

[WelshSteW]

Sorry, didn't read the stickies.

[Vapor]

Assuming you aren't training for some cardio-specific sport, it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it and do it when it works well for you. It's doing it that's important.

Read the stickies on fat-loss. Timing issues aren't relevant for most people.

[Fader]

If you do it after you are burning fat because your body as expended your glucose (simple sugars) for energy during the lift (that's if you didnt replenish them with something like a carb force).

The problem with training after the lift is it is a small thin line between burning fat and overtraining (the muscles are already damaged at the end of a lift if you trained well).

[ChazzReinhold]

Ideally, for fat burning purposes cardio should be performed in the morning on an empty stomach. But to answer your question I would do it after I lifted, because you won't get as good as a workout if you do it before. As long as you are doing the cardio you will be fine, it is much more important to worry about doing it rather then the right time to do it.

[Display MOB]

I always break up my workouts.
Day 1: Wieghts
Day 2:Cardio
Day 3:Rest

ect... I usually don't do both on the same day but you should warm up before and cool down after your weightlifting for sure skipping rope is juvenile maybe but its great. After 5 minutes of that take a break son.

[Pana9]

I run about 45 minutes after lifting with the upper body

[spade_of_aces]

I just wrote a response to another thread that would work great for this one too. ctrl V to the rescue:

For a little added kick, do your cardio at a different time as your resistance training (2 different times the same day, or 2 different days), and ideally do it at about 60-70% of your max heart rate. By getting your heart rate up twice (once for resistance and once for cardio), you're increasing your body's carb sensitivity. After a workout, your muscles absorb more carbs than they would normally, so by working out twice in this fashion, you're allowing your muscles to absorb carbs that might normally be used elsewhere. Plus, two sessions also has the bonus of allowing you to hit both sessions with good intensity. Dont hit the cardio too intensly though, as anything greater than about 75% of your max heart rate will start to spike insulin levels, which in turn will reduce fatty acid mobilization.

Ideally, for fat burning purposes cardio should be performed in the morning on an empty stomach

Doing 'fasted cardio' in the morning is great for fat loss, but be especially careful not to hit it too hard, as it will start to eat into those precious muscles you've worked so hard to gain due to your body's deprived state. If you dont feel like splitting up cardio from your regular weights, do it after everything else. This allows you to still hit the weights with full intensity, and more intensity leads to heavier lifts, which lead to more muscle, and muscle helps increase your metabolism. Its a nice twofer.

Or you could be a beast and do cardio while your work, ala crossfit or other HIIT methods. The basic idea here (and i mean basic) is that instead of resting between sets, you jog, row, bike or something to keep your heart rate up. Not for the faint of heart.

hope that helps

[Nicknock]

Originally Posted by spade_of_aces

I just wrote a response to another thread that would work great for this one too. ctrl V to the rescue:

For a little added kick, do your cardio at a different time as your resistance training (2 different times the same day, or 2 different days), and ideally do it at about 60-70% of your max heart rate. By getting your heart rate up twice (once for resistance and once for cardio), you're increasing your body's carb sensitivity. After a workout, your muscles absorb more carbs than they would normally, so by working out twice in this fashion, you're allowing your muscles to absorb carbs that might normally be used elsewhere. Plus, two sessions also has the bonus of allowing you to hit both sessions with good intensity. Dont hit the cardio too intensly though, as anything greater than about 75% of your max heart rate will start to spike insulin levels, which in turn will reduce fatty acid mobilization.



Doing 'fasted cardio' in the morning is great for fat loss, but be especially careful not to hit it too hard, as it will start to eat into those precious muscles you've worked so hard to gain due to your body's deprived state. If you dont feel like splitting up cardio from your regular weights, do it after everything else. This allows you to still hit the weights with full intensity, and more intensity leads to heavier lifts, which lead to more muscle, and muscle helps increase your metabolism. Its a nice twofer.

Or you could be a beast and do cardio while your work, ala crossfit or other HIIT methods. The basic idea here (and i mean basic) is that instead of resting between sets, you jog, row, bike or something to keep your heart rate up. Not for the faint of heart.

hope that helps

Finally...someone who know's what they're talking about. Honestly....don't do cardio on the days you lift weights. It puts your body in a catatonic state and you eat muscle instead of the body fat.

I workout like this

M : Tri's/Chest
T : HIIT Cardio
W : Bi's/Back
T : HIIT
F : Legs/Shoulders/Abs
S : HIIT
S : Off