One gets to hear different opinions on this. I had like to know how you guys sequence your workout i.e cardio before weights session (strength training) or vice versa.
Edit: It also ofcourse depends on what you are aiming out of the workout. So what would be the better option for weight loss.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
I just do cardio... no strength training
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
Cardio before strength training.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
depends, i do bodybuilding, so when i bulk up i dont do any cardio, but when im cutting i ease myself into it so i dont burn out, usually it looks like this
start off by 20 minutes post workout, increase 10 minutes every week until i get to about an hour
then i add 20 minutes in the morning, and keep increasing it by 10 minutes a week, and then follow it up in the evening doing an hour again after the work out
i find that doing the cardio before the workout burns me out and i feel tired when i hit the weights.... i've tried doing the evening cardio in 2 sets of half an hour, half hour before and half hour after, it usually works great too
i hate running, so i usually do the cross trainer or the bike (i usually do the bike in the morning at home) and then cross trainer in the evening at the gym :)
resistance training/weight lifting is far more important than cardio for everyone, it increases your LEAN BODY MASS (muscles), which inturn, increases your daily calorific requirement over time, and if you dont increase your calorific intake, you end up burning fat to make up for the exta energy needed. but cardio is important too for the heart etc etc, and just makes it easier to lose fat, so it is pretty damn important too.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
Cardio first.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
depends, i do bodybuilding, so when i bulk up i dont do any cardio, but when im cutting i ease myself into it so i dont burn out, usually it looks like this
start off by 20 minutes post workout, increase 10 minutes every week until i get to about an hour
then i add 20 minutes in the morning, and keep increasing it by 10 minutes a week, and then follow it up in the evening doing an hour again after the work out
i find that doing the cardio before the workout burns me out and i feel tired when i hit the weights.... i've tried doing the evening cardio in 2 sets of half an hour, half hour before and half hour after, it usually works great too
i hate running, so i usually do the cross trainer or the bike (i usually do the bike in the morning at home) and then cross trainer in the evening at the gym :)
resistance training/weight lifting is far more important than cardio for everyone, it increases your LEAN BODY MASS (muscles), which inturn, increases your daily calorific requirement over time, and if you dont increase your calorific intake, you end up burning fat to make up for the exta energy needed. but cardio is important too for the heart etc etc, and just makes it easier to lose fat, so it is pretty damn important too.
Thanks for the detailed reply.
Thanks to everyoone else to for your input :) Appreciate it.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
One gets to hear different opinions on this. I had like to know how you guys sequence your workout i.e cardio before weights session (strength training) or vice versa. Edit: It also ofcourse depends on what you are aiming out of the workout. So what would be the better option for weight loss.
I just go with cardio first. First thing in the morning, empty stomach, I like to get 2-3 miles on the treadmill, followed by around 20mins on elliptical. After that I do weight training for whatever body parts I'm doing for the day (chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders/legs, repeat three days and sunday off). That's my general plan, aim is general overall health and fitness, shed a few extra pounds (which I've done already) and develop a good body over time. I'm not really a bodybuilder.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
Well I think you need to strike a good balance depending on what your after results wise.
Personally I go for a 5k run at dawn and then another hour or so rowing machine and shadow boxing.... thats my cardio all worked out for the day.
Then just before I sleep it's two hours of wieght training and heavy drills.
If your at a gym I reccomend you do 30 mins of cardio and maybe 30 minutes of light wieght work or 20 minutes if your out to pump.
However my idea is only based around my own heavy needs, best fitness is to keep things light and work on reps.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders/legs
i had a similar routine (i did shoulders and legs separate after a while though) and split it into 2 days on 1 day off, worked great, i think i should go back to it, but im serious about lifting, and wanted to work on some of my lacking body parts (arms/delts and traps in particular) so i switched to 1 body part a day :O, the cardio on empty stomach is what i do too sometimes, its great, but im a bit weary of it as it might cause a decline in the LBM since you havent had any protein in the past 8 hours before the cardio :/, im a bit of a nazi like that hmm, but its one of the things im researching right now.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
There are so many routines you can research on the internet its hard to choose. I guess you should just stick to whatever works best for your body, everyone's different.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
Always AFTER.
When you work out you're glycogen stores are depleted, so the body uses more fat as fuel during your cardio session afterwards. Its what I used to do and it worked absolutely fine and was effective.
I don't know how anyone can say 'before', you cant weight lift at the right intensity if you've been jogging/walking at a decent pace beforehand, whilst after a weight workout I found I could put in 15-20 minutes of cardio.
Having said that its always best to do cardio on non-lifting days.
Re: Before or After? When to Do Cardio in Your Weights Session
I haven't been to the gym in months :( so these days, I'm doing cardio only...35-40 minutes on the treadmill. I was planning to add the ab/body exercises after a few weeks, but would it be better to just start the strength training/lifting now?