I know why having ample time (8+hours) between your cardio and lifting session is most effective. But what about someone who is not looking to bulk or gain a lot of strength.

For me it's all about being cut and NOT bulking. I am happy with how big my muscles are (as is my wife and all my friends).

I have looked over most of the post concerning this and none seem to address the cutting phase, but all seem to address the bulking phase.

The way things look for me coming up next month I will only have about 6 1/2 hours of rest between my cardio and lifting sessions due to my work schedule. FYI: I don't do HIIT cardio but swim 4x/week and elliptical 3x/week.

So if bulking is not an issue is it really that important to wait over 8 hours? And if so, how will this negatively effect my cutting if I do only wait the 6 1/2 hours?

Thanks!

You don't see many cutting posts because this is the weight training board. Try the fat loss board. (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2)

You don't wait between cardio and weight sessions just for building muscle purposes, but also for RETAINING muscle. Ok, you're not bulking, that's fine, but don't you want to maintain your muscle that you have rather than burn that too?

I think that's part of the reason why people wait 8+ hours. BTW I think you'll be okay with 6.5 hours too. :) Maybe not optimal, but should be okay I guess.

6-1/2 hours between might work for you. You'll have to try it out and see how you feel. I just got back from my chest routine and I was at the gym this morning at 8:00 to do cardio. It works for me.

You don't wait between cardio and weight sessions just for building muscle purposes, but also for RETAINING muscle. Ok, you're not bulking, that's fine, but don't you want to maintain your muscle that you have rather than burn that too?

I think that's part of the reason why people wait 8+ hours. BTW I think you'll be okay with 6.5 hours too. :) Maybe not optimal, but should be okay I guess.

Excatly what I was thinking but wanted to hear it from another source to be sure. I think 6.5 hours should be ok since it was the time I waited yesterday & did fine.

6-1/2 hours between might work for you. You'll have to try it out and see how you feel. I just got back from my chest routine and I was at the gym this morning at 8:00 to do cardio. It works for me.

Yeah, I used to do them back to back. Since I started seperating them I have found an increase in my workout weight by ~25%. And that was even with about the 6 hour rest time since last week I decided to run a "test week" to see how next month would look.

Everyone is different. I personally can do weight training and cardio back to back and still gain muscle. 6.5 hours is more than enough time in-between the two for me and honestly, I think almost anyone else. I know a lot of people here are all about 8+ hours, but I know so many people that don't use that big of a gap and do just fine. All I can say is try it for a month, see what happens. I can promise you that should it have any negative effects, they will be extremely minimal in a months time.