Like most I dont have time for 2 sessions but want to do both. Im not sure why im not supposed to do both together but know there is a reason and it doesnt feel as good either.

Whats the shortest amount of time one should wait before the 2nd of the 2 activities???? :tu:

Personally I have never separated cardio and weights, but I do weights before I do cardio and I keep my cardio relatively short, just because I can't be bothered to spend 2 hours in the gym.

So I might to something like 45 mins of weights followed by 20-30 mins of LISS or MISS cardio.

I go twice a day cardio am then weights pm, alot easier for me bing self employed.
i have heard 6-8 i always allow 8 hours but:tu:

I do 30 min of cardio IMMEDIATELY after lifting - my heart rate is up and I don't want to waste time in the gym. I keep it to about 75 minutes total workout time.

A big problem for me too... I think from now on I'm gonna be performing 20 min HIIT prior to lifting.

Total 65-75 minutes.

A big problem for me too... I think from now on I'm gonna be performing 20 min HIIT prior to lifting.

Total 65-75 minutes.

Let me know how that works. When I do 20 minutes of HIIT, I have trouble lifting my legs right after, let alone lifting any weight.

I do 30 min of cardio IMMEDIATELY after lifting - my heart rate is up and I don't want to waste time in the gym. I keep it to about 75 minutes total workout time.

I do the same, 45 min lifting and 30 min of cardio. It works fine for me. :tucool:

A big problem for me too... I think from now on I'm gonna be performing 20 min HIIT prior to lifting.

Total 65-75 minutes.

If you can have a productive lifting session after doing 20 minutes of HIIT, then you're not going hard enough. Lots of people do cardio before lifting, but HIIT should be "high intensity" and as hard as you can physically push yourself.

It seems that every time I have a question, I just go to the appropriate forum, and the topic I'm interested in is the most current thread!

The three-day split (MWF) that I'm doing doesn't really leave time for cardio, so I only have part of Monday, plus Tuesday and Thursday for cardio (20 min/60 min/60 min). I found a workout split that has higher intensity but fewer exercises (here, for anyone interested: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/21-compound-exercises-only-workout.html), which should allow me to do around 30 minutes of cardio on MTTF, plus whatever I want on Wednesday.

It's good to hear that others are taking a similar approach...

Let me know how that works. When I do 20 minutes of HIIT, I have trouble lifting my legs right after, let alone lifting any weight.

I don't encourage doing *any* sort of cardio on leg day...
I don't think it's gonna give me trouble for the upper body. We'll see!

I don't encourage doing *any* sort of cardio on leg day...

I guess it would depend on the type of cardio you do. I do fasted LISS in the mornings as soon as i awaken, and I have no problem on leg days. I also work construction and occasionally im forced to go up and down flights of stairs all day, including leg days. Allow your body time to recover from any taxing you put on that part, eat your good eats like you should, drink your water, and you should be fine.

I don't encourage doing *any* sort of cardio on leg day...
I don't think it's gonna give me trouble for the upper body. We'll see!


Honestly, Ill be shocked if youll be able to do any weights after HIIT. :eek:

Honestly, Ill be shocked if youll be able to do any weights after HIIT. :eek:

Always best to do Weights and then cardio, if you need it. Of course if you do your weights as you should, you shouldn't have anything left for cardio.

ok, so let's assume we you aren't supposed to do them together and we are all doing it wrong :D ...how long do you wait in between to get the levels optimal again?

Aerobic and anabolic....thats what someone wrote on here and it prohibits full benefits of the weights when done together? Someting like that?

It seems that every time I have a question, I just go to the appropriate forum, and the topic I'm interested in is the most current thread!
.

same here wanted to ask this question tonight!:claphigh:

my concern is this.

i do mark ripptoe workout and squat three days a week.

can i run for say 20 mins after each workout??

cause i am still try to rid the tummy while on the workout...

thanks in advance, and sorry if i'm thread jacking.

Always best to do Weights and then cardio, if you need it. Of course if you do your weights as you should, you shouldn't have anything left for cardio.

So does this mean I should stick to a "lift to failure" weights approach then do Cardio on off days, or not at all even? :doh:

I'm currently doing 30-40mins weights, 10mins LISS. Mon/Wed/Fri with HIIT running on Tue/Thur/Sat...

same here wanted to ask this question tonight!:claphigh:

my concern is this.

i do mark ripptoe workout and squat three days a week.

can i run for say 20 mins after each workout??

cause i am still try to rid the tummy while on the workout...

thanks in advance, and sorry if i'm thread jacking.


I'm doing the Stronglifts 5x5 which is also squats 3x per week. I'm finding the best option is 20-30 mins low intensity jogging/cycling immediately after finishing weights. This leaves a full 48hours leg recovery before the next squat session which seems to work better for me than jogging/cycling on "rest" days. If I'm feeling energetic I'll swim on the days I'm not doing weights.

Like most I dont have time for 2 sessions but want to do both. Im not sure why im not supposed to do both together

I don't see any important reason to separate them.

After a weight training session insulin should not be present, so doing cardio immediately afterwards would probably be beneficial for fat loss purposes.

Stop worrying! Do them when you can. Sometimes I do weights and then cardio (like swim after). Othertimes cardio before weights (always my legs are after cardio if I do cardio in the same workout). Other times I'll do weights at lunch, cardio later, or maybe it was morning, the timing really doesn't matter as much as many would have you believe.

I generally don't like cardio before most weights (legs being the main exception because I cannot do meaningful running/cycling after doing legs) because I hate sweating like a pig doing weights and lifting weights after a hard session is the last thing I want.

If want to retain as much muscle and strength as you can do cardio on seperate days than weights preferably hitt. HITT twice a week and weights 3x's a week. If you have a busy schedule, you could mix HITT (sprints)with leg day. Do weights with legs first then do HITT. Make sure the whole workout of leg work and HITT combined doesnt go over an hour. If upperbody HITT is done that can be done after upperbody resistance excercises. Fast walking can be done on the same day as weights too. Overal mixing cardio and weights on the same day is asking for overtraining if the whole workout goes on over an hour:nono:.

... Overal mixing cardio and weights on the same day is asking for overtraining if the whole workout goes on over an hour:nono:.


Really? Im a rower so i get up and do fasted AM cardio (aka water rowing) for 90min in the morning (@ 530). I go to classes and all, and then lift around 5pm.

i know that some days it can be rough, but i dont think im overtraining. Im pretty sure i read on here somewhere that its ok as long as its 6-8 hrs apart.

I dunno tho, senior members???

If want to retain as much muscle and strength as you can do cardio on seperate days than weights preferably hitt.

Overal mixing cardio and weights on the same day is asking for overtraining if the whole workout goes on over an hour:nono:.

I agree with your first point, but strongly disagree with your second. Doing cardio right after lifting is perfectly fine, and there are many here (myself included) who have had great results doing this. It is very efficient, and I personally think that it helps to burn a little more fat than alternate day training. However, it may not promote as much muscle growth as alternating days.

It really depends on your goal - to burn fat or gain muscle. Your strategy and timing of lifts and cardio are different for each of these objectives.

I agree with your first point, but strongly disagree with your second. Doing cardio right after lifting is perfectly fine, and there are many here (myself included) who have had great results doing this. It is very efficient, and I personally think that it helps to burn a little more fat than alternate day training. However, it may not promote as much muscle growth as alternating days.

It really depends on your goal - to burn fat or gain muscle. Your strategy and timing of lifts and cardio are different for each of these objectives.

Now this is the sort of thing Im intrested in, Is burning fat and maintaining and even gaining muscle, If this is the case, is it more benificial to separate the cardio and weights say 4xweights 2xCardio(HIIT) 1xrest day?

Baring in mind keeping consistent with increasing the weight, rest period and such in weights days, and or changin the HIIT from cross trainer say to HIIT circuit with free weights, Is there an increase on protein on those cardio days or simply a matter of timing differently?

Not sure what you are asking for here ... if you are trying to lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time, this is usually quite hard to do.

My current approach is to eat a little below maintanence, lift hard 3x per week, and do cardio on those same days and at least one other day. I take the weekends off, except for some yardwork.

I lift with little or no rest between sets, moving between three to six stations in circuits that hit one major muscle group (e.g., back), completing 30+ sets in 35 minutes or so. My HR gets up to 160+ bpm, and averages 125 or so, with an average caloric burn of 397 calories in 37 minutes. I then jump onto the stairmaster and do 30 minutes of exercise at 150 bpm or higher average. This is facilitated by the fact that I'm already at 120+ when I get on the machine, so I can get my HR up to 150 pretty quickly and keep it there for the whole session.

By approaching lifting like cardio, I get close to 800 calories burned in the 75 minutes or so I am at the gym. My thought is that to maximize EPOC this approach works best, and it gives me a solid cardiovascular workout (to improve VO2max).

Not sure what you are asking for here ... if you are trying to lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time, this is usually quite hard to do.

My current approach is to eat a little below maintanence, lift hard 3x per week, and do cardio on those same days and at least one other day. I take the weekends off, except for some yardwork.

I lift with little or no rest between sets, moving between three to six stations in circuits that hit one major muscle group (e.g., back), completing 30+ sets in 35 minutes or so. My HR gets up to 160+ bpm, and averages 125 or so, with an average caloric burn of 397 calories in 37 minutes. I then jump onto the stairmaster and do 30 minutes of exercise at 150 bpm or higher average. This is facilitated by the fact that I'm already at 120+ when I get on the machine, so I can get my HR up to 150 pretty quickly and keep it there for the whole session.

By approaching lifting like cardio, I get close to 800 calories burned in the 75 minutes or so I am at the gym. My thought is that to maximize EPOC this approach works best, and it gives me a solid cardiovascular workout (to improve VO2max).

Yea ive heard its hard to do, However I think that if cardio and weights are on different days this allows the body to be programmed differently for each target, Could this possibly end up as Carb cycling 4 days high carb 3 days low?, the low carbs being on cardio days?