Cardio and weightlifing on the same day.

[HFBamaFan]

I have heard positives and negatives about weightlifing and doing cardio on the same day. And, I was just wondering if this is true and if it is worth the time.

Thanks

[Speedster]

Originally Posted by HFBamaFan

I have heard positives and negatives about weightlifing and doing cardio on the same day. And, I was just wondering if this is true and if it is worth the time.

Thanks

Many, many schools of thought on this. Ever the debate.

I'm in the school that cardio and weight lifting can easily be done on the same day and can work in conjunction with each other.

It's all dependent on the person, I think, and their goals (and their stats, etc).

[RTE]

Do it after weight training. I have seen studies backing that and it makes sense. Hit the weights with full energy then continue with cardio if you must. Try to cut rest between sets to 60sec or less see if you get a cardio effect?

[HFBamaFan]

I am trying to drop roughly 15 pounds around may and still maintain muscle, while getting in better cardio condition. I lift roughly 4-5 days a week, 3 sets at 15 reps. Is it ok if a set is to much weight that I drop it down so I can complete the set correctly because I do not want to do any part of my work out half assed.

[HFBamaFan]

Originally Posted by rtestes

Do it after weight training. I have seen studies backing that and it makes sense. Hit the weights with full energy then continue with cardio if you must. Try to cut rest between sets to 60sec or less see if you get a cardio effect?

If I am going to do cardio after working out does this rule still apply. Not that I would not do it anyways,

[karatetricker]

I never found cardio immediately after lifting to provide better fat loss than cardio on separate days or at a different time of the day. I always recommend, and practice myself, doing cardio separate from lifting (by at least 4-6 hours) if possible. If that is impossible due to your schedule, then by all means, do cardio in the same session, but if it is not increasing your fat loss or it's causing you to lose muscle mass, I'd drop the cardio.

Personally, I think too much emphasis is often placed on cardio. A good diet and intense lifting program can work wonders. Cardio might expedite the process, but in my experience, not by much.

[HFBamaFan]

My plan is to on days that I life, do half an hour of a spin class just to get my cardiovascular system in check. If I lift 3 days a week and do a good session of cardio 2 days per week would that work out, while taking in a few more calories on days that I do cardio so i do not loose muscle mass in the mean time. Is that a suitable alternative.

[Minder Thr33]

Cardio after helps b/c your carb levels are nearly depleted from weight training. So when you go on your 30 min run (or whatever), you have a high chance of losing fat.

Do Cardio first and your carb level won't be depleted until you've finished or near finished your cardio session. Bad for weight training as you'll need your carbs.

So same day workouts, do cardio after. You should be OK.

If you run a marathon as cardio, then I can see it being a problem

[oneday]

I have seen a lot of debate on this issue. I certainly do not know the answer. So, I did what I uselessly do when I don't know something, I did some research.

I found a very interesting study. it is Titled " Aerobic and resistance exercise sequence affects excess post-exercise oxygen consumption." It was done by Doctors Drummond MJ, Vehrs PR, Schaalje GB, and Parcell AC. They are from Human Performance Research Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Apparently, their conclusion is that if you have to combine cardio and resistance training in the same session you should do cardio first. From the view of the study cardio after seems to "be more damaging to muscle as 'beaten up' muscle strives to deal with the burden of aerobic activity". Additionally, it appears as cardio is much more efficient done first.

[nksmith]

Originally Posted by Minder Thr33

Cardio after helps b/c your carb levels are nearly depleted from weight training. So when you go on your 30 min run (or whatever), you have a high chance of losing fat.

Do Cardio first and your carb level won't be depleted until you've finished or near finished your cardio session. Bad for weight training as you'll need your carbs.

So same day workouts, do cardio after. You should be OK.

If you run a marathon as cardio, then I can see it being a problem

My only issue with this statement is that, if you can run for a solid 30 minutes after a lifting session, then you left too much on the table. It also depends on intensity that you do your cardio. With no "carbs" in your system, it can be just as likely that you'll lose muscle mass.

[HevyMetal]

Depends on what kind of weightlifting you are going to do after your cardio.

If you are doing multiple sets of 10 reps or higher (e.g. endurance reps of 20+).....you'll be burning lots of carbs.

If you are going short and real heavy....eg:- 4 sets of 2 reps. You'll be hitting ATP stores....notsomuch carbs.

And....if you ALWAYs do your cardio after weightlifting....guess what:-your bod will adapt to that routine just like it adapts to everything else.

So....mix it up now and again.

[tsk2264]

Originally Posted by HevyMetal

If you are going short and real heavy....eg:- 4 sets of 2 reps. You'll be hitting ATP stores....notsomuch carbs.

Well..... What do you think ATP molecules are created from? (glucose) ATP is required for pretty much any kind of resistance training.... the main difference is that anaerobic is lot more expensive (2 ATP per glucose molecule vs. 38).

To the OP, you should try both and see which you like better. A lot of it depends on what your goals are. Personally, I like to do light cardio (LISS) after resistance training. And then on non-lifting days, I try to really push myself with the cardio training as I'm trying to increase my endurance level as well as my overall health. I usually do 30 minutes at medium intensity or 15 minutes of high intensity intervals.