Fitness Newbie - do you do cardio first or strength?

[brunes]

Fitness newbie here trying to shed some pounds and tone up better. Right now I am happy with my progress and results so far but looking for a simple question I can't easily find the answer to - does it make more sense to start your workout with cardio and then do strength and muscle training after, or vice-versa? What is beneficial overall, odes does it even matter and just a matter of preference?

[careener]

If you are looking to be healthy then cardio is the most important. If you want to significantly increase your strength then work on building muscle instead.
You can alternate days as well depending on how much time you want to spend in the gym.
You can design a program that will target both strength and cardio. The best would be to design a tailored program with an instructor.
Failing that there are programs on sites all over the Internet.

[LargeOne]

General rule of thumb is strength training first and then cardio.However there are alot of variables to this that will be dependant on body type and even schedule.For most ,strength training three times a week and cardio four times a week is sufficient.Do cardio on your off days from strength training.Try High intensity interval training in ther AM if possible.

[poedua]

Fitness newbie here trying to shed some pounds and tone up better. Right now I am happy with my progress and results so far but looking for a simple question I can't easily find the answer to - does it make more sense to start your workout with cardio and then do strength and muscle training after, or vice-versa? What is beneficial overall, odes does it even matter and just a matter of preference?

How many days a week do you do strength and muscle training ?

How long is a typical strength and muscle training session ?

What kind of ' effort' do you currently put into your cardio - i.e frequency, duration, intensity ?

What would you say is your primary goal when it comes to training - i.e adding muscle mass, losing fat, simply improving overall cardio fitness ?

[poedua]

For most ,strength training three times a week and cardio four times a week is sufficient.Do cardio on your off days from strength training.

Try High intensity interval training in ther AM if possible.

Why should someone do High intensity interval training in the AM - if possible - as opposed to say mid day or perhaps even late in the afternoon / evening ?

[LargeOne]

Why should someone do High intensity interval training in the AM - if possible - as opposed to say mid day or perhaps even late in the afternoon / evening ?

Psychologically and Physiologically it is a better time than lets say the afternoon or evening.I am not saying that PM is a waste just not as beneficial as AM.Psychologically it is easier if you do your workout first thing before anything else.Sets you up for the day,less chance of procrastination.Physiologically research has proven your growth hormone levels are highest in the AM and drop as the day goes on.Cardio is muscle taxing and will produce growth as well.You have fasted all night so anything you put into your system(within limits) will go to muscle repair.Some people prefer fasted cardio however I would not suggest it with HIIT.

[brunes]

General rule of thumb is strength training first and then cardio.However there are alot of variables to this that will be dependant on body type and even schedule.For most ,strength training three times a week and cardio four times a week is sufficient.Do cardio on your off days from strength training.Try High intensity interval training in ther AM if possible.

I think some are misunderstanding my question... I am doing *(both* cardio and strength on the same days. IE currently I do say 1/2 hour cardio then 1/2 hour strength. My Q is is that the best order or should I do the cardio first?

[sexpuppet6000]

I separate the two workouts.

[girlstar]

A trainer at the Yorkville Club told me to do strength training first and then my cardio. For years I was doing it the other way around. She said this burns the carbs off first.

So I usually do my squats/bicep curl/triceps/leg press/abs for about 30-40 min then go run or do elliptical for 30 min.

[ids748]

We'll I will say strength first then cardio as I have seen WICKED results personally.

I use to do 30-40 min strength training and 30 minutes of cardio every other day.

Then on the days in between i'd go once or twice in the 4 days of non strength strengthing and do just a 45 min cardio session and sometimes abs.

Both my strength increased and my fatloss/inches were seen visually.

It depends on your schedule and all. Ya they say AM is best but i'm not an AM person and rather do it in the evening. As long as you can stick to going at a certain time you'll get use to it.

i did that for a few months and went from 158lbs to 132lbs.........I hate changed my eating to 4-6x per day though and eating healthy as well.

[flexwong]

hmm, maybe i should change my routine now. i always do like, 20 minutes of cardio then 30-40 minutes of weights and such.

[CSR]

Never (rarely) on the same day..

[df329]

strength then cardio

or just strength only no cardio :D

[poedua]

A trainer at the Yorkville Club told me to do strength training first and then my cardio. For years I was doing it the other way around. She said this burns the carbs off first.

So I usually do my squats/bicep curl/triceps/leg press/abs for about 30-40 min then go run or do elliptical for 30 min.

Too funny !:lol:

[poedua]

I think some are misunderstanding my question... I am doing *(both* cardio and strength on the same days. IE currently I do say 1/2 hour cardio then 1/2 hour strength. My Q is is that the best order or should I do the cardio first?

Simply give doing 1/2 hour of strength training first and then 1/2 hour of cardio a try for awhile.

Compare it to 1/2 hour cardio then 1/2 hour strength training.

Then just do the one which allows you to put forth your best effort overall.

[DanP]

A trainer at the Yorkville Club told me to do strength training first and then my cardio. For years I was doing it the other way around. She said this burns the carbs off first.

So I usually do my squats/bicep curl/triceps/leg press/abs for about 30-40 min then go run or do elliptical for 30 min.



This could be the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard!! What does it take to be a trainer these days??

Most ppl will suggest doing cardio after words...reason being, if u do cardio first, ur legs will be tired and u won't be able to lift as much when ur doing ur weight lifting.

Hit the weights, then go onto the cardio.

[EchoedMemory]

I, also, was told by an employee at my gym to do my weight training first and then my cardio. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I do my weight training... followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do 60 minutes of cardio. Some may say I don't need that much cardio but I don't think there's such a thing as TOO much, if you can keep up with it.

[salvador]

I, also, was told by an employee at my gym to do my weight training first and then my cardio. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I do my weight training... followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do 60 minutes of cardio. Some may say I don't need that much cardio but I don't think there's such a thing as TOO much, if you can keep up with it.

If you're doing treadmill or some high impact cardio exercise, then doing it everday may result in some form of knee injury because of the constant pounding.

[SENSEI]

This could be the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard!! What does it take to be a trainer these days??

Unfortunately, not much. :(

No offence to any trainers here...but a Phys Ed/Kin degree and a CPAFLA cert and everyone thinks they are health gurus. It's quote unfortunate that people pay good money to join gyms thinking they are getting proper advice...

There are tonnes of good trainers with good knowledge and a genuine interest in good being and health, but everyone is different, every body reacts differently...there are no workout recipes...

Then throw an individual at them with a pathology or chronic symptoms, it can be pretty scary hearing what people have been told or advised by personal trainers...

Then again, the same can be said for health care professionals to a degree as well.

[shannn]

I separate the two workouts.

+1

Do both, either same day if you are feeling energetic (b/c it will take A LOT out of you), or alternate days (a bit better since you'll be working out everyday, but time consuming)

Aim for at least 30 minutes of cardio if weight loss is your goal
Gaining muscle mass will also help you lose fat (but not necessarily pounds, since your fat will be replaced by muscle...which is also a good thing...plus your basal metabolic rate will see a jump)

And remember to eat well

[beerbaron105]

Weights first, cardio second, that way you use the metabolic boost from the weight training to further burn additional calories (if your goal is weight loss, otherwise no sense in doing a cardio workout after weight training)

[bananaman]

I mix it up sometimes, depending on the purpose of my training. The past 2 months, I incorporated running into my weighted circuits and that seemed to have exploded my max bench press.

An example would be:

-10 min sprints followed by weighted circuits.

2 months ago, I was maxing out on 2x60lb dbs for bench press. Now, I'm doing 2x85lbs for 10 reps, and am hoping to do 2x90lbs tonight, which is my body weight. And this is on a stability ball and after doing 3-4 weighted exercises in a row without rest before that.

For sure, doing a run before makes it more difficult if you were to do weights after. But I'm not looking to lift as much weight as possible. I'm looking to get as physiologically fit as possible, and increasing my DB bench press by 60lbs in 2 months just happens to be a side effect.

And I think it's been helping me lose some of my fat (love handles are going away, face is getting leaner, etc..), even though I haven't lost weight any weight.

[TheFuteballer]

I generally keep them sepearted but before doing any strength training, I do a 5 minute quick run on the treadmill / bike to get my heart rate up and get blood flowing through my body. Then a 2 minute stretch and then I hit the weights.

Getting the blood flowing helps me a lot in lifting and getting the final the push and it also helps prevent injury.

[zoolander]

Take a muay thai class, it is intense cardio that will shred you up, you'll have abs in no time.
It's a fun release doing all that striking too (at the recreation level, you're well padded).

[chinokid]

strength then cardio

[brunes]

So over the past couple weeks I have been finding that, for me, ti is very difficult to do strength in the morning.

See, I can only work out either when I first get up, or before I go to bed - it is the only time it fits into my schedule.

But in the morning I am just too groggy to do strength right. Once my blood starts pumping I feel HORRIBLE and have no energy.

Cardio, I can do early. I ramp up gradually and then wake up and everything is good.

So... maybe I should do cardio in the morning one day, then next day do strength before bed time?

[shannn]

So over the past couple weeks I have been finding that, for me, ti is very difficult to do strength in the morning.

See, I can only work out either when I first get up, or before I go to bed - it is the only time it fits into my schedule.

But in the morning I am just too groggy to do strength right. Once my blood starts pumping I feel HORRIBLE and have no energy.

Cardio, I can do early. I ramp up gradually and then wake up and everything is good.

So... maybe I should do cardio in the morning one day, then next day do strength before bed time?

Hmm, if you ahve the time, you could do cardio then strength in the morning

But if you do strength at night, you may not be able to sleep soon thereafter (w/ your metabolism so high) ... but some people react different (I get really tired after strenght...but sometimes I get really energized)

Try out what works for you, you'll find a way eventually...just takes time to figure that out ;)

[Kujo]

So over the past couple weeks I have been finding that, for me, ti is very difficult to do strength in the morning.

See, I can only work out either when I first get up, or before I go to bed - it is the only time it fits into my schedule.

But in the morning I am just too groggy to do strength right. Once my blood starts pumping I feel HORRIBLE and have no energy.

Cardio, I can do early. I ramp up gradually and then wake up and everything is good.

So... maybe I should do cardio in the morning one day, then next day do strength before bed time?

How many hours of sleep do you get?

I assume you're eating something 15-30 mins before you work out?

Doing cardio early in the morning, then strength training later in the day would be perfectly fine.

[brunes]

How many hours of sleep do you get?

I assume you're eating something 15-30 mins before you work out?

Doing cardio early in the morning, then strength training later in the day would be perfectly fine.

I dunno, about 7 hours average I would say. I can't sleep much longer than that.

Is it true that doing strength late in the evening is better because your body builds muscle mass while you sleep?

[traktion]

cardio first allows you to warmup before asking your muscles to lift 50 lbs

[toor]

How many hours of sleep do you get?

I assume you're eating something 15-30 mins before you work out?

Doing cardio early in the morning, then strength training later in the day would be perfectly fine.

Any suggestions on what might be good to eat in the morning before the work out,remember time is very limited in the mornings ?

[YoungDr3amer]

I'm a bit of a newbie myself, here's how I stay in shape.

My excessive love for basketball allows me to have a tendency to overdo my cardio workout and spend less time on weights.

Here's the break-down:

I'm 23 years old, 5'11, sadly 158 lbs, and mediocre 6pack

1 basketball city league game/week
2 basketball session/week at Premiere Fitness (3 hours on and off or 1 1/2 hours of constant play)
2 days off to solely weight-lift and work on my arms, chest, abs and back (no machines, only bench and free weights).
1 day for swimming (35minutes non-stop)

My advice, eat 4 to 5 medium-size meals/day, play sports for conditioning and hit the free weights & bench. You need to learn all the proper techniques of course to maximize your exercise.

Don't forget to consume lots of milk, fruits, vegs, whole wheat & grains, lean meats, and stay away from consuming too much water during your work-out, just take sips to avoid stomach cramps.

[mwong168]

Any suggestions on what might be good to eat in the morning before the work out,remember time is very limited in the mornings ?

Oatmeal? It's small and quick to prepare and keeps you full. I eat a bowl of it every morning now and I can hold out till noon for lunch where as before I would pick up a coffee and muffin from Tim's as snack. Now I just make green tea here in the office.