Which comes first? Cardio or Weights?

[ajoneen 0]

A question to the folks who workout on a regular basis.

In what order do you exercise? Cardio (run, bike, eliptical) Weight training. I like to get in some cardio on the days I weight train. Nothing like the run or bike I do on an off day. My trainer says I will have more energy to work with him if I don't hit the treadmill before seeing him. But I like that my body is warmed up to train so I do at least 30 mins at a good clip on the treadmill. Trainer says to hit the treadmill after him. But since we do a streatching thing when we are done I feel to relaxed to do the cardio.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[TQUAD64 9]

I am so not the expert on this topic. But I do cardio at least 5X a week 60 minutes each time. I do cardio first. I don't know if it is the right thing to do. I am not a professional trainer. I just like the way it makes me feel, so I do that first.

I strecth afterwards and use my body weight as resistance.

[Aries32 0]

I had an hour session with a trainer at the gym and was told that it is best to warm up for 10 minutes and than begin 30 minute cardio before weights. She said that you burn more fat since your body is still going after the cardio. She also said do not stretch before doing the weights.

[georgia girl 35]

Like TQUAD, I do cardio first. Cardio is my main focus right now. I find that if I do weights first, I don't have near as much energy to get through my cardio. I always stretch, then run, then stretch again, then do weight lifting. I dunno if I do the "right" way, but it works for me.

[Jachut 487]

When I had a lot of weight to lose cardio was my main focus - it stripped the fat and did build moderate muscle for me. So I would have done that first -because my gut would tell me taht to get your heart rate up and your metabolism firing would mean your weights would ALSO be fat burning. But you read everywhere to do your strength training first so you can put more into it.

But the thing is, when you google this sort of stuff, what you get is bodybuilding information. And applying all those bodybuilding rules to women trying to reduce fat and maintain their lean muscle is kind of overkill. It really just doesnt necessarily apply - you dont need 500 grams of Protein post workout and a carbohydrate formula pre workout and special electrolyte drink during workout, you dont need to space out your brown rice and tuna meals and Protein shakes at specific intervals, you dont need to wait 75.482 seconds exactly between sets, you dont need to necessarily superset, or do pyramids or do different body parts on different days and keep cardio low to avoid burning muscle etc etc. I mean you *can* if you want to of course, but dont let it confuse you or make you think you're doing the wrong thing.

Its just such a confusing glut of information out there that really isnt even that appropriate for people like us who want to look fit and toned but dont want bulging biceps and upper arm measurements the size of our waists! .

Truth is, I think ANY exercise, HOWEVER you do it is fantastic. I woudl choose to do cardio first becuase I'm always on a high afterward which would get me through the boring strength training. As it is, I mix them up (because I'm a bit pro cardio and dont want to waste a workout day on something that doesnt include it) and do both AT THE SAME TIME. I switch from lifting to running intervals on my treadmill, I make my sets fast, hard and lots of reps (like 20 or 30) and I do lots of body weight exercises, I barely touch a dumbell in order to minimise the amount of time I have to spend strength training. I even hoiked a sandbag around the other day - 3 different exercises was all it took to work almost my entire body INCLUDING my abs. For the first time in ages, I'm actually stiff and sort, which I love, lol.

Do it any way you want to, the fact that you're doing it is what's important.

Edited January 30, 2009 by Jachut

[MacMadame 81]

They had a trainer give at talk at the OH event I went to and he said it absolutely didn't matter what order you did them in. I tend to agree as I have read nothing that convinced me it mattered. The main thing is to DO them!

I personally like to warm up my muscles first before I do weights though so I will ride the stationary bike for 10-15 min. first. But I won't do a full cardio workout before hand.

[inri09 0]

how long after surgery until you were able to do more vigorous workouts, with weights etc..? most info is on walking. I play racquetball regularly. I'm scheduled for banding on 2/27. I'm weight ~285 lbs, but play a couple times a week. There is a lot of twisting, reaching, I'm more worried about the affects on the stomach incisions than the cardio. Doctor originally said it'd probably be ~2 wks, but if you can't lift for 4-6, I think he may not know how strenuous it can be. I figure I can play it by ear, but would like an idea of how long I'll be out.

[luluc 6]

how long after surgery until you were able to do more vigorous workouts, with weights etc..? most info is on walking. .

i didn't start any weight training till a few months out. cardio (walking/c5k/elliptical) was my focus early on.

i weight train only 2 days a wk and that's w/my trainer - the other few days it's cardio or yoga.....i'm not good at pushing myself with weights alone & my 2 days are fine enough each wk for me.

i generally do a 10 minute walk or bike before my session w/my trainer - then follow up w/a 20 min walk or elliptical afterwards (time permitting). i'm usually pretty spent, so a slow walk & stretch works for me most times....

not sure there are any rules, other than listening to your body and how it feels....for me i can't do a cardio session - then walk into weight training, but that's just how my body responds.

[bambam31 168]

Here's my take on this...

My focus for fat loss is cardio - but weight training has it's necessary benefits too. I try to do 5-7 intense cardio sessions a week, at 45-60 minutes each. I also try to get in 2 strength training sessions.

I spend my best energy on the days' focus. So if it's a weight training day, I would do that before cardio and vice versa.

You will find, though, that you'll develop your preference. Most people either love weight training and despise cardio or vice versa. Personally, I'm a cardio junkie...

Any exercise is better than none. But let the results you see dictate your personal routine - because everybody is different.

As far as cardio goes though, I have found it's best to have cardio sessions between 40-60 minutes. I'm not a big fan of the 20 minute workout - a half-hour is still too light IMO. But again, any exercise is better than none.

That's my 0.02

Brad

[MacMadame 81]

how long after surgery until you were able to do more vigorous workouts, with weights etc..? most info is on walking. I play racquetball regularly. I'm scheduled for banding on 2/27. I'm weight ~285 lbs, but play a couple times a week. There is a lot of twisting, reaching, I'm more worried about the affects on the stomach incisions than the cardio. Doctor originally said it'd probably be ~2 wks, but if you can't lift for 4-6, I think he may not know how strenuous it can be. I figure I can play it by ear, but would like an idea of how long I'll be out.

You need to go by how you feel. Cardio is generally okay but here are restrictions on lifting weights. If an exercise does something similar to lifting weights -- say it works on your core -- then you have to use good judgement. I tried a Jazzercise class at one month out and it HURT. So I stopped. But I never had any trouble the treadmill or stationary bike.

I felt okay to do Pilates at about 2 months, but everyone is different.

Edited February 1, 2009 by MacMadame

[bambam31 168]

Everyone's experience will definitely be different depending on their body structure and port placement. My doc, however, said that it would be virtually impossible for me to injure the port or it's placement by any form of exercise.

Brad

[Jachut 487]

I've done some pretty darn strenuous exercise (think liftign 20kg sandbags) and I've never injured my port.

[health4life 0]

I don't think the answer is etched in stone, however, my trainer told me it's best to do weight training prior to cardio because you need your strength and air capacity to complete your reps. Imagine doing 30 mins to and hour of cardio and then trying to do weight training. Your endurance isn't going to be what it would have been if you did weights first and you're so out of breath, when you need to breath hard to get those last 3-4 of a rep of 12 in, it's difficult after cardio. I have been doing it this way and it's actually feels better to do cardio after a nice weight training session. Try it. Here is a good article to read.

Should You Do Cardio Before Or After Your Weight Training Workout?

[Jachut 487]

Not necessarily. I can finish an hour of cardio with energy still left. In fact when I used to go to the gym I used to do half an hour of cardio before and half an hour of cardio after.

[Donna113 2]

Everyone's experience will definitely be different depending on their body structure and port placement. My doc, however, said that it would be virtually impossible for me to injure the port or it's placement by any form of exercise.

Brad

Brad, you look like you're at goal. Great job.

I really need to start exercising again. For those of you on this thread, how long after you started exercising did you start noticing the effects on the scale and muscle tone?