Cardio before or after a workout

[MrRline2010]

Ok i've been going to the gym for about 3 weeks now and i've lost a little bit of weight(healthy 1-3 pounds a week). Today though as I was setting up this free personal training session they pretty much force on you the guy tells me I should be doing cardio after a workout because the first 30 minutes of my workout are just burning energy and not really anything caloric. I'm kindda confused i've never heard to do cardio after a workout, in fact in every place i've ever been they tell you to do cardio first? Anybody have some insight on this?

[bb4arson]

well here is what i would do .

get your lifts in because your lifts take more energy from you .

do you have a solid routine?

[MrRline2010]

I mainly want to lose weight not bulk up. I have enough muscle already but I am doing legs one day and arms the other day in a rotation five days a week. I'm starting each workout with 50-60 minutes of cardio. Basically I'm doing the same thing as when I played football but hearing this makes me wonder if I'm doing it the wrong way

[azracer41]

i do both just to switch it up and keep my body muscle shocked

[MrRline2010]

I mainly want to lose weight not bulk up. I have enough muscle already but I am doing legs one day and arms the other day in a rotation five days a week. I'm starting each workout with 50-60 minutes of cardio. Basically I'm doing the same thing as when I played football but hearing this makes me wonder if I'm doing it the wrong way

[intel]

well here is what i would do .

get your lifts in because your lifts take more energy from you .

do you have a solid routine?

what he said... but i do think you might be doing some of it wrong... if youre able to do 50-60 minutes of cardio and you still have to lose weight, id say the activity youre doing isnt rigorous enough... or if it is, its probably time to switch it up to something youre not used to.


ie i used to use an elliptical type of running machine thing like no tomorrow last month... once i got to the point where i could do 40 minutes i started trying to run a mile in under 9 minutes.. now that im able to do so..... i go back to the elliptical and im back at getting a run for my money.



ps which gym do you go to

[MrRline2010]

Intel I do a combined 60 minutes I've worked up to 35 minutes on bike, 10-20 minutes of elliptical and I finish it up with an incline power walk on the treadmill. I've worked up to the 50-60 minutes so far but its not all on one machine. I'm currently 325 so doing 9 minute miles is out of the question. So far I've dropped about 8 lbs like I said not huge but I know what I'm doing is right for me

[intel]

hey dont sweat it dude.... i think i went from 276 to 232 in... well i dont know how long but it wasnt more than 6 months

[MrRline2010]

hey dont sweat it dude.... i think i went from 276 to 232 in... well i dont know how long but it wasnt more than 6 months

yeah we'll i'm trying to eat a little healthier and eat less out and quit soda. I've added more veggies and fruits into my diet and i'm trying to cook more at home so that should help. also like I said doing the 60 minutes of low impact cardio stuff. I've actually seen improvement on the peddle bikes. When i first started I couldn't keep my heart rate below 150 and ive got it down to 126-136 throughout my 30 minutes on it. I can never get the elliptical parts to work and i'm going to keep working on it. Sucks being a big dude and trying to lose weight.

[dEaFHATCH]

weight lifting before cardio... heres what i posted in another thread here:

hit the weights first when you workout... you will use a lot the glycogen(energy) that is stored in your muscles for the heavy lifts, and since the glycogen stores in your muscles are used up, when you do your cardio your body will start converting your fat(and muscle a little bit) into energy... just make sure to get some protein in your system as fast as possible after your cardio... however, if you have the time then schedule your weightlifting in the morning after you have a small meal and then schedule your cardio a few hours later or even at night... oh and if you havent looked into it, look up HIIT cardio... it works wonders

chicken and veggies dont have to get old... theres a million different chicken recipes out there... just go on recipes.com and check out some of them... i believe they list the nutritional facts too... just switch it up and be creative(chicken salad, chicken sandwich, chicken tacos, etc)... tuna is another great idea... its extremely lean and packs a lot of protein... if you dont mind paying a little more, albacore tuna is even better... steaks every now and then arent bad- just watch what you put in the marinades... and every now and then a cheat day isnt bad... itll motivate you the next day to workout even harder to burn those extra calories

youre personal trainer sounds like he knows what he's talking about... during the beginning of your workout your body is using glycogen that it stores in your muscles for energy... because its using these stores, it doesnt have to convert fat(calories) into energy and burn it... arranging your workouts this way will give your muscles a better workout and help your burn more fat... cardio is also the most effecient way to burn calories so thats another reason why you want to schedule it once your body is in "fat burning mode"... and to maximize the effecincy of your cardio look up HIIT(high intensity interval training)... heres a link... read under the "benefits" section:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

[dEaFHATCH]

and dont forget that nutrition is 70% of the equation when trying to lose weight:goodjob:

[bb4arson]

and dont forget that nutrition is 80% of the equation when trying to lose weight:goodjob:

fixed.
stay low on the carbs before you hit the gym.

[MrRline2010]

Usually I go. To thr gym an holur after I wake up no food and do my workout heck I'm acually working out as we speak

[intel]

just make sure to get some protein in your system as fast as possible after your cardio...

wait....... so even fat people need protein shakes or protein bars? or do you suggest to stick to meats

[dEaFHATCH]

protein is strictly to help your muscles recover... protein shakes are the easiest/fastest way possible to get protein in your system b/c they are digested so quickly... whey protein would be best as it is the fastest digesting protein and is also very lean... casien proteins should only be consumed before bed to keep your body from going into a catabolic state and breaking down your muscles

[ektyper]

i do 15 to 20 min cardio first. then get my lift on. thats what my personal trainer recommended, and it's working out for me. cuz cardio gets ur heart going/blood pumping. speeding up ur metabolism.

[894ws]

^thats what i tought you were supposed to do get your blood pumping

[monstercb7]

Its bette to do cardio before lifting it gets the blood flowing and get better results and burns more caleries. An the lactic acid wont be as bad so later that day or the next you wont be sore or as sore. And besides cardio before is a good warm up.:thumbup: well thats what the good old football coach said run before lifting.

[dEaFHATCH]

yes, ~5 min of cardio before hitting the weights isnt horrible to get the "blood pumping", but its not the best either... the op was asking what was best for weight loss and for weight loss it is best to do it after you lift... what i do as a warm up is 1 or 2 "warm up sets" before each of my excercises, and then i move onto my 3-4 heavy sets and then one final burnout set as long as i am not in a hurry...the best place to go and find any questions that you might have is bodybuilding.com... they have a huge collection of articles on everything that you could possibly think of and then some

[dEaFHATCH]

Its bette to do cardio before lifting it gets the blood flowing and get better results and burns more caleries. An the lactic acid wont be as bad so later that day or the next you wont be sore or as sore. And besides cardio before is a good warm up.:thumbup: well thats what the good old football coach said run before lifting.

read this article as your coach was giving you wrong information... a ton of people think along the same lines as a lot of these misconceptions

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi51.htm

[Chiodos]

Agree 100% with what dEaFHATCH has posted!

[bb4arson]

i do 15 to 20 min cardio first. then get my lift on. thats what my personal trainer recommended, and it's working out for me. cuz cardio gets ur heart going/blood pumping. speeding up ur metabolism.

just get a warm up walk for 10 mins.. stretch and than do what you have to do.
i mean when your lifting your not really dong it to lose wieght your doing it to gain strength . (but muscle does burn calories quicker) i would do intense cardio before my sets. because one than your have to rest at leasr 3-5mins and by than your blood wont be pumping as fast ..

and than your going to be like shit im tired cause i did HIIT . i am going to just lack on strength on my squats ,dead lift etc