Quick question Cathe, if you do cardio the same day as weight training, after lifting do you think that takes away from your muscle building if your aim is to build strength? Would the better option be to do cardio the day after? Or does the muscle still get to rest either way? Thanks
Cardio after weights or the day after?
- Thread starter Mic
- Start date
Hi Mic--I'm not Cathe, but..........I actually have some pretty strong opinions on this, & as always I'm happy to share. 
During the week I split up my cardio & lifting, but this is only b/c of time constraints. My preference is actually to do cardio BEFORE lifting, for a variety of reasons:
--you get your heart rate up w/the cardio, & can keep it up to some degree if you lift right after, so you can burn more fat
--your muscles get nice & warmed up if you do cardio first, thereby reducing injury risk & post-workout soreness
--cardio is more important to me than weight training (although I enjoy weight training more), so if I'm gonna expend most of my energy on half a workout it'll be the cardio. Also I'd rather finish w/what I enjoy most rather than start w/it. I just can't imagine trying to look forward to a cardio workout after lifting all those weights! I'd never make it!
Anyway, those are my reasons, but I do work out 5 days a week, & 3 of those days are either exclusively cardio or exclusively weights. I don't think there are any drawbacks to splitting the workouts either and, as you mentioned, there probably are some benefits b/c you'll feel stronger during each workout. But personally, I think doing cardio after weights is probably the least efficient way to do it.
So much of it depends on your schedule, your goals, & your genetics. My suggestion is do what works best for you!
During the week I split up my cardio & lifting, but this is only b/c of time constraints. My preference is actually to do cardio BEFORE lifting, for a variety of reasons:
--you get your heart rate up w/the cardio, & can keep it up to some degree if you lift right after, so you can burn more fat
--your muscles get nice & warmed up if you do cardio first, thereby reducing injury risk & post-workout soreness
--cardio is more important to me than weight training (although I enjoy weight training more), so if I'm gonna expend most of my energy on half a workout it'll be the cardio. Also I'd rather finish w/what I enjoy most rather than start w/it. I just can't imagine trying to look forward to a cardio workout after lifting all those weights! I'd never make it!
Anyway, those are my reasons, but I do work out 5 days a week, & 3 of those days are either exclusively cardio or exclusively weights. I don't think there are any drawbacks to splitting the workouts either and, as you mentioned, there probably are some benefits b/c you'll feel stronger during each workout. But personally, I think doing cardio after weights is probably the least efficient way to do it.
So much of it depends on your schedule, your goals, & your genetics. My suggestion is do what works best for you!
Thanks so much for your response. I understand your reasoning on what your saying. I'm curious you've been working out for a while, how much cardio do you do? What's the most you think you can do before you start to hurt your muscle gains? 30 minutes 3 times a week or 1 hour 3 times a week? Thanks for the information?