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To cardio or not to cardio b4 weights?

thegqman Posts: 68 Joined: 2003/05/08	2003/05/27, 04:18 PM That is the question? Any thoughts as to what is best? does it really matter. I am looking for fat burn and muscle gain. As we all know a tough balance..
BicepBri Posts: 40 Joined: 2003/03/03	2003/05/27, 07:01 PM You should try to separate your cardio and weight training on different days, but alot of people can't get to the gym that often. If gaining muscle is your priority, you want to do the weights first when you have the most energy. You might be too tired after the cardio.
plfitness Posts: 198 Joined: 2003/05/25	2003/05/27, 09:23 PM It is also important to remember that during the first 30 miutes of exercise the body switches its primary energy source from carbs to fats. Thus performing weight training first will make better use of carbohaydrates therefore increasing energy output during lifting. Another positive aspect of this is that after your weight training the body has utilized alot of the carb stores so the primary source of energy when doing cardio at the end is going to be fats. Keep in mind that if you overdo either part and burn too many calories in one session however, that the body will also utilize muscle tissue for energy which is counter productive to gaining muscle. Also if the primary goal is strength or size performing cardio on the same day is going to be somewhat counterproductive, to be honest I prefer to eliminate cardio alltogether during size strength training & have gotten better results doing so. In conclusion , If you are going to do cardio in the same workout be sure to consume an adequate pre-workout meal & keep the entire session down to about an hour. P.L.
drio Posts: 288 Joined: 2003/04/22	2003/05/29, 12:27 PM Glad I came across this post. I've been wondering the same. I typically do cardio for a half hour before my weights. (and I've been a little disappointed with my limited mass gains) I'm going to start weights first from now on and see how it goes. Thanks guys. -------------- Dont wait! Procrastinate NOW! =)
bb1fit Posts: 11,105 Joined: 2001/06/30	2003/05/29, 01:27 PM ALWAYS beneficial to do weight training first. If you do cardio first, you are depleting valuable glycogen stores that can be better utilized during lifting. This will insure you are stronger, thus better chance of overload on the muscle, which intices growth. Besides, good chance of glycogen being depleted then for cardio, inticing the body to turn to fatty acids for energy, thus more fat burn also. Win/win situation. -------------- As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it. Ron
krazymatt Posts: 24 Joined: 2001/12/19	2003/05/29, 05:25 PM I noticed plfitness said that you have to be careful how many calories you burn in order to avoid muscle tissue being burned. I usually do my 45 min of cardio-recumbent bike at home in the morning and burn 500 calories. Then after work I do my lifting. Is that too many calories to burn? Or should I stick to what I'm doing?
bb1fit Posts: 11,105 Joined: 2001/06/30	2003/05/29, 06:39 PM No, splitting it up like that is a great way to do it. If I do cardio on the same day as weights, I like to make it 6-8 hours between. I was under the impression from the original post that they were being done with cardio first and weights second. krazymutt, the way you are doing it is fine. -------------- As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it. Ron