cardio after lifting

bodygrow · August 14th, 2005, 10:17 PM

My situation: work out 4-5 X wkly. Days off I have my kid and too busy to workout or cardio. Im working towards increased mass and lately have been noticing more flab/luv-handles. I've completely cut out cardio the last 3months b/c Im trying my best to retain all possible muscle, but it's time to give that thought up. I plan to include 20 mins X3 wkly after workout.

My question's are: how to implement cardio (ex. right after weights, or wait one hour after workout, etc.); will cardio on weight days be detrimental on muscle mass; and where to incorporate the "after-workout" protein shake (ex. after weight, before cardio; after both)

I do my best to do my own research, but in this instance I feel a little personal advice will help me best.

**Old_Fart2** · August 15th, 2005, 08:33 AM

Personally, I like to do cardio immediately after the workout, while my metabolism is still cranked from the workout. If your only doing 20 minutes or less, I don't think you need your post-workout shake before your cardio (others will disagree) since you're still within the window of opportunity.

**engr** · August 15th, 2005, 09:02 AM

Agree with Old Fart. I usually do my cardio right after my lifting. However, I must state that I also am not bulking up. Just staying in shape and trying to keep the weight off.

I'd be willing to bet that Mr. Adonis will have some thoughts on this.

**Maveaider** · August 16th, 2005, 08:55 AM

I go out for a 10 minute run immediately after my workout (and some stretches) which helps me to warm down. You should probably go for your run before you take your shake, just as Farty said, otherwise you'll end up with a stitch and that won't do you much good.

Extensive cardio on weight days is not good for your muscle mass so you should do it on your rest days. I intersperse my cardio with my weight training, so I have three days weights and three days cardio every week. Your system will be taxed after a weight lifting session so it's better to give it its due rest than to tax it some more. M

bodygrow · August 16th, 2005, 08:37 PM

thanks for the advise. I decided on: workout, protein to follow, and cardio 1.5 hours after protein. That program well fly for now but I start night-shift in another month. Guess I will be revamping later on.

**Doughboy** · August 21st, 2005, 04:28 PM

I agree with Mave I think its ok to do cardio after lifting but not alot.

**Italianangel** · August 23rd, 2005, 06:09 PM

ditto here, cardio after.
Linda

jac · October 14th, 2005, 05:06 PM

I am trying to lose fat and gain muscle; with emphasis on losing fat.

I do 50 mins before working out, and then I hit the weights really hard and intensely for an hour.

Does this sound right for my goal of losing fat?
However, I am afraid of getting too thin (not near that yet) and looking scrawny.
I am 5'11" and 230lbs with a 40" waist, big boned and barrel chested.

Any constructive comments or advice would be appreciated.

**Italianangel** · October 15th, 2005, 11:31 AM

you will do better doing the cardio after, at a mild pace for fat burn but not muscle burn.

jac · October 20th, 2005, 05:13 PM

thanks for the advice Italian Angel.

Viva Roma....

softballhead · October 22nd, 2005, 04:40 PM

I just joined this site to reply to your post. You should be doing cardio and lifting during separate sessions to maximize your muscle gain and mass. Optimally, you should at least have 6 hours between your lifting and cardio (it's time consuming, I know).

I don't know if you know about this website, but www.t-nation.com can offer some great advice for people trying to get bigger like you. It's a bodybuilding and strength support website rather than just a overall fitness website.

**Old_Fart2** · October 24th, 2005, 09:24 AM

T-Nation is a great site. I get a lot of good info there, as does Adonis.

Here is an answer to the same question on T-Nation:

Best time is --quite simply-- dependant on your goals and when you can do it.

Off days from lifting are great.
Mornings supposedly burn more fat.
right after a workout- a short intense cardio is great for fat loss as well.

Cardio at night after working out is ok if you have that kind of time.

There are so many factors involved.

I think you first need to define the result you wish to achieve from the cardio. Fat loss, weight maint., whatever. Then you can build a program/plan to mix in cardio with your weights.

What I like to do is some variation of HIIT training after my workouts. If I'm doing cardio for any longer than 20 minutes (typically HIIT type training only takes between 10-15 minutes), I'll do it on a separate day.

**ntnfdvd** · October 25th, 2005, 11:49 AM

Agreed with Fart...too much cardio at too intense a pace after lifting is actually catabolic. I like a slow pace after lifting ...but I also do cardio on my off days.

jediracer · October 31st, 2005, 03:38 PM

yikes! i have been doing cardio and then going straight to the weights for almost 10 months now. why exactly is it better to do cardio after, or 6 hours apart?

**Old_Fart2** · November 2nd, 2005, 10:23 AM

The whole idea is to build lean muscle mass so you want to have maximum energy for your weight training. The cardio is simply to burn some extra calories (and, of course, strengthen your heart, but weight training does that also).

So if you do cardio first, your weight training is going to suffer. It's a matter of directing your resources to where they do the most good.

jac · November 2nd, 2005, 04:21 PM

Jediracer - I am curious, in the ten months you have been doing cardio first then hitting the weights real hard, how has it worked for you.

**Old_Fart2** · November 2nd, 2005, 04:25 PM

I found this earlier in responding to another thread. This is an article that was posted previously: Best Time For Cardio.

**Doughboy** · November 2nd, 2005, 07:30 PM

Oh I see this thread is back up, nice link Link King

jediracer · November 10th, 2005, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jac

Jediracer - I am curious, in the ten months you have been doing cardio first then hitting the weights real hard, how has it worked for you.

i started at about 220, went down to 194, now i'm up to 205, but very little of it is fat anymore. i'm (mostly) happy with the way i look/feel now, but i'm still having trouble shedding the last bit of my abdominal/torso fat, which worries me because i read that is the type of fat that leads to heart disease and other health risks.

and i work out in th emorning, so i actually feel like i have a little more energy after doing cardio a bit before lifting.

**painless2** · November 16th, 2005, 11:55 AM

There's nothing wrong with doing cardio before weight training, it's just 2 schools of thought. If you're truly doing an intensity that's appropriate then yu will be utilizing a different energy system primarily than you would use in weight training anyway. If the intensity is too high yuou could certainly pre-exhaust so that would not be recommended, but only for the working muscles, ie if you do the upper body ergometer, you aren't going to limit squat performance. Be sensible and you can do it whenever you want, it's a great warm up before and a great way to end a workout after.