cardio before or after lifting

[wondergoat77]

I would like some input and some real life responses on this please. has anyone tested if cardio is more effective before or after lifting. are there any articles explaining pros and cons of each?

[carlosthejackal]

After.

Especially if you're doing it to cut any fat/weight.

My experience has been if I do it before I don't have as much energy for lifting heavy.

[tuff253]

I do 40 minute walks during the week around 4 days a week and I still have energy to train. The energy level all depends on what you eat during the day really.

[dungeonlifter]

First thing out of bed is best for me. Good luck.

[superman331]

I do 10-15 minutes before and the 20-30 minutes after depending on the day. Most day it's 15 then 30. On leg day it is 10 the 20. In a month I lost a percent in bodyfat. I also added 4 lbs of lean muscle. I changed my diet as well. I

[RealMenDeadLift]

When I am bulking I like to do it before because of the lower intensity/duration, while I am cutting I do it after because I really get after it and I don't want to be tired going into my lift.

[in10city]

It all comes down to a persons goals and priorities. If you want to prioritize aerobic conditioning and endurance, do cardio first. If you want to prioritize resistance training and muscle mass, lift weight first. The literature related to the long-term effect of exercise sequencing for fat loss is lacking but short-term studies would support weights first as well.

A short cardio warm up is fine if you find it necessary. If your priority is resistance training, then it should be kept short such that it does not introduce fatigue thus negatively affecting the resistance training session. However, some find that they perform better by doing some cardio first. So there really is no black and white answer.

Of course, separate sessions could be an option.

This describes some pros and cons of the various sequences.
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/content/view/223/55

[buffgrk]

in my personal experience your splitting hairs, i wouldn't worry about it.. if its 20-30minutes pre or pwo big****.

[spitfiredealer]

After. Always. For me i always want to have my max energy levels for lifting

[chazzy1864]

It all comes down to a persons goals and priorities. If you want to prioritize aerobic conditioning and endurance, do cardio first. If you want to prioritize resistance training and muscle mass, lift weight first. The literature related to the long-term effect of exercise sequencing for fat loss is lacking but short-term studies would support weights first as well.

A short cardio warm up is fine if you find it necessary. If your priority is resistance training, then it should be kept short such that it does not introduce fatigue thus negatively affecting the resistance training session. However, some find that they perform better by doing some cardio first. So there really is no black and white answer.

Of course, separate sessions could be an option.

This describes some pros and cons of the various sequences.
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/content/view/223/55

Glad you chimed in in10. Mind if I copy and paste your post for future reference, for those times you aren't readily available?

[wondergoat77]

thanks for all the help. and i like the range of answers this got. i usually do my cardio before but i will try it after lifting starting in february and see what kind of results that brings. thanks again