Does it really matter??

[minick]

Hello everyone... I have a question about when and when not to do cardio... whether it is HIIT or moderate cardio...

I current only have the option to do cardio before i lift weights...... So I will switch doing HIIT or moderate.... at least 3 to 4 times a week... but i have read to do your cardio after weights or earlier in the day or seperate days all together.... I work out 5 days a week... working only one muscle group at a time...

My workout -
Sunday - legs only no cardio
Monday - light cardio followed with chest/abs
Tues. - HIIT cardio followed with arms/calves
Wed. - usually take off all day or do moderate cardio
Thurs. - HIIT cardio followed with shoulders/abs
Friday - moderate cardio followed with back/abs
Sat. - off

It seems sometimes when i am working larger muscle groups i am not able to give it all i got.... Is this because i have done my cardio first? I am sorry to post another thread about cardio... but it seems everyone is different and was wondering if anyone esle is doing the samething or something different.

Any ideas suggestions??

Thank you!!!

[Helene]

Of couse, you can't give it all your best because you've depleted all your energy doing cardio and have none for lifting - NOT good!

I don't understand why you can't do weights first?
I couldn't imagine doing HIIT before lifting, even a small bodypart.

Why are you doing so much cardio? What's you weight and height and bf?

Can't you do a split routine with 2 bodyparts and do cardio on diff days? This would be much more beneficial.. I think your current plan is just going to get you exhausted and you won't get the results you want from weight lifting..

[minick]

The main reason i do cardio first is .... well i would fuss about this but not going there... My boyfriend (main reason for this!) and i work out together so he is not at the gym until 6pm... where i can get there by 5:30 or before... so by the time we get weights over with...it is 7:30 pm (depending on how busy the gym is).... putting us home at 8:00... and i have to get up in the mornings at 4:45 to get ready for work... so that to me(??) is the only way to fit it in..... I wish i could stay later at the gym and do it after weights... but that would put me in the bed and losing sleep in order to get up and go to work the next day....

My height is 5'6 and weight is 126..... bf% is between 11 % to 12%....

I really understand what you are saying believe me ... wish things could be different...

But really i have done this for almost 4 months.... the cardio thing.... before weights...

So should i just suck it up and do cardio after weights?? or try to get in on my day off from weights??? If he does cardio with me (which happens maybe once every 2 weeks! Men they can eat whatever and not gain) any who..we will workout with weights... drink our post-work out shake then ride bike for about 20 min. at moderate pace.....

I have also tried the split and it does not seem to work for me... reason for that is the same our timing at the gym being so late at night....

Thank you for responding.... any more advice??

[Helene]

I think that at that low bf and weight you don't need that much cardio. Cardio 2 days a week on seperate days would be perfect for your heart.

But if you must do that much cardio, suck it up and do it AFTER weights.
Are you weight training intensively? Lifting heavy?

[TurbulentFluid]

Do your weights before you do cardio, and do cardio while your boyfriend's at the gym. Unless you're using him as a spotter, is it REALLY necessary that you both do weight training at the same time..?

[minick]

Yes.... I weight train very heavy..... I started weight training in May of this year and then start doing cardio.. my bf% (now this is the fatTracker II measurement thing) which i know can read lower than it really is... but i use it only to go by... So I started out at around 120 lbs. and 15 to 16% bf... so I have gained muscle mass..... well hope that is it... cause the scales have went up to 126 but bf% is going down and is reading around 11 to 12%...


Yes my boyfriend is my spotter and vise versa..... so we would like to keep it that way for now...

Ok... well wish me luck in telling him we are staying at the gym to later!! LOL
But will try to do on my days off.... and will shoot for 3 days.... if not 2 and see how it works out..

Thank you for your input.... I am going today and do my arm/calves workout and then if i can will do cardio or wait till tomorrow on our day off from weights to do some.......

[Nanda Devi]

I did weights after cardio for AGES and finally decided about 6 weeks ago to start doing cardio after weights and I'll never look back. I was so used to doing cardio first that it was a tough habit to break, but I have so much more energy for weights now, and I also no longer over-do my cardio because I have just enough energy (and time) for 30-35 minutes.

I do a 5-10 minute warm-up on a stationary bike, hit the weights for about 50 min., then cardio (I work out at exactly the same time as you, minick, and get home around 8:00 every night).

Anyway, I love my new routine, and I'm sure you would prefer it as well, but I can see how it works best for you to do weights after cardio because you need your boyfriend as a spotter. I suppose you could do early morning cardio before work... that would be my only other option as well, but there's just no way in hell I can get up that early!

ND