CARDIO BEFORE OR AFTER WEIGHTS

Should I do cardio first or after lifting??? Some say yes others say no. Any ideas????

I'm sure if you do some of your own research on this site you will find what you're looking for and then some. This topic has been discussed many of times here before.

I've seen studies that say light resistance training followed by cardio should help burn more fat than the other way around.

I would suggest doing what Bogey says and search around on the forums.

there are tons of threads posted on this use the search box you will find plenty of helpful threads

Doing too much cardio before your workout will probably not yield great results. Think about it.

I have always liked some cardio after lifting but that's just me. I'd say do it after but it would be smarter to thumb through the threads.

my vote is post workout all the way!

If I have an evening workout, I will do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I do cardio three times a week.

If I have a morning workout, I will do cardio after it.

The 5 to 10 minute easy cardio Chuck sure helps on leg days.

There has been alot of talk about this the last several weeks and I did some research and read a ton of articles on this subject.I found this one wrote by a guy named Paul Rodger,I guess hes a fitness expert.He seems to think it's better to do cardio before weights hes got some good points.I like the post cardio myself but thats because I'm alittle beat after my weights.Theres alot of different opinions on this I think it really boils down to what works best for you I think there both beneficial.Maybe change it up month after month?? what do you think guys??

Cardio before Weights.by Paul Rodger.

You get stuck into the cardio first up for forty minutes because you think you will be too tired to tackle it at the end of the weights program. You understand you will expend more energy with cardio when you're fresh, so you can use more energy overall in the session, which is what you're aiming for.

Fresh legs for better cardio. If you do your cardio before you lift, there’s little doubt you will do this part of your program more efficiently, which probably means at higher intensity and with a higher aerobic fitness outcome. Heavy legs and arms after weights are not conducive to a good cardio session. I’ve tried both sequences many times, and running first is my preference even without the technical considerations.

As explained in So You Want to Burn More Fat, cardio of moderate output expends considerably more energy than an equal session of weights, so if you want to maximize energy output for weight loss and aerobic fitness, doing a solid cardio session is essential. Doing cardio first will maximize your output.

On the other hand, with attention to fueling, refueling and fluid intake, you will still be capable of a strong weights session after your aerobic session.

Strong arteries. It's also important to know that aerobic exercise is important even for specialist weight lifters and bodybuilders from a health perspective. Cardio helps keep the arteries elastic, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health. This is called ‘arterial compliance’ and several studies have shown that this worsens in weight trainers who do little aerobic exercise.

Study Shows Cardio before Weights is Beneficial
A recent study from the Human Performance Research Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah examined what happened to ten men who did resistance only, run only, resistance-run, and run-resistance sessions. (‘Resistance-run’ means weights before cardio and vice versa.)

Here’s what they reported:

EPOC, the measure of the afterburn or energy output after you stop exercising was greatest when cardio was done before weight training.
Running after a weights session was physiologically more difficult than doing it before lifting weights. (This has implications for efficiency and possibly safety.)
The researchers recommend “performing aerobic exercise before resistance exercise when combining them into one exercise session”.
This was not a large study, so the results should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, this is in line with my own experience with this training sequence, and also that of some clients.

Other research found that 'running economy' is also impaired after a weights session, another reason why the weights-->cardio sequence is less efficient.

Score for Scenario 2: the evidence is not quite in yet, but I’ll score it 4 our of 5 for doing cardio before a weights session.

Cardio Killed My Muscle
Some weight trainers are very reluctant to do much cardio training because they believe it produces catabolic hormones like cortisol that break down muscle stores for fuel thus interfering with the anabolic muscle building process.

Although this subject is worthy of a more complete article on weight training nutrition and metabolism, a brief response is that you can protect muscle from this process by ensuring adequate nutrition before, during and after a session and by keeping aerobic training to under one hour if you have muscle building goals.

Forty or so minutes of cardio within an adequate nutritional environment is not going to hurt your muscle. In fact, in view of the discussion above, doing cardio after weights could be more damaging to muscle as 'beaten up' muscle strives to deal with the burden of aerobic activity. Your immediate post-weights activity should be dedicated to maximizing the anabolic environment. This is time for building up not breaking down. You achieve this by eating sensibly and adequately and by resting and sleeping -- and by not doing cardio after weights.

Summing Up
Here are my recommendations:

Do most of your aerobic exercise before your weights program if you do both in the same session.
Complete your weights session, cool down then immediately concentrate on recovery, repair and rebuilding rather than additional exercise.
Consider separate sessions for cardio and weights on different days. This is a popular option when weight loss is not the primary goal. You could also experiment with separate sessions on the same day, but you need to get your refueling right with this approach.
If weight loss is a primary goal, doing both on the same day with cardio first may offer some advantages in increased metabolism and energy expenditure.
If strength, rather than hypertrophy (bigger muscles) is a goal, you probably should do cardio and weights on separate days because the heavier lifts may not go as well after doing cardio first. You need to be as fresh as possible for those 4RMs.
You could mix and match upper and lower body workouts. For example, treadmill running and upper body weights one day and lower body weights and swimming another day.
Don't get too hung up on this whole idea; if it suits you to reverse the order occasionally, it won't be a problem. Paul, About.com's guide to Weight Training, is a qualified and registered personal trainer with a background of participation in a wide range of sports over many years including track sprinting, triathlon, marathon, hockey, tennis and baseball, and including some coaching.

Experience:
Paul has combined writing and web publishing with professional practice in the fitness and health industry through his personal training company Fitnesse. He is a regular contributor to the Supertraining discussion group and is a moderator of the Nut-Net nutrition group on Yahoo. He specializes in nutritional aspects of weight training and bodybuilding and pursues additional interests in the application of strength training to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

Education:
Paul is a registered personal trainer with Fitness Australia, the peak accreditation body, is a member of the Nutrition Society of Australia, an accredited Heart Foundation Heartmoves instructor, an accredited diabetes trainer and is also a qualified workplace trainer.

my vote is 5 mins of cardio for you to warm up before lifting weights!=)

Cardio should be done after lifts b/c you're body is depleted & ready to shed the fat. You can also burn more fat by doing it that way.

Morning, night, after, before.....blah blah blah...just do it! I just read an article in the new muclemag that says morning isn't the best time for cardio, it's between 5-7 at night that gives you the best benefits. You ask 10 different people ur gonna get 10 different answers. So basically from what we've all been told....either first thing in the morning, after your weights, or between 5-6 at night. Just do it 2-3 hours after you have ate ur last meal, or first thing in the morning and u will be fine!

I've always done cardio after my weights....