Can you do cardio after weight lifting?

I agree with BlackWAter but remember this, ideas are constantly changing. Just compare a training magazine from a few years ago with now and a lot of the new one will contradict the main ideas from the old one, and it'll swing back to the old ideas in a few years time.

Some people say you should and others say you shouldn't, but guess what - people on both sides are fit and get results.

So imo stick with what feels best. Personally I don't think I can lift as much if I do cardio first but you stick to what you like most.

 

You don't gain any muscle while you're lifting... You're actually tearing muscle down... You gain it when you go to sleep after working out when the body repairs itself.

When doing weight training, you want all your glycogen stores available so you can do a maximum workout. So, you DON'T want to do your aerobic work first because it'll use up a lot of those stores.

And besides, aerobic work is about getting the heart level up to a certain rate and maintaining that rate for a minimum of twenty minutes. So, even if you're completely drilled from a weight training session, you can still go for a light jog and get an aerobic affect.

In other words... 1) warm-up 2) weight training 3) aerobic work

 

i always do cardio after weight lifting hitting the bag, speedball, skipping, running etc

 

i always thought it was better to do the exercise that will use the most oxygen first. Thats how I do during track season, I get all my running in to fire my muscles up then I go pump the iron

 

Your resting heart rate after a hardcore work out will be sufficient enough to allow you to continue to burn calories at least an hour after your workout. Dont waste your time with a run after lifting as the effects overall will be minimal as well as not allowing your body enough time to recover. Do one or the other not both.

 

Bingo. Muscles NEED Oxygen in order to be effective as lifting weights is anaerobic. That way at least the lactose will take longer to build up once the blood is flowing.

 

Since when does anaerobic mean muscles need oxygen? atsch Muscles switch to oxygen as a primary source of fuel during long, sustained workouts of twenty minutes or more.

Anaerobic workouts, such as weight lifting and sprinting, use glycogen and creatine as a primary source of energy. Oxygen doesn't come into play until the immediate local glycogen stores are depleted near the end of a set or a sprint. Not during it.

When the heavy lifting starts, the heart rate zooms up to increase blood flow. That gets rid of most of the lactic acid which forms as a by product of muscle exertion. The elevated blood also transprots the lactic acid rapidly to the liver where it is converted back into glycogen and then transported back to the muscles ready for another set. If you start cutting down on the time between sets or sprints, ot minute drills, you can actually speed up your recovery time.

Bottom line is, if you go for a long run first and then do weight lifting, sprinting or any other anaerobic workout, you are not able to get a full payload becasue you have already used up much of your glycogen stores during the first twenty minutes of the jog.

But if you do your anaerobic work first, you can still induce a very good aerobic workout afterwords because all you need for that is to do a low intensity workout sustained over a period of time. In other words, even after blitzing your legs with squats or sprints, you can still go for a thirty minute jog and get a good aerobic workout. But, if you go running for thirty minutes first, you won't be able to get a maximum workout on your sprints or squats.