Cardio vs. Weight Training

[Huffunit]

Hey Everyone,

I have a personal debate going on with myself that has to do with making sure I do enough Cardio to go along with my Weight Training.  In doing so I am battling with two questions in which I know there are no right or wrong answers but I was curious to find out what others thought,

1.  What is better a long session(45-60 min each) of cardio done 2-3x a week or shorter sessions (20-25 min each) 5-6x a week?n

Im not sure if it really matters but it feeds directly in to my next question as well.  I mean I get the obvious benefits of a longer cardio session which are that you will burn more calories and be at your target heart rate for a much longer time, but I cant help but feel like I am selling myself short by doing this only 2-3 times a week and dont have time to do this much everyday, especially when this is usually followed by a weight training workout.  With the shorter sessions I get cardio everyday and follow it up with weight training (so I still am putting in my time at the gym), but I am not sure if I am burning the calories I would if I did the longer cardio sessions.

2.  Is it better to do Cardio then Weight Training or Weight Training then cardio when looking to do both in the same day?

Generally, I would say that it is better to do the Cardio first because your heart rate will then be at the target rate when starting your workout so you may be making better use of your workout.  However, when doing cardio first you definitely see a decrease in the weight and reps that you can perform in your workout.  So is it better to get the heart rate going even though you will not perform as well in your workout or would it be better to hold the cardio until after the weight training to be sure you can get your weight and reps in?

Anyone have any thoughts on this or any feedback on what you do?   

[Paul]

All depends on your goals - if you want to really lean down and look like Bruce Lee or a pro triathlete you'll want to bump up your cardio.  If you want to keep some bulk and want a general well rounded fitness program you could get by with 30 minute sessions a few times a week then maybe on weekends go out for a long bike ride or run.  The more cardio you do especially if you hit it hard will make you lean but at the expense of mass building and strength.  That's why pro bodybuilders eat like horses to build mass and then only during pre-contest prep do they do serious leaning down.

1 - Whether you do cardio on the same day as your strength routines or not you need to mix things up.  Just like they train thoroughbreds; trains hard, train easy, train long.  So don't just do your standard 30 minutes on the elliptical, try the interval program, the easy cruise, the cross country, etc. and mix in some outdoor agility work with lateral movements and lots of stretching.  Up to you how hard you go.  Also depends on how much time you have - might be more efficient to carve out an hour at the gym every day and then switch off cardio and strength days.

2 - I generally do my strength training first, otherwise I'm completely gassed plus sweaty and greasy after a hard cardio workout making the strength routine an ordeal.  On my upper body days I'll do about an hour of free weights and bodyweight exercises followed by 30 minutes on a cross trainer.  On other days I'll do a routine at home - bodyweight squats (lots, like 350-400 in one shot) followed by fitball leg curls, some ab work and then I'll get on my bike (set up on a trainer) and crank for 30-45 minutes while watching the news.

Whatever plan you end up with make sure you do some decent supplementation and take a good shot of a post workout recovery drink and stretch a lot.  I use First Endurance Utragen but lots of good stuff out there.  Hope this is helpful. 

[Huffunit]

Hey good look on the reply Paul.  I think I'm gonna seperate out the cardio and hit it hard a few times a week.  Weight train 4x and cardio 2x as I get closer to my football season in may I will I am thinking I will bump up the cardio to 3x a week and add some agility work.

As far as supplements been using a protein shake in morning and evening was also doin a mealreplacement once a day to give me $ meals a day.  This is working good to keep the energy up.  I also was taking superpump and may pick that up again.

[Paul]

Sounds like a plan, Mike.  Getting in some agility work and drills well before football season starts is a good idea (is that American football or soccer?) and even better if you tailor it to your position.  Problem is that most gym work is done in a vertical plane so your lateral strength and flexibility gets overlooked, that's why first week of practice everyone's taking a knee after every drill.  Nothing in the gym can replicate drills on a field so gotta get out there, sprint some hills and lay down some good cruising road work to build up a solid cardio base.  Your plan sounds solid, good luck!