Cardio Before or After Workout

[slash747]

I have asked the vets in my gym as to when they prefer to do cardio before or after workouts and I have gotten mixed responses.

Some say that it is better to do it before a workout, this is how we used to do it during football practice in High School, they said that if you do cardio atfer a workout you wind up burning the already trained muscle you did that day...

And others say to do it after that way it doesnt interfere with youre workout, and they said whoever told you that it burns muscle is a complete moron....

I can take the safe way out and just go to the gym on my rest day and do Cardio but doesnt that defeat the purpose of having an off day?

Any help would be appreciated.....

 

[Namu]

I have always preferred after so that I know I can bust through a tough training session with all of the energy, confidence, and determination that I need. But it is all a matter of choice.
Better yet would be to do the cardio in the morning and then do some weightlifting later in the day. This way you kill two birds with one stone and will not have to worry!!!

 

[THE BOUNCER]

YOU CAN DO ABOUT 5-10 MIN OF CARDIO BEFORE YOU WORK OUT TO GET WARMED UP. BUT TO GET A FULL SESSION OF CARDIO I WOULD RECOMMEND DOING IT IN THE MORNING AND HIT THE WEIGHTS LATER.

 

[dissto]

preffered is in the AM on an empty stomach. if you cant make it in, do it after a workout. your glycogen stores are empty as you have used all of them durring the intense training session. when you do cardio ofter, you cant use glycogen as an anergy source, so your body is forced to use stored bodyfat for energy.

 

[kid]

agree with dissto. that is exactly 100% correct!

 

[mike peters]

Most will tell you that cardio after is the one and ony choice. I don't believe in burning out your already worked out muscles. When the complete workout is over, your going to rest, eat, rest eat and grow, rebuild. I may only do light cardio for 5 minutes before a workout to warm up before a leg workout.

 

[MaxBiceps]

i do 15-20 mins of cardio before a workout to loosen my muscles and joints up and get the blood flowing. doing cardio after a workout doue not burn away muscle. i don't think it matters when you do it as long as you do it. also doing cardio helps loosen up so that you can strecth better.

 

[el cubano]

In a perfect world you would get up in the morning, do your cardio, eat breakfast go to work, come home, eat dinner and go to the gym or go to the gym then eat dinner. But in my world I wake up figure out what time I'm working that day, go to the gym whenever the hell I have time and do a half hour of cardio after my workout.

 

[RT10]

Doing cardio AFTER your workout will take the pump off of the bodypart you just trained. You want blood flowing to that muscle for it to grow and recover. You dont want that blood flowing to your legs instead. Always try to do cardio as a seperate workout, preferable in the morning on an empty stomach as stated above. For all you guys with no time to go to the gym twice a day, invest in a Life Cycle and put it in your bedroom.

 

[sparks]

Every morning cardio 30 to 45 Min. 5 times a week works for me.