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February 10, 2009 12:54 AM

is it better to do anaerobic (weight-lifting) exercise before doing cardio workout or vice versa?

Conventional wisdom is that you deplete your body's natural levels of creatine when doing cardio but i like to warm up before lifting weights. how much cardio warmup is too much (i.e. too much creatine depletion)?
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February 10, 2009 02:14 AM
Yep, this will be an "it depends" answer.
What is your priority? Building muscle or increasing your cardio performance?
That would determine your order (from what I've read).

For me, running two miles on the treadmill at a reasonable pace (defined by your current physical condition) acts as a good warm-up for lifting. I'm not fried when I'm done, but I also maintain my current running performance. I move into the weight-room feeling loose and my body temp is nice and warm. When I really want to improve my run times, I'll do longer runs on off-days from the gym rather than combine weights and running into one session.

One bonus to doing cardio first is that you can immediately move into recovery after your weight lifting session. This includes downing some serious protein and carbs. In the past, when I've done cardio AFTER weights, I feel like I'm starving my muscles.
Source(s):
Personal experience as a hard-gainer who has not been able to defy genetics.

The usual publications: Men's Fitness, Muscle and Fitness, etc etc.

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February 10, 2009 01:00 AM
It really depends upon the type of workout you're doing and what you're looking to do in terms of your muscles. Lifting weights tends to stiffen your muscles which can work against the aerobic workout. You can also bulk up substantially from too much weight lifting when more natural workouts like punching will grow strength but build the muscles less bulky.
Source(s):
I used to work in a gym when I was training as a boxer.


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February 10, 2009 01:16 AM
I'm not lifting to be the next Mr. Universe but I'm told that too much cardio before an anaerobic session renders the weightlifting part useless if you have no creatine (and other amino acids) with which to build muscle. Not all weightlifing/muscle growth/development results in bulk (which I'm not looking for).

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February 12, 2009 01:57 AM
I work out 6 days a week, and most days I do my weights first. The reason I do that is because if I did a strenuous cardio workout, then I'd be too tired to lift with good form. 5 minutes of light cardio exercise should be enough for a warm-up.

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