Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: StinkyMojo
Well I'm planning on integrating treadmill running with my daily weightlifting schedule and was curious if it is better to run before you lift or vice versa? I heard that it?s better to run before lifting but it would be great so see what you guys think about this.
You were misinformed.
It is better to do your hard cardio after lifting for 2 reasons, and both compliment each other. (a 10-15 minute warm up before is OK).
Weight lifting is all about intensity. If you wear yourself out doing hard cardio before, you cannot devote nearly as much intensity to your lifting.
Cardio is all about lowering your glycogen stores to the point that your body starts to consume signifigant amounts of fat for energy. Doing cardio after you lift means you will start burning more fat sooner in your cardio routine because you have burned off signifigant amounts of glycogen while lifting.
In short, both your lifting AND cardio will be MORE effective if you do cardio after lifting.