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cardio at day/weights at night?

post #1 of 22
3/7/08 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
i'm going to try getting back into exercising, and while i have some fat i'd like to get rid of, i also need to build muscle. i was wondering if there were pros/cons to doing cardio when i get up in the morning and weightlifting at night, 4-5 hours before sleeping?

i used to lift in the morning 3 days a week and run 2 days, but now i'm thinking that if i lifted at night, my body would use my food from the day as energy.

would there be any serious issues with doing both kinds of exercise in the same day, spread roughly 12 hours apart?

also, any suggestions for how many days of the week i should run and how many i should lift? like i said, i was thinking of combining them, but should i save some days for only one kind of exercise?

thanks guys!
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post #2 of 22
3/7/08 at 6:00am
I need to know a lot more information about you. How much weight do you need to lose? How much stronger do you want to get? What are your specific goals?
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post #3 of 22
3/7/08 at 6:34am
Thread Starter 
im a pretty scrawny guy with a bit of a gut/mid-section that doesn't show until i take my shirt off... you know, skinny-fat. i'm not concerned with getting a builders body, but i would like to put my dumbbells to use to bulk up my chest and arms, while at the same time taking off the fat. the fat is my main concern.
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post #4 of 22
3/7/08 at 7:14am
That is optimum. Because you burn the most fat doing cardio in first thing you wake up. But if you do weights 3 times a week and cardio in between, you would surely burn out.
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post #5 of 22
3/7/08 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by beasty View Post
That is optimum. Because you burn the most fat doing cardio in first thing you wake up. But if you do weights 3 times a week and cardio in between, you would surely burn out.

Evidence or STFU.
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post #6 of 22
3/7/08 at 12:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by whacked View Post
Evidence or STFU.

+1

Jon.
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post #7 of 22
3/7/08 at 1:08pm
Also,

Quote:
Originally Posted by beasty View Post
That is optimum. Because you burn the most fat doing cardio in first thing you wake up. But if you do weights 3 times a week and cardio in between, you would surely burn out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by whacked View Post
Evidence or STFU.
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post #8 of 22
3/7/08 at 10:21pm
Forgive the ignorance but what's STFU? Style Forum U? Cause while not entirely accepted, there is quite a bit or research supporting this.
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post #9 of 22
3/7/08 at 11:42pm
He would like you to either cite your source for that information or cease typing on this subject matter.
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post #10 of 22
3/8/08 at 12:28am
The argument is that because your gylcogen stores are empty in the morning, your body burns straight from your fat reserves (but it also eats away at your muscle). Of course, this is relative and pretty useless imo in the bigger picture of burning fat. Some trainers swear by consuming a shake or egg before cardio in the morning or cardio on an empty stomach. Not my thing but there is evidence to suggest it works. I don't think I could consider it optimal though.
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post #11 of 22
3/8/08 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
so basically my weekday mornings are open for running and every night is free for free weights. any suggestions as to how many or what days i should dedicate to each activity?
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post #12 of 22
3/8/08 at 3:42pm
Find a good program to follow and lift 3 or 4 times per week, depending on the program. If it were me I'd run only on non-lifting days. But if can/want to run on lifting days and still make progress, more power to you. But take it easy on the running if you have to lift later that day.
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post #13 of 22
3/8/08 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philosoph View Post
Find a good program to follow and lift 3 or 4 times per week, depending on the program. If it were me I'd run only on non-lifting days. But if can/want to run on lifting days and still make progress, more power to you. But take it easy on the running if you have to lift later that day.

Agreed. For someone getting back into excersing, the best thing is not to go overboard with excersing because of you'll eventually burn out. Two-a-days (am and pm) workouts are extremely difficult keep up with for a long period of time.

I myself have gotten great results with interval cardio training on non-lifting days but I always have a whey protein supplement before the session just to make sure I don't lose muscle.

The one thing that would benefit someone trying to lose fat is to make sure that they are getting enough protein in their diet through lean meats/protein supplements (at least 1 gram per lb of bodyweight). The rest of your calories should come from high fiber carbs (fruits and veggies) and healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocados, fish oil)

Depending on your weight/ht/age, you must make sure you get enough calories to support fat loss and muscle gains.


**sorry for the rant. Good luck man!
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post #14 of 22
3/9/08 at 6:07am
Thread Starter 
rants are good, i appreciate all the advice!
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post #15 of 22
8/29/08 at 4:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by efujobu View Post
Agreed. For someone getting back into excersing, the best thing is not to go overboard with excersing because of you'll eventually burn out. Two-a-days (am and pm) workouts are extremely difficult keep up with for a long period of time.

I myself have gotten great results with interval cardio training on non-lifting days but I always have a whey protein supplement before the session just to make sure I don't lose muscle.

The one thing that would benefit someone trying to lose fat is to make sure that they are getting enough protein in their diet through lean meats/protein supplements (at least 1 gram per lb of bodyweight). The rest of your calories should come from high fiber carbs (fruits and veggies) and healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocados, fish oil)

Depending on your weight/ht/age, you must make sure you get enough calories to support fat loss and muscle gains.


**sorry for the rant. Good luck man!

Can you elaborate on the whey supp? I can't image drinking a protein shake before a hard session of HIIT. Wouldn't that upset your stomach?

RE:OP--
I would say do not run/lift on the same day. You will see bigger gains if you do QUALITY workouts, good recovery, and eat right. Here's what I recommend for you:

MWF - Lifting, about 1hr. Make sure you hit different muscle groups (for example, upperbody on monday, lowerbody on wednesday, hi-rep and abs on friday). Compound exercises (squat, bench, deadlift, cleans) are great.

TTh - Running. Since you said you need to lose some weight too, you're not at the point where excess cardio will really hurt muscle gains I don't think. At this point you can still gain muscle and lose fat (this will become increasingly less true the more you get in shape).

I recommend sprints with short rests in-between (look into tabata method if you're really going to be hardcore about it) over jogging like 6 miles.
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