Cardio before weight training

[Scott_LIFE180]

Greetings all,

For the past few months I have been working on trying to drop some of my tonnage. Granted I'm just under 6' and right about 200lbs, I'm not way over weight but I'm dissatisfied with my body fat %. So in order to lose the body fat I've been running and doing weight training.

I normally do a good ab routine followed by some weight training and then I'll run about 2 miles (or do half an hour on the eliptical machine). I do that pretty much daily. At the very least I run every day.

I'm not losing weight however. I am pretty sure that I'm not working out hard enough to trade pound for pound fat for muscle so I'm not sure why I'm not dropping weight.

I've read that some people do cardio before weight training, what are your thoughts on that idea?

[Grego]

I have a similar problem. I'm not overweight at all, I just have a slight gut.

Often, running isn't enough.

I knew a Army Captain who was trying to lose weight for her wedding. She stopped running completely, and started doing a brisk walk for an hour a day. She lost about 30lbs in two months. She was a great runner, too.

Its just that sometimes, running doesn't give you the fat burn you need. If you look on most treadmills/elipticals there are settings for fat burn and cardio.

Try doing lower intensity stuff for a longer amount of time. And cut back on your calorie intake.

[the beast]

I have also read that cardio before weight training is more beneficial, because it gets your heart rate up before you lift. In fact I have started doing this also,but haven't noticed any difference. But then again everybody is different. Sorry I couldn't be much help and good luck on the weight loss.

[Traymond]

Greetings all,

For the past few months I have been working on trying to drop some of my tonnage. Granted I'm just under 6' and right about 200lbs, I'm not way over weight but I'm dissatisfied with my body fat %. So in order to lose the body fat I've been running and doing weight training.

I normally do a good ab routine followed by some weight training and then I'll run about 2 miles (or do half an hour on the eliptical machine). I do that pretty much daily. At the very least I run every day.

I'm not losing weight however. I am pretty sure that I'm not working out hard enough to trade pound for pound fat for muscle so I'm not sure why I'm not dropping weight.

I've read that some people do cardio before weight training, what are your thoughts on that idea?

I am six foot, and I weight 170. am not underweight and I am still not over weight...how that can be I do not know. I still have a small gut because I like starch and carbs to much still.

I do cardio before I lift to up the heart rate and get the adrenaline pumping, but to lose that gut you need to eat right. Cut alot of the carbs and boost the protein, but eat healthy protein such as tuna, and stuff like that.

[Kuma]

Cardio before can actually make your weight training weaker, so it's best to do it after. If you're doing cardio and not losing weight, it could be either a) diet, b) frequency, or c) intensity that's holding you back.

Another alternative is to look into circuit training.

[Traymond]

On a side note...

Is the treadmill better than the elliptical or no?...or either way is ok?

[Kuma]

Either's okay. Treadmills are a more higher-impact cardio so if you have bad joints or have taken a beating that week the elliptical might be better.

[Traymond]

Now if I wanted to burn more calories, or is that about the same as well?

[Scott_LIFE180]

I enjoy the eliptical (it is one of those that has the arms for working the upper body too) because it is low impact, good for both joints and breathing, plus I can cruise along at about 70 RPM at a mid range setting for about half an hour. I'm working up a great sweat and my quads are really burning by the time I get done.

I think it is mainly diet, I probably eat too much in the way of carbs. Though I do eat pretty healthy. I have my grease day where I'll eat whatever I want, but other than that I stick to healthy well balanced meals.

[Kuma]

Now if I wanted to burn more calories, or is that about the same as well?

It all depends on frequency-intensity-time. If you do A for 15 min 2x a week but do B 3x a week for 30 min, you're going to burn more. Same as if you go X speed in this one and X speed in that one. Interval training on either one will burn a lot of calories.