T Nation

Cardio Following Weight Training

Bodybuilding
#1

So something I have heard from many people is that immediately following weight training is the best time to perform low intensity cardio, becuase supposedly gycogen is low and the body burns fat.

My question is does performing, say, 30 minutes of incline walking following a heavy leg day affect leg recovery/increase catabolism? For those who routinely do cardio after weights, have your results been better than, say, doing cardio on an off-day. Would it be ok to do sprints after an upper body day and not risk burning muscle?

#2

As long as your diet is in order and not running yourself into the ground with cardio, it’s ok to do it post-workout. Sprints on upper body days are ok too, as long as you’re not doing legs the day after.

#3

I think it actually improves recovery, in my experience.

#4

yes low intensity incline walking is great after a leg workout. it will get the blood flowing into your quads which will help deliver the 5-10g of bcaa you just ingested and also help flush out the lactic acid and other waste products created from your workout.

#5

To piggyback a question onto the OP’s question…

Should the PWO shake be taken after you lift and before you do cardio? Or after both lifting and cardio?

#6

[quote]B rocK wrote:
To piggyback a question onto the OP’s question…

Should the PWO shake be taken after you lift and before you do cardio? Or after both lifting and cardio?[/quote]

A PWO shake would replenish glycogen with all the carbs, so if the point of the cardio is to burn fat, not glycogen, save the shake until after the walk/cardio. If you’re doing the walking/cardio simply to increase overall energy expenditure, drink your shake after lifting

#7

[quote]MapShooter wrote:
So something I have heard from many people is that immediately following weight training is the best time to perform low intensity cardio, becuase supposedly gycogen is low and the body burns fat.

My question is does performing, say, 30 minutes of incline walking following a heavy leg day affect leg recovery/increase catabolism? For those who routinely do cardio after weights, have your results been better than, say, doing cardio on an off-day. Would it be ok to do sprints after an upper body day and not risk burning muscle?[/quote]

I’ve pretty much tried every imaginable time relative to weight training for cardio - including waking up in the middle of the night between upper and lower days to do 30 min’s of HI cardio.

What works best for me for fat loss is fasted cardio in the a.m. on (usually 8 hours before) training days, and cardio early afternoon on ‘off’ days - usually 3-5 x/ week. I do occasionally perform cardio after weights, but I don’t particularly care for low intensity cardio bang-for-the- buck (energy/time expended versus calories burned) wise.

PWO Shake ought to be taken after cardio if you plan to do cardio after weights… Just my $0.02…

#8

[quote]GetSwole wrote:
I think it actually improves recovery, in my experience.[/quote]

I agree and have no reasons I can think of to back it up other than what 1rep stated. I’m lose weight very easily so I don’t do a lot of cardio, but 20 mins or so 3 times a week seems to help my recovery and also my exercise volume tolerance.

If you are careful to eat the calories back on (if you are trying to maintain or gain) I don’t see the downside of it.

Also due to some tendinitis I usually do non-to-low impact but at at decent clip. I like sprints better but they aggravate my knee if I do them too often regardless of surface.