How much cardio should be done after weightlifting?

Question

I heard if you do too much, your body will eat up your muscles. So how long should cardio be after weight trainnig? (I am trying to put on mass and at the same time get cut up.)

Answer 1

Aren't you supposed to do cardio BEFORE weightlifting? It doubles as a warm-up to get your blood flowing. I don't know, I've tried doing it after weights and I actually get worse results.

Answer 2

Thing is, trying to bulk up and go for fat loss are at opposite ends of the spectrum. To bulk, you have to be taking in more cals than your maintainence level. To lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit.

If you are concentrating on mass, you prolly don't want to do more than 15-20 min of cardio tops. You want to save excess cals in your diet for muscle building, and not burn them up doing lots of cardio.

Like what was said above, it's better to work on one or the other. You can cycle back and forth to get to both your goals, or you can pick one, focus on it til you get to where you want to be, then you can change to concentrate on the other goal.

Right now I'm going for fat loss... have my diet and cardio all tweaked and planned out. Still do weights, but not expect any mass/ weight gains. Once I get my fat % to where I want it, then I keep eating the same food choices, but just eat more to get me back to a surplus. Drop the cardio to a maintainence level, and the fat will stay off, and the lean muscle will start to come.

Answer 3

Do your cardio the amount that is appropriate for your fitness level. Consider doing your bulking for a few weeks, then switch to cutting for a few weeks. Even during bulking though, you should do some cardio, like run 1-2 miles.

Answer 4

Alternate every other day a good cardio workout look up a military work out that's the best for all around IED standardized training guide

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I fellow builder.

You can't really put on actual mass and cut without anabolic steroids.

But if you've been sitting on your *** for the past 6 months and want to feel and look great, you can.

Depending on what you weigh, you should take in about 1500-1800 cals a day with limited carbs. Make sure to get at least 1.25 grams of protein for every pound of lean bodyweight. Eating your largest amount of healthy carbs right before workout.

I viable approach is this:

The first things you want to eliminate from what you eat are: sugar, fried foods, and white flour. You want to eat as natural and unprocessed food as possible.

Sugar, anything with it is bad. From Coco-Crispies cereal, nearly all sodas, to a small bag a M&M's. All turn into body fat fairly quickly.

Fried foods. Chips, french fries, etc. All have very high levels of calories and fats. Cut out mayonaisse and butter while you're at it.

White flour. White breads, spahgetti, Ramen noodles, most cereals, tortillas (corn & flour).

You're going to want to eat 5-7 small meals/snacks in a day. That may seem like a lot of eating, but look at it this way. Say your lost in the woods and you need to make a fire that will last all night. Will the fire last longer throwing all the wood you've collected into the fire once or twice during the night, or if you toss a couple of logs in once every 45 minutes-hour?

Your body is pretty similar. You need to feed it a little bit every 2-3 hours to keep it burning fat. The longer you go in between meals, the more likely your body is going to store what you eat as fat. This is because your body doesn't realize that there is food everywhere in the world we live in. It still thinks your a cave-man. And cave-men didn't get to eat very often. Sometimes once every 3-5 days...starving. So our body is designed to store what we eat as fat, because fat has the most energy (calories) per pound. So, if you sleep all night, then skip breakfast and don't eat until lunch at say 11:30am...you probably haven't ate anything in 12+ hours. So, your body thinks your starving, that there is no food to eat. Then you eat a nice, greasy, calorie-loaded slice of pizza. Your body will then store most of it as fat because it thinks there is a food shortage.

Aim for 250-300 calories at each meal/snack.
Also try to eat 20-30 grams of protein at each meal. And of course, your going to want to keep even healthy carbs to a minimum (less than 80 grams a day).

The healthiest carbs are:
Yams
Oatmeal (no sugar)
Sweet Potatoes
Brown Rice

OK carbs are:
Whole-grain bread/buns/tortillas (whole-grain should be the first name on the ingredients list)
Fruits

Aside from the carbs listed above, your meals should consist of:
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Tuna
Salmon
Egg whites
Almonds
Low-fat cheese (cottage, string cheese)
Lots of vegtables
Lots of water

You need to drink 1 gallon (128oz)minimum per day. Water is what carries the toxins and fat you burn off out of your body through your urine. It also helps keep you feeling full and does wonders for your skin. If your urine isn't clear like water, drink more.

Also, take a multi-vitamin (like Centrum).

Lifting should start slow and progress to 1-2 muscles a day. Chest/triceps, back/biceps, legs, lower back/abs/shoulders, there are so many different ways to train it's ridiculous. Concentrate on the basics for your first bulk.
Back Squats
Bench Press
Deadlift.

And remember you must train your abs like any other muscle, with resistance.

4 sets of weighted crunches to failure (aim for 20 reps)
4 sets of weighted leg-ups/reverse crunches to failure (aim for 20 reps)
4 sets of bicycle crunches to failure.
But remember, losing weight is 90% about what you eat, not how much you exercise.

Bodybuilders and fitness models basically eat this way. Not only is it low calorie, low carb, high in protein and natural...it controls your blood/sugar levels and how your body uses the food based on the glycemic index.

And have 1 cheat meal a week. Gorge yourself on a couple burgers, pizza, or french fries...it doesn't matter. It will taste better than it EVER has and also give your mind and body a break.

With the above diet and lifting, you'll probably lose at least 20lbs a month.

An insane approach to getting cut is this:

The absolute quickest way would be to cut all carbs, eating only egg whites, salmon/tuna, chicken breast, and lots of leafy greens to help you feel full. Keep calories at about 1500, divided into 6-7 small meals. You'll also have to drink large amounts of water, 128oz + a day (your urine should look like water). You'll also need 8 hrs of sleep a night. A multi-vitamin and vitamin C to help keep your immune system up, as a very restrictive diet limits the vitamins and mineral you take in. Your also going to want to lift weights to help you maintain muscle mass as your going to lose a lot of it. You cannot lose fat without losing muscle and the quicker you lose the more muscle you lose. Make sure you take a whey protein shake with water before/during and right after you set your last dumbbell down.

This is basically how a bodybuilder cuts for a competition (though with a little less care for muscle loss).

What is your bodyfat at now? I would recommend most people to get shredded first, then go on a bulking diet (basically the first diet but at 3000 cals or so depedning on weight. Why you ask? We're visual creatures and the sooner you see results the more enthusiastic you'll be. And when your cut you really notice where you need to pack on the muscle. Most people should really work on their delts (shoulders) and lats (back) to get the V torso shape.

Good Luck man!

And to finally answer your actual question, if you can lift early in the day and do cardio (HITT style 15-20 minutes) later in the day.

PS+ Your going to want to bulk OR cut for about 8 weeks at a time.