Cardio first, then weight training?????

I've been told by many people that in order to lose weight, you must do cardio first then after your cardio do weight training.  I recently joined a health club and one of the trainer said that I should start my workout with weight training and then do cardio.  Then another trainer said I shouldn't mix them in a day.  I should do 3 days of weight training and 2 days of cardio.  Which one is more effective for weight loss?

I do a bit of both each day: 1/2 hour cardio (on precor intervals)

1/2 hour weight training--I do alternate days upper and lower so that any given muscle group is only worked every other.

Then some stretching and balance to cool down.

Also make sure you are eating an appropriate amount--see various threads elsewhere about that.

I have lost 30 lbs since August, so I'd say it helps.

Your mileage may vary

According to what i have read and heard you need a combination of both. Cardio actually burns the bulk of your calories. So activities like running, jogging, cycling should be done on a regular basis. Weights do not burn as much as cardio but they build muscle and help you tone up. It helps you avoid sagging skin. Weights should be done around 3-4 days a week depending on your situation. People advise to do weights first and then do cardio later (if you doing both activities in the same day). This is because you should avoid doing weights with fatigued muscles. Hope this helps. 

Thanks!  Do you usually do cardio first?

Sorry, I meant to mention that I always do the cardio first these days.  Up to about a year ago, I did  the weight stuff first, but I tried cardio first and have kept it up. I find the advantages are:

• If you do the cardio first you are warmed up for the weight training
• Doing weight training second helps to do a slow cool down from the cardio (important to me because of exercise-induced asthma)
• I feel better afterward--when I did cardio last, I would sometimes be very sleepy at work.

Again, your mileage may vary. I only do about 1/2 hour of cardio before I do the weight stuff, and only 1/2 of the weight stuff (only upper or only lower) on each day. And I often do the weight stuff as a mini-circuit (move from machine to machine and repeat the circuit three times rather than doing 3 sets on the same machine with rests in between.

Great question!
I have been doing the elliptical machine first 30 minutes on Monday Wednesday and Fridays and then doing arms legs back and abs on those days too.  Then, Tuesday Thursday and Saturday or Sunday 1 hour of cardio.

I don't know if there is a big difference metabolically or not to do lifting first and then cardio, or cardio first and then lifting.

??
Kathy

What I have heard is that whatever you choose to do second suffers a bit.  So if you do your cardio first, then you may not be able to work as hard on the lifting.  If you lift first, your endurance may falter on the cardio.  My husband and I alternate days running and lifting.  We run on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  We lift on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  That way we can push ourselves to get the most out of each of those workouts. 

I always do weights first if I do cardio. I don't want to be exhausted when lifting. I can do the cardio if I am tired!

I usually alternate though...M-W-F weights and T-T-S cardio. Monday is my heavy weight day because of the break on Sunday.

You can really go either way with the cardio and weights, i have had people do it both ways with the same results. if you are not looking to get huge muscles but you want to lose weight and keep firm and tone then try doing some HIIT cardio for 20-30 minutes. Then do the weights after. It is pretty fun, and your heart rate really stays up the entire weight training workout.

I was told to do a 15 minute warm up followed by my weight routine then finish with a 30 minute cardio. I usually do this 3 to 4 times a week.

your body will burn carbs first and then fat.  weight traning burns carbs only, therefore do your cardio last. and you can do cardio everyday buut weights 3-4x a week

Always do your cardio after weight training.  I did cardio first for years until I was told how wrong that was.  And now that I do weights first, I'm finding that I have much better energy levels and I'm getting more out of my weight training sessions. 

Ideally, you should start with a 10 minute cardio warmup, then work on weights, and then do your full cardio workout.   Type the keywords from this question into Google or ask just about any trainer and you'll hear the same thing.

I do some sort of cardio 7 days a week.  If you are looking for weight loss then cardio is more important than weights.  Weights will tone but not really cause loss of fat. 

I do weights first then cardio on the days I didn't have time to do cardio at home that morning. 

I think that one trainer that said to do cardio 2 days and weights 3 days a week is wrong - personally I would switch that if you goal is weight loss and not building muscle.

I don't know what's right, but i do the ellipictal machine for 30 minutes (sometimes a little longer) then i do a circuit (from one machine to the next) on weights.  I do like 20 then move to the next machine, on abs and the machine that's like the ab one but for the back instead, i do 50, that's the way i do it.  I guess it's effective. I've lost 20 lbs since December.  But there was about a 4-5 week period where i didn't do any exercises (i got in a slump) and i was eating out and stuff, so i would've lost more had i still be working out.

Great Job beckyie!

You know personally I do cardio first because I find it literally warms me up, ( I am always cold)  but I crank up the resisitance on the elliptical and try and push myself really hard.  It gets my heart going, and I just feel energy burn through the entire workout. I also do a circuit, or rather a half circuit, upper body one day and lower body the next. It gives me time to recover in between on those days when I feel masachistic and decide I need to up my wieghts.

I am not a power lifter though, I am not looking to put on a whole lot of muscles mass. I have gotten leaner though in the past month, it took a good inch off of my hips and butt.  When I did this type of program five years ago I dropped to 12% body fat so I am hoping it works again.

weights, then cardio.  Initially your body uses glucose as energy, then when that is depeletd, you will burn stored fat.  Im assuming you want to lose fat/weight.  So weight train first to use your stored glycogen energy, then when you run for 30+ minutes, it will be mostly fat burning.

I almost always try to do weights first.  Only because I hit the resistance training really hard.  If I do cardio I always feel drained and unable to have enough strength to do an intense weight workout. 

I do weights first then cardio.  I hate being all sweaty when I do weights and having to wipe off all the machines!  Also, I feel like when I do cardio first, I can't last as long doing weights because the cardio wears me out. 

I've always done cardio first, but the science sounds pretty convincing to switch it up.... If you are doing weights 1st, what  is recommended as a full body warm up? 

stationary bike? treadmill? stretches?  for how long? 

treadmill for 5-10 minutes should warm you up. There are some reasent studies that talk about cardio first then weight tarining, try and take a look onn the web. I do cardio before weight HIIT for 20 minutes and my strenth hasn't changed a bit. If you get into the long duration cardio for 45 minutes that may tire somebody out. I think this theory is being lost in translation.