Cardio and Weights n the same day?

I want to get the most out of my gym time, should I be alternating Cardio and Weight by Days, or do both every day?  Right now I do 40 minutes of Cardio and 20 weights, but I am new to this so I would like to know if I am doing it all wrong LOL

If you are going to do cardio and weights in the same day I hear that you either do weights first and cardio immediately after or split as an am and pm workout (if you Intermittent fast cardio first thing on and empty stomach and weights in the after noon+ with some food in you). 

Well, just to add a different flavour to this discussion!

I have a great workout that I have gotten really great results from and it is a mix of cardio/weights.  I run for 5 minutes at a pace I can barely sustain...for me that is about 7.5mph (when I run a 5K I normally run 5.8 mph).  After 5 minutes, then I do the following:

*assisted narrow grip chinups x 12 (I can't yet do an unassisted one so I set the machine so that my last rep is tough)

*assisted dipping x 12

*assisted wide grip chinups x 12

*bench press x 10 (again the 10th rep is really tough) or pushups until the last is very hard

*planking until failure (around 75 seconds for me)

Then I do all of this again until I have run for 20 minutes in total.  

By the end of this I am wrecked!  And you have also worked your back, chest, triceps, biceps and core all in one go!  This is a workout a personal trainer recommended; he said that with this workout because your body doesnt have the chance to get used to one activity for long, that you keep it guessing and overall you get a better calorie burn as well as the resistance stuff in.  

I do my legs then on a separate day. 

Good luck with your journey.

Original Post by mamamelanie:

I want to get the most out of my gym time, should I be alternating Cardio and Weight by Days, or do both every day?  Right now I do 40 minutes of Cardio and 20 weights, but I am new to this so I would like to know if I am doing it all wrong LOL

20 minutes of weights doesn't sound like anything too intense, so you're fine.

But as a general "rule" most people suggest lifting before cardio, always.

Thank you for the responses!

I did not know I should be doing weights first, why is that?  

Also why eat AFTER cardio?  I usually work out pretty late so I don't eat after.....

Thanks again for your help everyone!!

Besides the initial warm up to get blood flood going you can preform better, if you haven't depleted your muscles of glycogen.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicofthewee k34.htm 

Original Post by lovinlife987:

All the first person said is good- just make sure to have some protein, about 15g for a female 140lbs before cardio. Otherwise you're just burning muscle. Make sure to eat after cardio!!

Will you let me know where you read or heard this? I do my cardio on a completely empty stomach first thing in the morning (it lets me separate my weight lifting sessions and my cardio sessions and its the only way I can be sure not to get cramps) so I'd be interested to see if there is any truth in this.

Original Post by hollowness:

Besides the initial warm up to get blood flood going you can preform better, if you haven't depleted your muscles of glycogen.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicofthewee k34.htm 

I see, thank you!

Original Post by mamamelanie:

Original Post by hollowness:

Besides the initial warm up to get blood flood going you can preform better, if you haven't depleted your muscles of glycogen.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicofthewee k34.htm 

I see, thank you!

No problem :)

From the FAQ: Cardio first or weight lifting first? -you do them in order of importance for your training priorities. While most people here have goals that make weights->cardio the correct order, if you have performance goals in the endurance space you should do cardio->weights as whatever you place second in a session will take a performance hit.

I see, so would it be better to alternate days then, cardio one day, weights the next, instead of trying to do both in one day?