Strength training/Cardio

I usually do a strength training video one day then do cardio the next.  Can you do the strength training on consecutive days or are should you rest the muscles for a day?   I am confused-  A lot of people say they do strength training daily.

I dont know if this is ok but I do cardio everyday for about 30 min.  Then I alternate upper body and lower body on oposite days.  My niece is a nutritionist and she says you should not do weight training on the same muscles 2 days in a row.  That help?  Make sense?

Thanks-that is what I always thought.  After reading some of the posts it sounds like they are lifting every day-I guess if they are doing different muscles that would make sense.

Thanks

Most recommendations are that you let your muscles have 48 hours to repair between resistance workouts. Most people that lift weights daily focus on certain muscle groups to alternate these. If you are doing an all over routine, then you really should allow your body the repair time and do resistance exercises on alternating days. If you are adding cardio into the works, that can be blended in for several times a week as well, there is information that suggests starting out a workout with resistance and then following with cardio is most advantageous, just make sure you are giving your body the respect it deserves for the work it is doing for you by feeding it properly and allowing adequate rest. If you add a light cardio workout on your 'off' days, it should not be an issue if you give yourself one full rest day at least once a week. My .02.

~Namaste

Katt

Hey-Thanks

I appreciate the info.

So, when doing weight and cardio, it is best to do cardio first?  This is news to me so i would be very interested to know why.  Thanks for the info!!

From the posts I have read it seems everyone says you should do the weights first then cardio.  I has to do with muscle fatigue and you can lift more before you do the cardio.  I think this how most of the posts read.

I guess that makes sense:)  Thanks for the info.

You can also do circuit training, where you alternate a few minutes of cardio with a few minutes of weights. 

My favorite circuit workout is from Prevention.com.  It's called the 3-2-1 workout and you go thru 5 six-minute circuits: 3 min of cardio, 2 min of weights, 1 min of abs for a total of 30 minutes.  Include a 5-min warm-up & 5-min cooldown and you have 40 minutes in :)

It's great because the cardio keeps your heart rate up even when you're doing the weights & abs.  I lost not only weight but significant inches when I did this workout for about 3 months.  Then I changed to something else (though it escapes me at the moment). 

Hope this helps as well; best of luck!

You could do strength training everyday - but break it up into arms, legs, back/shoulders. That way you wont be using the same muscle group each day.