Ever since I started exercising again (last 3 months), I have been avoiding cardio because of a knee injury and I think I've prolonged my procrastination long enough. So today, I am doing my normal weight lifting workout (about an hour) and then after my workout, I decided to jump on the elliptical. I figured I could do 20 minutes then go home. Usually after lifting, my body feels like jelly and I'm tired but not totally exhausted. Anyway, I get on the elliptical and realize that there was no way I could do 20 minutes, let alone 10 minutes. I did 5 minutes total. I know I haven't done steady cardio in a long time so I don't expect to be great, but every time I have done it, I could at least do 10 minutes on the elliptical.

I had read somewhere that you shouldn't do cardio before lifting, so I did cardio after lifting. Now I know quite a few of you do cardio and lifting on the same day, how do you do it? Any tips would be appreciated.

I am thinking in the future that I'll do however much I can do on the elliptical then do the rest on the recumbant bike.

Maybe do your cardio alternating with lifting days, or on lighter lifting days. I can only manage about 15 minutes of cardio after I've lifted heavy, especially on legs days. It's a little better on upper body days. Then I just make 1 or 2 days a week all cardio and stretch or yoga.

What's worked for me is to split lifting and cardio every day. I'm fortunate because I'm only ten minutes away from my gym, which is conveniently located next to my grocery store and all the other places where I do errands. So I'm up that way all the time anyway. So I've been doing cardio when the gym opens at 6:00 AM and then lifting later in the afternoon. But I'm thinking of changing things up and doing cardio in the afternoons instead, after lifting, just to see if it makes a difference (I tend to get into ruts and need to shake things up occasionally).

Before I started BFL, I had been splitting my one hour of limited time in the gym into both cardio and weights. When I started I had to work up to 30 minutes on the eliptical, increasing the resistance and elevation gradually, and then I would do either upper or lower body weights, alternating days on upper or lower.

On some days I would do about 55 minutes of cardio, allowing time to stretch on the way out of the gym. I also used the treadmill and to a lesser extend the bikes.

It would seem that if you have been away from cardio for a long time, you just need to ease back into it. Starting out slowly, less resistance, build up your time and then build up the endurance.

Very lucky to have it all in close proximity, gym, stores, errands, lucky you. At least I was able to find a place I like 5 minutes away and open at 5:30, since we all leave the house at 7:20.

Liza

I do cardio and lifting 5 days a week, then on the weekends I do cardio and some 'miscellaneous' lifting and abs and stuff...I've changed my split to do only one muscle group per day due to time constraints. I can only get to the gym once a day due to my busy schedule, so I get there SUPER early (these days generally around 4:15 am!) and do weights first, then cardio, then stretching - work in some Pilates and yoga moves.

Mon - back + 30 min HIIT cardio
Tues - chest + 30 min HIIT cardio (PM: Riding lesson + Pilates class)
Weds - legs + 30 min HIIT cardio
Thurs - Bis/tris + 30 min HIIT cardio (PM: Riding lesson + Pilates class)
Fri - Shoulders + 30 min HIIT cardio
Sat - 30-40 min cardio
Sun - Optional cardio (PM - yoga class)

Fortunately, my gym and Pilates/Yoga classes are in locations just a couple blocks away from my house so life is good no problems getting there!

I do 10 minutes of cardio to warm up before lifting weights. And I got no problems walking and lifting my hands over my heads, anything to get the blood circulating in all my parts. I do laps for 1 minute between sets (yes, I have a stopwatch that I am totally attached to) After reading this months issues of M&F Hers I am thinking I might jumping rope in between. At the end I do 10-20 more minutes of cardio HIIT. On my non-lifting days I do as much informal cardio as I can get. I wake up, throw on my music and dance while I get ready for my day, I walk as quickly as I can whenever I can, I always park miles away in all parking lots. Its gentle and what I need, because I hate nothing more than standing on a treadmill and thinking I could be going somewhere. In the winter I love to take nature walks, and getting all bundled up is part of the joy for me. Occasionally I do aerobics because HEY I love to dance. I have no idea if any of this is helpful, but its what I do.

Chris
PS. Hula hoops are fun cardio too

Oh boy, I am the group slacker
I do 30-50 minutes 4-5 times a week. Never on Leg day. Since I work at a gym, I have the luxury of separating lifting and cardio by a few hours and at least a meal.

Mel

Yeah right Mel! Your awesome. I am the group slacker I fricken hate every miute I am on the hamster wheel. I have to say, "I surrender, I surrender, as a mantra other my breath"

Chris

Gee, not sure I am 'qualified' to respond since I am not consistant with cardio at all.
However, I have done it in the past (for years at a time) and know what works for me.
When I am on the cardio wagon, I prefer to do cardio first thing in the AM when I have very little carbs on board, and then do weights in the afternoon after several meals when I'm 'strong' and have lot's of food energy.
If ,for whatever reason, that is not possible, I do weights first so as to use up all my glycogen stores in the weight room and then 'finish up' with cardio.
I cant seperate the days because I lift weights 5 days a week.

I'm sure I'm 'wrong' too Jack
It's kinda one of those YMMV type deals...
Good Luck
XOXO
L2L

My suggestion would be to invest in some TUNES - like an MP3 player or an iPod! Having the right 'tuneage' really helps the time fly...and I mix my tunes up so I have mellow stuff and hard getchermotorrunnin music that makes me work harder (right now that would be stuff like "Fuel" by Metallica, "Faint" by Linkin Park and "Four Sticks" by Led Zep).

I guess I'm a slacker too!

I like to split my workouts, one body part/day... I do cardio after my weight workout usually 30 mins, sometimes up to 45 depending if I've eaten some junk food ... I spend about and hour and a quarter in the gym... I don't usually do cardio on leg days but I have done it and I feel good, other times my legs are like lead I can barely walk...

A huge AMEN to Karen on the necessity of tunes -- can't do cardio without them. If the batteries die in the middle of a cardio session, so do I .... I like all that ear-bleeding, head-banging stuff for cardio too. But it appalls my children that Mom listens to this stuff.

I've discovered books on CD. Currently I'm cross-training to Lance Armstrong's Every Second Counts. It's hard to make too much of a fuss about 30 minutes on the torture device when he's describing ascending Alpe d'Heuz in the snow. Twice in one day Next up is The Da Vinci Code.

Somehow, not even tunes do it for me. I still hate every minute of it. At least if someone is reading to me, there's a story to look forward to.

Mel

Hey Mel..Books on CD.. great idea!
I have the phones on (or CD layer) whenever I'm lifting and it does help make the time go by with cardio but I think the Books on CD would work even better for me! Not for lifting where the pounding of too loud music is all too neccesary, but I love to get wraped up in a good story and I am going to try it next time I d..r..a..g.. myself up there for the 45" run...

wonder why I never thought of it..
Thanks
L2L

My 12 YO niece loves the 'old stuff' - her iPod and iMac are stuffed with tunes by Zeppelin, Boston, Van Halen, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, etc.

When Jim and I first heard "Kashmir" coming from the speakers in her room, we thought it was weird, but ya gotta love it...I just have to remember to bring some of early Elvis Costello and Fishbone CD's over for her to listen to...

I've never tried the Books on Tape, but they'd be FAR better, IMO, than trying to read an actual book or magazine. The folks at my gym who do bring in reading material tend to slack off or not work out very hard at all!