What is your reasoning for putting cardio in. If it is for weight loss then anytime is fine. If you do it pre weights then you likely are more in an anaerobic state during weight training and will increase your EPOC (the calories you burn post exercise) as long as you didn't do legs that day (no point in killing yourself)

Just remember that if you are trying to put muscle on it is virtually impossible to lose fat and put on muscle during the same phase of an exercise strategy. The simple reason being to lose fat you have to be in a hypo-caloric state and to put on muscle mass you have to be in a hyper-caloric state.

I just switched from a fat loss program to putting on mass.........doubled my caloric intake..........cut out cardio and am hammering the weights. The difference in strength is quite amazing. The reason is two fold.........added fuel from the increased calorie intake and increased muscle energy stores from the drop in cardio. I will put on 12 lbs then switch back to a more cardio intense routine to drop off the fat that was added with the lean body mass. depending on how hard I work and my body physiology that expectation is about 1 for 1 (1 lbs of lean mass gained for 1 lb of fat gained). The nice thing is that the fat will be easy to drop as I have been increasing muscle and that will increase my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and make taking off that 6 lbs relatively easy (within 2 weeks) Then back on to mass building :-)

My reasons for cardio are weight loss and heart health.

I have plenty of mass already. :-)

So if I'm understanding you correctly I am right to assume that doing cardio before my weight training will lead to an increase in calories burned?

Either or will lead to increased caloric burn. Some will argue that if you do it post weights that you will be outside of the "Fat Burning" zone, but what you actually do is set up your body for EPOC

"Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity intended to erase the body's "oxygen debt." "

Essentially this is your body restoring your body to the resting state that it was in prior to the exercise and stabilizing hormone levels. It does this by consuming oxygen at a higher rate thus increasing your post workout metabolism.

While this occurs in both aerobic and anaerobic workouts, all studies show that the effect is greater and lasts longer in anaerobic workouts.

So the more exercise you do and more strengthens the longer EPOC lasts. So you get a double whammy effect. Greater burn from doing both weights and Cardio and then a longer EPOC as a result.

There is tons of science behind it, but also from an anecdotal point of view I lost 94 lbs doing it this way. My heart health is top notch, great blood pressure and cholesterol, 43 years old and in the best shape of my life and getting better. I have yo yo dieted lots over the years but (Atkins, Weight Watchers, Juice Diets, Cleanses etc) this was the first time I did it using good healthy eating and exercise and while only time will tell this one feels like it will stick.

Good luck............its worth it.

Good posts there SilverFox.

jogged for 15min today...:-)!

Knee felt OK :-)

Back (pull-ups, rows) & biceps (various curls) yesterday. Still having some nagging tendon pain, quite limiting. Guess I oughta get it checked out. Maybe.

Power yoga this morning to work out some kinks.

12 oz curls tonight!

71 Push ups this AM but only just barely. Maybe pushing it a bit.

ON the other hand had 2 hersheys with nuts bars, a baby ruth, 2 bags of cheetos, a bunch of crackers and cheese and a lime pop as a snack last night before bed.

Nutrition at its finest! :-)

Did 2 sets of 5 high rows at 230 after 1 set of 10 at 180. I put the extra weights on not even thinking I'd be able to move it.

The odd thing is, my left arm seems considerably smaller than the right. Measuring them has my right arm at 11.5" and my left at 10.25". Is that weird?

Are you left handed?

Nah, the human body isn't exactly symmetrical, so there's usually one side that's a bit larger or differently sized than the other. 1 1/4" seems like a lot, though--my biceps differ by about 1/2".

Right handed, and that's the bigger one. But a whole 1 1/4" seems like a huge difference. I work both of them out equally, too

Gotta ease up on punching the clown...

:-):-):-)

In all seriousness, just do an extra set or two during arm day for that arm. I still have a lot of muscular imbalances and strength from playing Baseball. I just do an extra set or two targeting the areas.

Hit the Gym this morning.
Did some Back, Shoulders and Biceps. Followed by 40minutes of cardio.

246.5 lbs today. I always weigh in on Friday afternoon after waking up. Down almost 50 total since getting back in the gym. Just got new a smaller size in my uniform pants and it's almost time to do it again! :-)

I decided to cycle off the creatine for a week. That's done and I just took it a little while ago. I use Pump Fuel from GNC. I'M FIRED UP AND READY TO GO! BBBWAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Try jack3d. There may be cocaine or something illegal in it...honestly.

Amen I love the stuff :-)

That's what I'm taking when this jug runs out. :-)

Anyone remember smilax from the old days? I thought it fired me up but reading about now on the innerwebz it sounds like it does nothing...