Cardio & Weight Training...at the same time?

[HealthyOne]

I am wanting to gain mass, while staying lean. I used to do 30 min. of cardio and then lift, but felt that I had already fatigued my muscles before getting started. Recently, I started doing my lifting at lunch time 1.5 hours, then returning in the evening for 30-60 minutes of cardio.

I know this question has been asked a million times, but can you please share which works best for you? I was told if you lift, then do cardio, you are burning 50% fat and 50% muscle, whereas if you wait several hours then do cardio, you are burning primarily fat. Is there truth to this?

[jessica_rabbit]

To put it this way:
you can't gain mass and stay lean at the same time. You are going to have to change your diet, adding more carbs and good fats and making sure you are timing them appropriately.
Make sure you are also getting at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight everyday.
For me, I lift first. You burn any excess carbs when you lift, but make sure you keep your heart rate up, performing sets/reps with no more than 30 seconds of rest in between. if you are looking to burn mostly fat, do an moderately intense cardio session right away in the morning before you eat. you are coming off an 6+hour fast and there is only one major fuel source; fat.
it sounds like you may be overtraining your muscles too, hence the lack of progress you have been noticing. you should be in and out with weights in 45 minutes. Do a five day split training each muscle group and kill it. Cut your cardio back to 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes.
we all wish we could get big and get lean at the same time. unfortunately it doesn't work that way! good luck with everything, and let me know how it goes!
Karla

[Gixxer82]

In a nutshell, cardio puts your body in a catabolic state, while lifting will put your body in an anabolic state. If you lift, then do your cardio you are leaving the gym in a catabolic state, but if you do your cardio then lift you leave in an anabolic state.

You CAN gain mass and stay lean, the mass you will gain in doing so will be small, but quality (lean gains). This has a lot to do with your diet!

[B-natural]

gix it almost sounds like you say cardio first is a good thing....

I wish the morning cardio myth would just take a walk, sure it does work better than most other times of the day, but how fat is tapped depends on your diet, if you keep your insulin levels in check and carbs low, you'll be freeing up some ffa's. There are actually 2 MAJOR sources of energy in the body in the morning, and they seem to burn at the same rate, these 2sources of energy are MUSCLE and FAT, so don't get overzealous with the a.m. cardio. Just remember that a lot of the training and info seems to revolve around or stem from those using anabolics, and tossing in some new concepts may actually seem false, for instance cardio isn't exactly necessary, but since its been engraved in most skulls, I won't try and feed ya that line

[Crader]

I'm training with a professional trainer and she competes. Her recommendation for me was no cardio the first 5 weeks we trained, although her 45 min sessions are part plyometrics so they are cardio intensive.

Now she wants me to do 20 min in the am and 20 min after workout for 3 days a week. As well as and most important keeping a clean diet!

[B-natural]

interesting, going from 0 to am/pm, i wouldn't piss off the pro, as you chose to train with her, but at the same time, i woulda started with a 20min PWO cardio session

[growstrong]

Originally Posted by Crader

I'm training with a professional trainer and she competes. Her recommendation for me was no cardio the first 5 weeks we trained, although her 45 min sessions are part plyometrics so they are cardio intensive.

Now she wants me to do 20 min in the am and 20 min after workout for 3 days a week. As well as and most important keeping a clean diet!

Good info Crader... did this seem to work well for you? I love plyometrics!