Cardio 1st? Last?

Okay I have a question. I was talking to a certified personal trainer and he has suggested I do my weight training PRIOR to my cardio because it puts you into your Kreb cycle faster and therefor you start to burn fat faster. Does anyone have anything to add? Thanks, Kelly in California post op 7 weeks - 40+

Hey Kelly, good for you for working out and with a trainer WOW! What gym are you at? I don't see to many BBW at my gym on the weights although it is the smartest way to work it out! Keep up the good work and I say listen to your trainer and after the cardio get in the hot tub, cause you deserve it and will probably need it to quiet your muscles.

Hi Linda. You are close to me. I am in Sacramento. I work out at California Family Fitness. I LOVE the Laguna location! It is 2 stories (is that a word?), 3 swimming pools, rock climbing wall, sand volley ball court, juice bar and lot's more. I have been a member FOREVER and never went. Thank God my daughter did not take after me and is always at the gym. As far as being a BBW. Well, I just never viewed myself as that. When I am at the gym, every once in a while I do see someone looking at me (sometimes makes me a little embarrassed) but I don't care . I am determined to get this fat off. I cannot wait to get enough weight off to play racquetball. I might knock myself out with the ball or my own racquet but I will have fun! LOL LOL What gym do you beling to? I am looking for more workout partners. This weekend I am going to buy myself a cute gym bag and some other things to take with me so I look official! Oh can't forget a cute pink lock for the lockers ;) Take care, Kelly in California

Oh I have heard so many good things about that club. One of my tennis instructors said they had a good court to play on. If you ever have a guest pass and want a partner I would be happy to go with you. However, I cannot pay the $10 fee to get in. I have an all club access membership at 24-Hour Fitness, I have VIP Guest Privlages meaning all my guest at the Antelope Club get in any hour for free. Tonight we had a great aqua class, circuit stations, really fun and different. It's good to hear you have no anxiety about working out, I feel the same way. I have to admit that I do feel like a BBW at almost 6' tall, I tower over alot of the men working out. Don't get me wrong, I love being tall and curvy, but I know the weight is slowing down my quality of life. That's why I am so active now during my honeymoon period. So far I have lost 90 pounds in four months, I wanna lose another 100 pounds so I am not slowing down for anybody. Good sharing with you, if you wanna get together for a weekly support meeting let me know I am attending a great one at Hazel and Madison, Thursday @ 7pm.

Everything I have read suggests that strength before, cardio after. I can tell you that I feel better when I do it that way.

Hi Kelly! I would have to agree with the trainer as well. I always do my weight training then finish with my cardio. You pre exhaust your muscles and it helps with increasing your caloric burn afterward. And actually it helps you burn more calories on your cool down time too. Great job on the weight loss too! You just get out in that gym and show them what for, and they can see the transformation right before their eyes...now THATS magic! Keep posting and let us know how you are doing! Take care, Valerie

My husband is a personal trainer and does the same thing with some of his clients but he changes his routines up a lot depending on the goals. I've never seen him have people doing lots of cardio up front. I also feel better when I do it after. Lately I usually do a cardio warmup for 10 minutes to get the blood flowing, lift full body for 45 minutes or so, and then do a 10-20 min moderate to low instensity cardio after. On alternate days I just do cardio followed up by some abs/back stuff. Sometimes my husband and I will do more challenging interval type full body training where we do a series (3-5 resistance exercise sets x 3,) 10 min of moderate to higher intensity cardio to get the HR up, do another series, do another 10 mintues of cardio, repeat one more time. It keeps it interesting and I don't get a chance to get bored like I do sometimes with longer cardio. I keep my heart rate up the whole time but it can be exhausting. I'm pretty wiped after it. We do not do it on a regular basis. If I do a few weeks where I am not doing full body but a more traditional split (upper one day, lower or lets another) I would never even think about doing any cardio prior to doing leg stuff. On a heavy leg day I am lucky to make it for the full 20 minutes of cardio after lifting. Good luck with your training!! It is the best gift you can give to yourself!! I would never be where I am today exercise wise if it were not for the personal training. My husband has taught me so much in the last few years and I am always learning something new from all the research he does on a daily basis. I enjoy doing my own research as well. With him its rare that workouts are ever the same and they are always very creative. I like it that way! He also makes me feel confident enough that I can do stuff on my own if he isn't around.