Running after Workout?

[VegasJosh]

I have been told its bad to run after a workout and that it will make me lose strength. I just thought i would ask on a forum to see what people thought of this. I know alot of people say to do this or that but this onereally made me wonder if its true or not. I would like to lose a few pounds of fat but i am still trying to gain more muscle first.

[boobthaclown]

i myself run after a workout. it does cut into your muscle mass a little but helps in cutting. you really can't get big and lose at the same time, but you can get bigger and lose at the same time. drink your protein right after you get done lifting and before you hit the cardio that will help. Also try to keep you cardio somewhat light and your heartbeat lowered like 120-140 because that will help burn fat, don't go all out sprinting because then your just endurance training, and if your like just about every one else on here you don't want to be a triathlete but bigger and more cut. also sometimes i go to do cardio and just can't becuase my workout wore me out to much, so if you can't don't!!! you don't want to lose any precious muscle cause your pushing yourself to run. remember lifting comes first and then cardio. listen to your body, it will be the best trainer you have, it will tell you what you need and what you can do.

[VegasJosh]

yeah i was thinking about that also getting a shake between workout and cardio... i have never had to do cardio but in trying to put more weight on i have also gotten some fat put on .Not much but enough to make me do cardio. how much cardio is good if my main goal is to gain weight but also retain as little fat as possible?

[boobthaclown]

sorry i am in my last semester at uk and have a job so it takes me sometime. i do 30 minutes 3 to 4 days a week and that seems to work well. i see gains and loss at the same time. you dont wanna over cardio to where your body is using muscle for energy but just enough and you gotta kinda work that out, but that is what i do. a lot of these smucks say you can't gain and lose but most of these guys wanna look like ronnie coleman. i dont, more like mens fitness body type. but a little body fat is good because that is where your muscles build from and also protein. so keep it up and develop your own workout style, gather some tips and suggestions from others but everybodies body is different. for example my body produces alot of test so i dont do all that supplement shit and break my wallet, just good ol' protein. so work out the kinks and you'll be on the right track.

[Eric3237]

Smucks? Making friends there, boob?

Most don't say it's impossible they say it's very difficult. But the difference between those smucks and you is since you already know everything you'll be a flash in the pan here like so many others while those smucks will still be here learning, participating, and giving advice.

[Eric3237]

If you want to gain a good deal of muscle then you do not want to try and be at very low BF levels. WHY? Because, for most, at those levels a lot of the anabolic hormones that control this stuff bite the dust.

So the estimate I remember is somewhere between 10 to 17% for men and 12 to 20 for women. For men at over 17% you become less sesitive to the hormones. So there is some reason why a person might want to slim down first. However, that person could concentrate on strength which would help to slim down while hopefully building some muscle underneath.

I want to say something about these misconceptions concerning the pictures you see on fitness magazines and stuff like that. Also the guys you see on those bowflex commercials. You know, I got my bowflex 3 months ago, worked out 20 minutes a day and now I'm all jacked up and shredded. Oh, and I'm almost 50 years old.

These people are fitness models. Actors. Whatever. They are paid to appear in whatever media and sell a product, or delusion. The way they got there and the product are not the same. Very few people will walk around looking anything like "big" and also be single digit BF. When you see them like that it's a snapshot, just like when you see a pro bodybuilder on stage it's a snapshot. Be real.


John Basedow, even if he tried to get bigger, would probably find that some bodyfat gain had to come with it. Likewise, a bodybuilder who cuts down and tries to stay that way could see his gains diminish very quickly. I am not saying that the pros get hugely fat on off-season. 10 to 17% bodyfat is actually very healthy and not really "fat" at all.

[verbatimreturned]

Try to run in the morning or at night if it's possible for you. Personally I like to space out cardio and weight training by about 6 hours if I can...if you need to do it post workout at least have a shake, aminos, etc. BEFORE you do your cardio so you don't go to catabolic

[ChinPieceDave667]

Originally Posted by boobthaclown

. Although as soon as somebody say something dirty you guys are all over this thread; and mind you that you still don't answer the guys question (except eric) instead you bash me. ponder that.

Sorry if I don't answer every question that comes across the forum.
Plus why would you talk trash about the people on the board in the first place?

[Eric3237]

^^^Exactly.

On the specific question of cardio vs. strength gains there is not a whole lot of scientific data on the subject. What little I have seen suggests that strenght gains are adversely affected without at least a period of 24 hours recovery between the two. This is nothing definitive and may or may not be practical for everyone. There is not cut and dry answer but I would suggest that you separate them as much as humanly possible. If I were doing them on the same day (which I wouldn't) I agree with Verb that I would want something like 6 hours between if not more.

The other question is if the type of cardio affects strength gains. I.E. what is better for strengh, high intensity glycolitic type training or traditional long duration steady state. The concrete data I have seen suggests that the type makes no difference but I doubt enough research has been done to adequately answer any of these questions except to say it is optimal to have a good long gap between you cardio and weights IF you want to prioritize strength and mass gains.

One other thing...sprinting has nothing to do with endurance training. Sprint interval training I would actually consider a more solid strategy than steady state.

Specifics on the few studies I have seen:

There was a study that found that guys who exercised on bike for half and hour were weaker for up to six hours after that. So cardio before lifing wouldn't be good. Always lift first and as I said seperate them as much as possible preferably on another day. Also going heavy with low volume seems to work better and you don't lose strength with cardio, whereas mixing cardio with high repitition high volume stuff seems to result in more stregth loss in addition to the fact that is the worst way to get stronger. So in other words not only will you not get as strong that way but cardio will tend to reduce your strength levels even further.

I would also point out that the interference phenomemom seemed to coincide more to really high and unrealistic work levels in general. I.E. really high volume on every muscle group and cardio six days a week. Which means your asking you body to adapt to two different things at once and plus you not giving it much recovery time for either one.

[hrdgain81]

must have hit a nerve ay, nobody on here even tried to help answer this guys question and i am in the same boat of lifting and then running after a work out. Although as soon as somebody say something dirty you guys are all over this thread; and mind you that you still don't answer the guys question (except eric) instead you bash me. ponder that.

Ponder this ... you have 10 post, have tried to help one person on this board, and did a shitty job at it. Then you insult us, and pretend that we dont come on here day after day trying to help people with thier fitness goals. You need to drop the bullshit an pick up a purpose kid, cause your being a real asslobster.

Next time, why dont you read some of the posts in the thread before replying, myself, dave, eric, and verb all threw in our advice, even though this topic has been beat to death several times prior to this.