New to training, few questions.

Hello,

New to forums and excersing heavily. First off I'm 6'5'', 250lbs. Im in the Army, deployed atm, so nutritionis going the best it can :)
My weekly routine is 1hr on elipticle (cant run due to injured back), then Mon-Fri doing a diffrent muscle group each day. Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders, Arms. Also I do three diffrent ab workouts every day as well.

My main concern is that someone mentioned that doing an hour of carido does more harm to my muscles if for an hr. Also I have heard I should do cardio after weight training.

My goals are to lose weight (or just fat/inches. I dont mind the weight, I am a big body type of guy. Just need to be trimmed in the right spots for Army) Also I would like to keep improving on my muscle mass at the same time.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
Hi.. I don't think one hour of cardio per week is going to do too much damage. Within the limits of your army diet and injury - lift heavy / low reps and keep your protein intake high with regular protein hits during the day plus before/ after weight training. Lower your carbs if you need to trim down. The protein and weight training should preserve your muscle mass. Cardio after weight training is always a good idea (unless done briefly before weights as a warmup).
 
Xerosyn,

First off, thanks for your service! :cheeky:

I think Downunder Diva is pretty right on. It's important to know that there is no "one" right way to exercise. There is only "one right way" to exercise for YOU. And usually that will involve mixing things up. Which means that sometimes you'll want to do cardio before weights and sometimes after. Sometimes you'll want to do full body routines and sometimes breaking it down to a body part per day is better. These decisions depend on your goals, how long you've been training, how long you've been doing the same routine, etc.

The only thing I would suggest to help with the fat loss is to do your cardio in 3 X 20 minute moderate to high intensity sessions through the course of the week. And as far as carbs go, maintain high concentration of green leafy vegetables, or those on the lower end of the glycemic index, but reduce the heavier complex carb intake of such items as potatoes, rice, pasta, etc. Although, if you reduce your carb intake drastic enough, then you'll throw in one meal or day a week where you replenish you glycogen stores with the potato, rice, pasta, etc.

Make sense? Let us know if not.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
I recommend you should do cardio exercise sessions that last at least 30 minutes. This amount of exercise is enough for average, healthy adults to maintain good health and reduce their risk of chronic diseases.

Although doing cardio exercise 60 minutes or more may be necessary to promote and sustain weight loss. If 30 to 60 minutes of cardio exercise is difficult to complete in one exercise session, you can break it up into multiple sessions that last at least 10 minutes.


I like to do my cardio before my workout. After lifting weights I am simply too mentally exhausted to get up on a treadmill and pump out an hour of running. For some reason, it’s psychologically more difficult to leave the cardio until the end of the workout for me.


People who support doing cardio after weights will usually tell you that you need all of your energy to lift weights, and that by doing half an hour to an hour of cardio before that will utilize all your energy (glucose), leaving none for your weight training routine. And, admittedly, having no energy for your weight training routine equals a useless workout.

So choice is up to you.
 
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