Strength and cardio on the same day or not?

[blondie3384]

Hi everyone

I was wondering if anyone did body combat and body pump?  I love combat classes and currently do it twice a week.  I used to do body pump, but hurt my back quite badly - not sure it was caused by body pump because it was more a trapped nerve, but I was paranoid and stopped going.  I'd like to ease myself back into it.  

Quite a few ladies at my combat class stay and do the body pump class which is directly after it.  Is that advisable?  Would I see better results if I just tried to alternate body pump one day with a cardio based workout the next?  

I'm not an expert, but I know I need to be careful not to run myself down (as that would be 2 hours at the gym after an 10 hour day at work!) and I don't want to set myself unrealisitc goals.  

I posted last week about running, and have since decided to try a running group at the gym, and if I struggle to make progress with support (I was a lone runner before), then I'll try zumba.

R x

[WendyB]

You do what you can and when you can. It should ot make a difference

[Dominique]

I’m not familiar with either, but based on the description I found, Body Pump appears to have a strong aerobic component ("moving light weights at high repetitions"), so doing both in succession would be very tough. And if I had to do both in a row, I’d definitely start with the strength workout (Body Pump) and do the cardio one (Body Combat) after it, rather than what the ladies at your Body Combat class are doing.

Is the gym so far away you cannot do each on separate days?

[emili]

To me it seems like a lot of wear and tear on your body in one sitting. I wouldn't do it a) because I would be afraid I would hurt myself and b) not sure I would survive it.

[Mukluk4]

Can you do Cardio and Strength the same day? - Yes.  There are tons of athletes and movie stars that do this.  

Does it matter which order?  Studies are 50/50.  Weight lifters will say do lifting and then cardio to max out your strength.  There are NBA players who lift after practice and/or games with no ill effects. Dwyane Johnson (The Rock) does his cardio first.

Should you follow suit?  This depends on your current athletic level.  Do you still have gas in the tank after your first class?  What is your injury history?

[A_Lurker]

@Mukluk4used the words I would have (gas in the tank).  I'd pick weights before cardio, although I split them up (occasionally I do HIIT after, but that's a short time frame).  I might do a short cardio warm-up and might do some cool down with weights.  If I tried to do hard cardio before weights I don't think I'd lift as heavy.  Of course I don't lift in the morning as I'm not sure I'm alert enough to lift heavy objects over my head.