I personally do not feel that there is one ABSOLUTELY correct answer to this question. Instead, I believe the correct answer is dependent on one's personal fitness and diet goals. Let me tell you why...
For twenty years, I have studied and implemented a vast variety of fitness strategies. During these years my fitness goals have varied and have included using fitness training for 1) Weight Loss, 2) Body Sculpting, 3) Body Building, 4) Conditioning (I used to be a professional dancer) and 5) Overall Health. I have attained excellent results using widely different methods. However, I have learned that certain methods are not as effective for certain goals. Now, naturally, when one engages in cardio and weight training with diligence weight and inches WILL be lost and muscles WILL be defined, but I have learned that there are ways to tweak the quickness of results depending on one's ultimate goals. So here are some things that I have learned to be true throughout the years:
1. IF YOUR GOAL IS TO USE CARDIO TO SPEED UP WEIGHT LOSS:
Then the best time to perform cardio is when your glycogen stores are empty, which is:
A. The first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, doing an am workout on an empty stomach will allow you to burn fat at a rate 300% higher than any other method;
B. At a time of day, after you have not eaten for 2- 3 hours at which you will be burning fat at a rate 150% higher than usual;
C. AFTER weight training, because weight training depletes glycogen stores faster and more efficiently than cardio does, therefore if you lift weights and then peform cardio, your body will burn fat and only fat;
2. IF YOUR GOAL IS TO USE WEIGHT TRAINING TO SPEED UP WEIGHT LOSS:
Then the best method is,
A. To lift extremely light weights and do high reps, such as 3 sets of 15 reps. This form of weight training, is usually found in health club classes called Sculpt and Tone or on various home videos. Using this method, you actually will not be sculpting or building muscle, because in order to sculpt muscle you need to lift heavy weights. In this method all you are really doing is burning calories and releasing minimum amounts of testerone. The reason they call it toning, is because you are buring so many calories that the fat around your arms disappear, and you look firmer.
B. If you have more than 15 pounds to lose, do not weight train until you are down to the last 15 pounds, because you will gain weight (muscle weighs more), which will psychologically horrify you, but also your body will demand more calories, and weight training requires that you eat more carbs, because this is essential to muscle recovery and joint health. If you lift weights on the induction phase of Atkins, you risk overtraining and your muscles will actually atrophy;
This is the principle that makes programs like Curves work, because although you may be lifting resistance machines, you are really only doing cardio.
3. WEIGHT TRAINING IN GENERAL
A. Weight training sessions should be no more that 60 minutes, in ONE SESSION, because after 60 minutes the levels of testerone and growth hormones, begin to drop and you will gain you will waste your time;
B. Weight training must be progressive and varied, after several weeks of one training program, your body stops changing; so you must change your program, switch days, switch exercises, tweak resting periods, perform super sets, and compound sets.
Those are the fundamental truths I have learned about cardio and weight lifting.
I have also learned that there are no hard rules about doing cardio and weight training on different days, you can do both on one day, as long as you follow the principles I listed for optimal results. The only rule written in stone is that you should have one full day of rest a week. To me, it is really a matter of how busy and flexible your schedule is and how much stamina you have.
Again, this is based on my personal experience and research over 20 years, it is not meant to be recommended as the only or best way for the members of this forum. (So, please remember that if anyone feels like starting a war with me on here, this is my first post and people seem open minded, but I am on other forums, where people take everything personally!)
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