Cardio before or after weight training?

[nukem2k5]

I just started working out again this week and have decided to do an hour of that crosstraining machine (the one where you kind of walk but your feet are on these two moving things the whole time).  My question is, should I be doing this before I go do my weight training (I'm planning a three-day muslce group rotation workout) or after?  

I'm told to do about  10-15 min on a bike to warm up, work out, then finish with cardio, but that's coming from two friends who are building their muscles, not trying to burn fat, like I am.  So should I warm up on bike, work out, then do my hour of cardio?

[Breastzilla]

If your not trying to get lots of bulk it shouldnt matter when you do the cardio.  2 hours of working out/cardio 3 days a week should melt the fat right off!

Weightlifting and cardio diets are really really different.  Its kinda late so i cant explain right now.

Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, figure how many calories your exercise is burning, then only go 400 calories or so under what your using.  The problem is you dont want to destroy the muscle your going to build.  Your body is going to get the energy it needs one way or the other, even if its getting it from your lean tissue.  Shoot for 1-2 pounds a week, anymore than that is prolly just water weight or lean tissue.

Your kinda in the same situation as me, gaining muscle and needing to lose weight.  I was so weak that i pretty much had to throw the scale out.  I was gaining muscle and losing fat, so the scale wouldnt move...dont get discouraged if that happens.

I know most of this isnt part of your question,,but maybe it'll help a lil..

[nukem2k5]

Well I've read before that to find out how many calories my body uses while doing nothing, multiply my weight in pounds by 12:

230 * 12 = 2760

Is this accurate at all?

I don't have a set diet, I'm just not eating many of the things I used to (crackers, chips, etc) and have started eating turkey sandwhiches at lunch instead of Peanut Butter.  The machine said I burned about 670 calories over my hour of cardio yesterday, but I don't know how reliable those calculators are.  Should I trust the machine calorie burning calculator at all?

What I'm trying for is to go to the gym every day to do an hour of cardio and a muscle group workout.  I was told to do 3 sets of 15 on medium / light weights if my goal is to lose weight and not really bulk up.  I figure that if I were to lose weight, I already have plenty of muscle, but I could change my workout to mostly muscle training after I drop the fat.  My priority right now is to drop the fat, esp if I plan to get surgery soon.

[Breastzilla]

Hey we got the same weight, hehe.  Everyone has different metabolisms..I hear the best way is to add 5 days worth of calories and divide by 5(get an average) pick a week that you didnt lose or gain any weight to do it from.  

The calorie calculator on the machine is right! Thats a good workout! I usually figure a 10 calories a minute if im at a high to moderately high intensity :-)

Looking at your goals if i were you, id just go ahead and drop the weight lifting until after surgery.  Cardio burns a TON more calories than low weight reps.  The difference is huge.  Maybe 45 minutes on a bike, then 45 minutes your machine.  You should be able to get a ton of work out of your legs by switching from the rotory motion of a bike,,,to a linear motion like the crosstrainer.. maybe put on some of your favorite songs and just dance around and move your arms alot..long as you get your heartrate up alot you'll burn the 10 cals a minute.

Another strong point is weightlifting burns carbs/glucose.  And cardio burns fat.  If your going to lift put some of those carbs back in your diet, just try to make them whole grain complex carbs.

Your a serious go-getter keep up the energy!

[nukem2k5]

I appreciate your information and your encouragement

I want to focus mainly on cardio but still want to do some weight training in hopes that it'll help to shape my muscles a bit more.  I'm not overly worried about losing a bunch of weight and looking all skinny and lanky though, because I have too much muscle mass under my fat for that to happen (I would hope, anyway).

[Breastzilla]

Yeah, thats kinda why i put in my 2 cents. I used to not be worried about losing muscle, in fact i made fun of bodybuilders, but post op my gyno didnt look right to me, so i kept dieting and dieting.  Anyways, I ended up a human skeleton...After learning all about nutrition and bodybuilding im now a strong mofo again, and the shape of my chest is getting more and more natural looking.

So maybe some of this info will help you post op, but hopefully the saga ends with your op.

[nukem2k5]

Do you have any pre-op, post-op, and current pics that I could see?

[Breastzilla]

No, im sorry, they are all at the docs office.  I wish i had copies of them though.  Give me another few months and ill post a current pic. :-)

[tnel00son]

i recommend AFTER, this way you dont waste all of your energy running and you wo nt be able to lift the weights