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Muscle Building Questions - Cardio Training Before Weight Lifting Workout

Question:
I recently started eating well, and exercising. The problem is, I don't want to overtrain. My schedule is as follows: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I go to the gym and do 30min. of high-intensity cardio followed by a 45-minute full body strength training routine. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I go to the gym and do about 1 hour of high intensity cardio. Sunday, I rest. I also jump rope for 5 minutes every morning When I wake up.

I would also like to start incorporating sprinting twice a week. Basically, my question is in multiple parts:

• A) Am I overtraining?
  
  
• B) On what days should I incorporate sprinting?
  
  
• C) Is this the optimal schedule for burning fat (as my first priority), and building muscle (as my second priority)?
  
  
• D) Lately I've been getting headaches in the afternoon that don't go away until the late evening, which I can only attribute to all of my exercise, but even When I rest for a couple of days, they're still there. What should I do?

Answer:
It's very important NOT to do that amount of cardio before your strength training routine. You will deplete your glycogen level even before touching a weight, so your workouts will suffer tremendously. Always do cardio after your strength training routine. To answer your main questions:

• A. Listen to your body to tell you if you're overtraining. If you feel tired, lethargic and have an overall uninterested feeling about training then make sure to cut back a little.
  
  
• B. I would do sprinting on non weight training days.
  
  
• C. To burn fat, reference above about cardio post workout
  
  
• D. See a doctor for any ongoing headaches.

   

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