Tips » Cardio and Aerobics
If I do cardio right before weight-training, will tons of muscle magically melt away from my frame?
Cardio before a workout is fine. People get excited about "theory" and make it suddenly the new law. I.e. you lose glycogen during weight training and therefore cardio is forced into fat-burning mode is a common one. It's taking part theory part science and trying to establish a hard and fast rule. Of course, then your opposing camp is going to come along and say that you have this magical on/off switch where suddenly you start to lose pounds of muscle and if you do cardio after weight training you're going to wither away into nothing.
The fact is, your ability to recover is more based on what happens in the 24 hours after the workout than the workout itself - even if your body is using protein during exercise, which it will do, it is not magically dissolving the muscle. Instead, your muscle tissue breaks down during intense training, and then it is a question of whether there is sufficient protein available to repair it. This repair happens after the fact - when you recover.
I can tell you right now there is no debate over whether it is fine to do cardio before training. It is fine. I've had clients do it, I've done it myself. Is it the best possible plan? Now there is some room for debate. However, your best guide is you. How do you feel doing it that way? How do you progress? If you feel great, it fits your schedule, and you see progress - go for it!