Does cardio kill a strength workout the next day?

Kraken

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I'm usually at the gym M, W and F or sometimes 2 days between and pushed into the weekend, but generally 3 days per week. I have been doing bike rides and other easy cardio a few off days a week. Yesterday I did a 3.25 mile run at a faster pace than usual and today, wow, did I ever suck trying to lift steel. I hit my numbers on the deadlift but the squat was 5 pounds shy and the overhead press, I had to come down 10 pounds to get the normal sets in.

Coincidence or can I blame the run?
 

Diesel59

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How much did you sleep during the night in-between?
 

snake

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No cardio the day before or after legs. You can hit it on Sq./DL day AFTER your workout.

I've done this and it will turn you into the best shape of your life and a fuukin pussy at the same time. It's brutal and you can't keep it up for more than 3-4 months.
 

Send0

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if you're still under maintenance then it can definitely effect you.

Even at maintenance, or in a surplus, I avoid cardio the day before leg day.
 
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Gadawg

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Itll depend a lot on what youre used to also.

I do cardio every day but only the true max hr burners lead me into overtraining.

If youre worried about it, just stick to zone 1 and 2 stuff around your more intense lifting sessions.
 
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Yano

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I do 15 miles a day every day on stationary bike , 3 15 minute sessions or until I hit 5 miles each go.

Never noticed it affect me any and i'm older than dirt.

rode 15 yesterday , today was max effort lower and I rode 15 today, biggest thing I can suggest is space your cardio out before and after your workout by 4 hours.
 

Bro Bundy

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an hour of cardio can only benefit..It never hurt my training or leg day
 

BRICKS

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I actually have had my strongest legs days when I was doing intense cardio on the stepmill during a cut. It's what you get used to IMO.
 

Kraken

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How much did you sleep during the night in-between?

Between 7.5 and 6.5 hours in general.

Being off by 5 lbs on a squat... Insignificant.

10 lbs on an overhead press... Could be any number of things.

Yeah but I didn't feel strong at all. I don't think the squat depth was adequate. But the deadlift went well, it was super hard but I got the 5 reps I needed, and then a break and 3 more. It could also be as the squat numbers go up, so does my fear of failing and crashing into the safety bars! Ha!

if you're still under maintenance then it can definitely effect you.

Even at maintenance, or in a surplus, I avoid cardio the day before leg day.

The scale is bouncing around but has not gone up much, if any. Pretty sure I'm still eating at maintenance (I need another week or so to be sure), which I guess could mean the cardio is sucking away energy I need to grow. Every gym day I squat.

If youre worried about it, just stick to zone 1 and 2 stuff around your more intense lifting sessions.

Yeah so that run was 75% zone 3 and 25% zone 4. I really need to slow it down to zone 2, which will be easier as my cardio fitness improves bit for now... It's hard to go that slow.



It seems some think the cardio is an issue, others think not. For now, based on the comments y'all made, I'm gonna chalk it up to a off day. I'll try running again and see if the lifts go back to where I expect. If not, maybe I'll fall back to the bicycle and stop running.

Thanks everyone!
 

Kraken

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I ran across this too... He seems to think intense cardio screws up lifting...

 
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It's likely that the intense run contributed to feeling weaker during your lifting session today. Cardio can fatigue muscles and the nervous system, impacting strength training performance. Consider spacing out intense cardio and lifting sessions or ensuring adequate recovery between workouts. Keep listening to your body and adjusting as needed.
 

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