I do my cardio in the mornings and lift weights in the late afternoons. I have found this to be a very effective pattern. I usually do both the lifting and cardio four days a week, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But I take an "extra" day off about once a month to aid recovery. I hit a heavy bag in my home gym twice a week (Su, W) and walk outside on the other two days (M, Th). I walk near my home, on Mondays going to the right and on Thursdays to the left. The latter path is more hilly, so those walks are yellowed. My goal distance for each path is determined by how far I can walk without having to cross a highway, which should take about 30 minutes at my current pace. After that, I will gradually increase my pace. If I walk elsewhere, those walks will be indicated in the Comments.

The duration and distance of the walking are being measured with an old-fashioned watch and a Fit & Fresh pedometer. It was very inexpensive, but works great and is reasonably accurate. There is no "clicking" sound like with my old pedometer, and it works better than the exercise app on my Galaxy S5, which I was using.

15-30 minutes of cardio 4x/ week done at a moderate intensity is sufficient for general conditioning. It keeps my blood pressure and heart rate low (124/ 76, 54 the last time I measured it with a home monitor). It keeps my bodyweight where I want it, and I just feel better doing such cardio. However, kept at that level, I do not believe this amount and intensity of cardio is adversely affecting my powerlifting training or recovery there from. In fact, it is the exact opposite. It gives me better stamina, so I am able to handle a larger workload in my lifting workouts without getting overly tired and to get through my workouts quicker by taking less rest time between sets.

I also do rotator cuff work after I hit the heavy bag in the mornings, and starting in October, abs work as well. Doing my rotator cuff and abs work here keeps my afternoon lifting workouts from being too long. Since I do higher reps for rotator cuff and abs work than for most other lifting exercises, they are a somewhat of a cardio exercise and thus fit well here. The indicated time is only of the heavy bag time. The rotator cuff and abs work takes about another 15 minutes. These exercises and the total workout time are indicated on my lifting logs, starting with Full Workout Logs: Starting 8/31/2015 – Two by Two Plan; Routine A (Rehab), Weeks 1-6 of 12.

The first and last couple of minutes of the walking is done at a low intensity for a warm-up and cool-down, respectively. This of course lowers my average speed, so my "cruising" speed is a little higher than indicted. On the heavy bag, the first couple of minutes are also done at a low intensity for a warm-up, but I don't do a cool-down with the rotator cuff work and abs work to follow There's no way to indicate my intensity on the heavy bag, so only the time is given.

Powerlifting and Back Pain

    The first book is geared towards the beginner to intermediate powerlifter. It presents sound training, competition, dietary, and supplement advice to aid the reader in starting and progressing in the sport of powerlifting. The second book details how I overcame years of crippling low back and was able to return to the sport of powerlifting.

Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting: A Comprehensive Guide to the World's Strongest Sport

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-body Solution (Second Edition)

See also this series on Amazon (#ad).