Cardio!! Is bad??!
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fatoomalrowaiei
Posts: 95 Member
I thought cardio is the best exercise to do , now
But i was reading alot of articles on the internet
Alot of them say that cardio make you lose muscle?!! im scared of the treadmill and cardio exercises now
Im really confused yeah i want to lose fat and weight but i dont want to lose my muscles
But i was reading alot of articles on the internet
Alot of them say that cardio make you lose muscle?!! im scared of the treadmill and cardio exercises now
Im really confused yeah i want to lose fat and weight but i dont want to lose my muscles
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Replies
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No.2
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Cardio won't make you lose muscle. Eating too few calories while losing weight will, though. I do both cardio (running) and weight lifting. My goal is to keep as much muscle as possible.1
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No...cardio is how you train your cardiovascular system. Excessive amounts of cardio coupled with a lack of resistance training and an inadequate diet will result in muscle loss...but no...doing a little cardio is only going to train your cardiovascular system. You should be doing some kind of resistance training as well.4
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Keep doing your cardio. From what I've read, and I'll see if I can find some links for you, cardio is where a lot of calorie burn is while working out. Strength training builds muscles, which helps boost your metabolism, burning calories longer after working out.1
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Always consider the source of the article (and the biases / goals of the authors)
When we're losing weight some of it will be a little bit of muscle but I wouldn't worry unless you were at an extreme calorie deficit for a prolonged period of time with very low amounts of protein.
Having said that......I personally believe that everyone (barring physical limitations) should be doing some type of strength / resistance training. Not that it necessarily to build muscle mass but to preserve what you've got (especially important as we age) and to maintain bone density etc. There have been numerous studies that have demonstrated that a well designed fitness program (cardio & strength) can mitigate many of the health problems that older people experience.3 -
Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.1 -
The way that happens is if you're in a calorie deficit and not supplying enough protein to help retain muscle. A lot of this became a concern a while back because long endurance athletes lacked upper body musculature. But they usually train to keep their weight lower and foregoing upper body workouts wasn't uncommon.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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BreezeDoveal wrote: »I think this is only if you only do cardio for your legs, you'll lose muscle in your upper body.
You should make sure to also do cardio for your upper body and then it won't be a problem.
Cardio for your upper body? I have never heard of such a thing...isn't cardio for weight loss and increasing the strength of your heart and lungs, therefore increasing your body's efficiency in utilizing oxygen? Or am I just completely crazy (which is possible!)?2 -
Spliner1969 wrote: »Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.
So for me i must eat 1600 calories
But i eat 1000 only not because i want to im just full
I do cardio workout(youtube video) for an hour
Or walk for 30min
Does that mean i have to eat what i have burned?!
Thank you so much!!!
And do i have to eat 1600??
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fatoomalrowaiei wrote: »Spliner1969 wrote: »Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.
So for me i must eat 1600 calories
But i eat 1000 only not because i want to im just full
I do cardio workout(youtube video) for an hour
Or walk for 30min
Does that mean i have to eat what i have burned?!
Thank you so much!!!
And do i have to eat 1600??
Probably. Otherwise you won't be giving your body enough fuel, and you'll end up doing more harm than good.0 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »Always consider the source of the article (and the biases / goals of the authors)
When we're losing weight some of it will be a little bit of muscle but I wouldn't worry unless you were at an extreme calorie deficit for a prolonged period of time with very low amounts of protein.
Having said that......I personally believe that everyone (barring physical limitations) should be doing some type of strength / resistance training. Not that it necessarily to build muscle mass but to preserve what you've got (especially important as we age) and to maintain bone density etc. There have been numerous studies that have demonstrated that a well designed fitness program (cardio & strength) can mitigate many of the health problems that older people experience.
I dont like strength workouts but i dont want to lose my muscles
I eat my calories right and do cardio!1 -
A lot of this became a concern a while back because long endurance athletes lacked upper body musculature. But they usually train to keep their weight lower and foregoing upper body workouts wasn't uncommon.
Yes, if you look at an elite distance runner or endurance cyclist, you'll often see someone with relatively little upper body musculature and relatively big legs. Meb Keflezighi is a good example. In cycling, climbing specialists are especially prone to have twig-like arms. But they're elite competitors in sports where power per weight is important, so it's important for them not to carry excess weight, including excess muscle.
If you look at swimmers, on the other hand, it's a different story, because they need upper body strength and endurance. No one would mistake Michael Phelps for a bodybuilder, but he does have significant upper-body musculature. And for that matter, track cyclists often have strong upper bodies too because they're putting out so much power that they need to pull up substantially on the handlebars to get leverage. Do a Google image search on "Sir Chris Hoy" for a good example.2 -
Oh thank you i guess i have to force myselfamymurray12282 wrote: »fatoomalrowaiei wrote: »Spliner1969 wrote: »Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.
So for me i must eat 1600 calories
But i eat 1000 only not because i want to im just full
I do cardio workout(youtube video) for an hour
Or walk for 30min
Does that mean i have to eat what i have burned?!
Thank you so much!!!
And do i have to eat 1600??
Probably. Otherwise you won't be giving your body enough fuel, and you'll end up doing more harm than good.
1- So right calories
2- Mixing up strength and cardio workouts
And im fine?!
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amymurray12282 wrote: »Cardio for your upper body?
Swimming, rowing, and cross-country skiing are examples of cardio activities that use a lot of upper-body muscles.0 -
fatoomalrowaiei wrote: »Spliner1969 wrote: »Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.
So for me i must eat 1600 calories
But i eat 1000 only not because i want to im just full
I do cardio workout(youtube video) for an hour
Or walk for 30min
Does that mean i have to eat what i have burned?!
Thank you so much!!!
And do i have to eat 1600??
Only eating 1000 calories is a good way to lose muscle, yes, regardless of whether or not you're doing cardio. Stay away from low fat, non-fat, no sugar, lite and low calorie foods. Add oils like olive oil or butter to your veggies or add cheese. Put mayonnaise on sandwiches. Use a creamy salad dressing, like ranch or bleu cheese and add crumbled or shredded cheese and nuts on your salads. Those are some easy things you can do to add calories without adding more food.0 -
amymurray12282 wrote: »Cardio for your upper body?
Swimming, rowing, and cross-country skiing are examples of cardio activities that use a lot of upper-body muscles.
Perhaps I misunderstood the point of cardio then? I'm not sure, though, how doing an exercise that uses primarily the lower body, such as walking or running, would cause you to lose muscle in your upper body though. I thought cardio benefited the ENTIRE body, and strength training was more targeted (ie upper body, lower body, etc).0 -
Not eating enough will force the body to extrapolate energy from both lean muscle and fat. So you can also lose muscle doing it this way. Especially if you don't have a lot of body fat.fatoomalrowaiei wrote: »Spliner1969 wrote: »Everyone needs a little cardio in their life. Too much will make you skinny, too little won't help you lose fat. Find a happy medium and do both cardio and some form of strength training and you'll have the both of best worlds. Some people simply hate cardio so they are down on it and prefer to do nothing but strength training. That's fine, but some of us need extra help to build muscle and lose fat. I have friends who are at least 50 lbs overweight but have a crap ton of muscle. They would benefit from cardio because they would lose the fat, I also have friends who have very little muscle and are overweight. They would benefit from both cardio and weight training to build muscle at the same time they lose the fat (I was one of these types). Genetics play a big role, some people can build muscle easily, and don't even have to work at it, others.. well.. we need help. Either way cardio is not bad unless you over-do it with a severe calorie restriction. Set your goals for your desired weight loss, then if you do cardio, up your calorie intake to compensate but stay within your pre-set goals and you'll be fine.
For instance:
No exercise goal: 2000 calories a day (that's about my maintenance level)
After 800 calories of exercise I should eat" 2800 calories
I would still not gain weight because I increased calories only by the amount of exercise I did.
But...
If my daily goal is say 1600 to lose a pound or two a week then I do 800 calories of exercise and don't eat more than 1600 calories, I'd effectively be sustaining my body on about 800 calories a day. At that rate I would lose fat, muscle, and who knows what else?!? So I should, at that point eat 1600 + 800 = 2400 calories and I'd still be able to lose those 1-2 lbs a week.
So yea, keep up the cardio. Just make sure you're calculating your calories correctly. MFP will do this for you, so it's not rocket science. Set MFP to your desired loss without calculating in exercise, then allow MFP to add calories as you exercise (either enter the exercises manually in MFP or allow your apps to add it for you) and try and not have a huge deficit at the end of the day.
So for me i must eat 1600 calories
But i eat 1000 only not because i want to im just full
I do cardio workout(youtube video) for an hour
Or walk for 30min
Does that mean i have to eat what i have burned?!
Thank you so much!!!
And do i have to eat 1600??
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0
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