Is there such a thing as too much cardio?

caitlintooher

I am doing very well loosing weight with logging my food and working out more, at about 0.5 to 0.7 pound a week, but I after reading many posts here I have a question:
I enjoy walking, and I do it a lot, about 2 to three hours a day at about 3.5 to 4 miles and hour (obviously I am not working at the moment). I find it pleasurable and it doesn't exhaust me at all. I am not all sweaty and exhausted but rather feel energized. I don't eat back all calories, and my weight loss is slow but steady.
I want to start lifting weights soon to get stronger, and it seems a lot of people say that doing that much cardio when you try to gain muscle is a bad idea.
Is this true? I'd hate to give up my walks.

yarwell

I think your walks are fine, not very intense. Too much intense cardio might be a problem.

galprincess

My answer is this any form of exercise that makes you feel good cannot be bad for you so you walk away, I have friends who have walked themselves thin

JasonKnight85

I'd definitely have to agree, not a problem at all.

I have been doing Insanity just shy of a month now (on day 23 today), on top of lifting every other day or so, and I can honestly say... I'm still bulking up just fine, if not better. Rather, it is more noticeable because I'm also losing fat a bit faster.

The important thing is to find what works for you. For food and exercise. I had to slowly drop down to my desired deficit (subtracting 100 calories more each week till I hit that -1000 daily, it took me 2 1/2months).

But now I'm used to eating what my deficit is at, I'm never hungry or starved, and being an ex-smoker the cardio makes me feel awesome.

I also used to walk 3+ hours a day, until I got down to a weight where I could actually complete the Insanity Fit Test, and wow the results were really apparent when I started lifting too... I haven't looked back since.

TavistockToad

you should definitely add in some resistance/strength training to your routine, but you wont gain muscle unless you're eating at a calorie surplus.

that amount of walking isnt 'too much'

cmacr

Walking is a perfect form of cardio.

Definitely do some weight lifting; when losing weight, I consider resistance training essential (unless someone is physically not capable of doing it).

If your plan is to continue losing body fat & you are new to lifting weights, you will find that you can gain strength & muscle even when in a calorie deficit (I should point out, this is in respect to a novice lifter e.g. with no more than 6-12 months of consistent lifting experience).

The main thing to remember is that you shouldn't just use the numbers on the scales as an indication of your progress as you may find that your weight may remain relatively unchanged as you will gain some muscle tissue and lose fat

You will most likely see a difference in your body shape, clothes will feel better on etc.

Continue to do your walking or any other form of low intensity cardio in conjunction with weight training, avoid high intensity cardio in particular when in a calorie deficit as you will find you will burn yourself out as the energy pathways high intensity use is the same as weight lifting and as such it is harder for your body to recover.

If you add weight training onto your cardio and ensure any weight loss you experience is not too extreme (most people aim for the 1-2lbs per week) you will definitely see the results you are looking for and by keeping it steady like you already are your results will stick.