Cardio, Good or Bad

jhardenbergh

I lost a bunch of weight this past year and in the next stage of my fitness journey. My dilemna is, I began to really enjoy cardio exercises. Running, arc trainer, stair climber etc... My dilemna is I don't want to jeopardize my muscle mass that I am building by having a cardio day. I began lifting again back in September and have made some decent strides, while still doing cardio. However I am at the point where I don't want to loose any more muscle. The question I have is there a certain heartrate I can keep that will not jeopardize my muscle. My goal is to just burn just fat.

My typical workouts look like the following

Sun-legs and core with short cardio warm up and cool down
Mon-chest and bi's with short cardio warm up and cool down
Tues-all cardio 60 mins. (treadmill, arc trainer, stairclimber) I change it up some, usually 20 mins of each or 40 or one 20 of another
Wed-off
Thursday-shoulders, triceps with short cardio warm up and cool down
Friday-back and core with short cardio warm up and cool down
Sat-legs

Then repeat. my workouts are usually around an hour give or take. The short cardio is usually 10 mins before and 10 mins after.

for the first three months I was doing lighter weights and more reps and for the past month I have been lifting heavier for 8-10 reps

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

corrymeela

cardio will not cause muscle loss.
try this website,it will really help you-
scoobysworkshop.com
good luck.

jhardenbergh

thanks, I am gonna check that out

thefuzz1290

cardio will not cause muscle loss.
try this website,it will really help you-
scoobysworkshop.com
good luck.

Sort of wrong, but sort of right. Moderate cardio will not jeapordize muscle, but extended cardio will. If you limit your cardio sessions to 30-45 minutes, at moderate intensity, you should be fine.

AZackery

Scooby share some good information on his site. Cardio will always be good. I strength train, but I don't lift heavy. I don't have to lift heavy to reach my goal. I prefer cardio/strength to solo strength. Maybe, you should do cardio/strength workouts.

jhardenbergh

usually my strength training workouts are done in circuits and I can keep my heartrate up there pretty good I have been resting a little bit more now than before with the heavier weights, but it's usually after a circuit is complete that consists of 2 to 3 exercises with 4 sets, the first set is lighter weight warm up. Usually at the end of my session my avg hr is usually between 120-130.

tlcastillo78

cardio will not cause muscle loss.
try this website,it will really help you-
scoobysworkshop.com
good luck.

Sort of wrong, but sort of right. Moderate cardio will not jeapordize muscle, but extended cardio will. If you limit your cardio sessions to 30-45 minutes, at moderate intensity, you should be fine.

So for someone like me who is still in weight loss mode... I'm currently doing all cardio now (5-6 days a week) because I'm getting better weight loss results. Is that very bad or good? Really need help on this...

jamfan

I've always understood that high to intense steady state cardio will begin burning muscle after about 30 minutes. To maximize the calorie burn do HIIT High Intensity Interval Training which is anaerobic in nature for no more than 20-30 minutes. You'll get less calorie burn initially but there is an after effect calorie burn as there is with lifting. This is a wide spread idea but the abs diet book promotes this heavily,

scottb81

I've always understood that high to intense steady state cardio will begin burning muscle after about 30 minutes.

It won't do that if you eat properly.

maserati185

I was thinking about this recently and came to the same conclusion as Scott. A poster from long ago said she did not want to burn off all of her muscle by running... which kinda broke my heart because I love running and I want to be strong. However, I'm finding that the more I run AND eat, the stronger I am becoming and the more muscle I believe I am seeing. It *seems* logical. I'm not saying I am right but it makes sense to me. Running is a full body workout. I'm using almost every muscle I have. If I load myself with proteins, veggies and fats after-the-fact... how could I not become stronger? That's just my thoughts.

YMark

cardio will not cause muscle loss.
try this website,it will really help you-
scoobysworkshop.com
good luck.

Sort of wrong, but sort of right. Moderate cardio will not jeapordize muscle, but extended cardio will. If you limit your cardio sessions to 30-45 minutes, at moderate intensity, you should be fine.

So for someone like me who is still in weight loss mode... I'm currently doing all cardio now (5-6 days a week) because I'm getting better weight loss results. Is that very bad or good? Really need help on this...

It is GOOD. Keep it up, but weight training in addition to cardio won't hurt.

YMark

cardio will not cause muscle loss.
try this website,it will really help you-
scoobysworkshop.com
good luck.

Sort of wrong, but sort of right. Moderate cardio will not jeapordize muscle, but extended cardio will. If you limit your cardio sessions to 30-45 minutes, at moderate intensity, you should be fine.

Right on the money. You would have to do a boatload of cardio to start jeopardizing muscle. And you could always to HIIT. Have you ever seen a "skinny" sprinter. Their legs are huge.

Not doing cardio to keep from losing muscle is the same as the people that say they don't lift weights because they don't want to get too big. LOL.

CallmeSbo

bump

gmpearson

This is the same dilemma that basketball players, football players, and other athletes face - they need muscle mass but have to sustain aerobic activity on the court/field, etc. You are doing a great job of placing a bigger emphasis on the muscle building, but incorporating cardio 1-2 times a week. I am in the process of reading "Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights" and it specifically addresses this right in the beginning. According to this book (which is based on hundreds of published studies), the body has a "swtiching" mechanism that if you want to focus on bulk - start with weights and focus on weights for the session. This doesn't mean that you should avoid cardio at all, but your primary focus will be on lifting.

I do both, my primary focus being on running. However, I get in the gym, and I lift my butt off 2-3 times a week and treat it like circuit training. I lift semi-heavy (as much as I can for being 42), and really concentrate on legs and core. I want my arms to look strong and fit, but I don't really need to bulk up.

I think you are on the right track, and I highly suggest the book I mentioned above. I have not finished it yet, but the first part of it is very informative.

Greg