can doing cardio make you gain weight?

melsmith612

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

^^^This would be my first thought also. Try getting a scale that tells your body fat percentage vs. muscle mass, it could help you figure out whether your cardio is to blame (gain in muscle mass) or if it's something else that you've overlooked.

californiagirl2012

Sometimes doing too much cardio makes you hungry so you eat too much.

The only thing that makes you gain weight is eating too much.

LOL I gained weight while running marathon after marathon thinking I would lose weight. The weight piled on year after year while I ran and ran and also lifted weight (it was a boring routine).

You can not out exercise too many calories. Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty.

Things didn't change for me until I learned to eat the right amount for my tiny little body, which I didn't know was tiny until I dropped the 60 lbs, and I've kept it off for over a year and remained fit and can run faster now at almost 20 compared to when I was younger and 20 lbs heavier.

melsmith612

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

What? No. Long cardio sessions build muscle endurance, not strength. And it's extremely difficult for a woman to build muscle in the first place. Near impossible eating on a deficit.

This sounds Dr. Philesque to me. Any info to back up these claims?

WendyTerry420

i was only asking the question because didnt want to overdo it. i was just wondering how much cardio is too much to do in one week.

Just make sure you compensate the extra deficit with extra food.

cheshirequeen

i also was asking because since ive been doing more cardio ive been feeling less hungry and not more.

dad106

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

What? No. Long cardio sessions build muscle endurance, not strength. And it's extremely difficult for a woman to build muscle in the first place. Near impossible eating on a deficit.

This sounds Dr. Philesque to me. Any info to back up these claims?

No, your response is Dr.Philequse. I highly suggest you do a forum search or google search on building muscle(AKA new muscle tissue) and you will see that poster you are questioning is correct.

To OP:
If you are eating too much, then you will gain.

Or if the muscles are repairing themselves or you ate too much salt, you can retain water which makes the scale higher.

Espressocycle

No, but if you're overeating because cardio made you hungry, that will make you gain weight.

this

VelociMama

i also was asking because since ive been doing more cardio ive been feeling less hungry and not more.

Just be sure you're not undereating as well then. Good nutrient-dense food and not too much salt will help with recovery.

Hope you can find some relief soon!

05saleengirl

1100 posts...been here 2 years..35 years old

great question...

have you been hanging out at the "is the poster above you cute" threads all this time?

dont know if this is supposed to be rude or not, i was just asking a question because ive been eating the same amount of calories lately and doing more cardio and ive been gaining some weight. if i were going to be thought of as stupid then maybe i should just stick to my friends. im sure you dont know everything either.

Yeah, not the most polite response. If you have just started a new cardio routine, you could be retaining some water which wold make it "appear" on the scale that you are gaining weight. If you're tracking everything, staying within your cal range you should be fine. If its water weight from a new routine, most say it can subside within 2 weeks or so. Just keep at the new routine if you are enjoying it. Be there done that myself. It can be discourging at first, but don't let it stop you.

heybales

Initially yes, if not done before.

Your body sees need to store more glucose because of increased cardio using glucose.

You can store probably 1000 calories worth more of glucose. That will weigh 2 lbs.

But that's about it.

cheshirequeen

thanks to those that gave me useful and respectful information. i really appreciate the help.

lizziebeth1028

Jillian Michaels quote ' "you can eat your way through any work out". And this is true, living proof! I know better now. If you feel you're gaining I would double check your calorie burn numbers. Do you where a HRM? You could be over estimating? It also doesn't hurt to change things up a bit...try some calisthenics, HIITS, strength training.

3bambi3

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

What? No. Long cardio sessions build muscle endurance, not strength. And it's extremely difficult for a woman to build muscle in the first place. Near impossible eating on a deficit.

This sounds Dr. Philesque to me. Any info to back up these claims?

Just the basic laws of physics...

Dave198lbs

You can store probably 1000 calories worth more of glucose. That will weigh 2 lbs.

But that's about it.

uh...isn't 1000 calories less than a third of a pound?

WendyTerry420

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

What? No. Long cardio sessions build muscle endurance, not strength. And it's extremely difficult for a woman to build muscle in the first place. Near impossible eating on a deficit.

This sounds Dr. Philesque to me. Any info to back up these claims?

This is a good article explaining the different types of strength. Woman tend to build endurance muscles more easily, but there are different types of muscle fibers.

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/understanding-muscular-fitness.html

heybales

...but what about putting on muscle mass due to cardio exercise? I have to think that intense cardio builds muscle (which is GOOD) weight. One can add muscle eating at a deficit....

What? No. Long cardio sessions build muscle endurance, not strength. And it's extremely difficult for a woman to build muscle in the first place. Near impossible eating on a deficit.

This sounds Dr. Philesque to me. Any info to back up these claims?

Just the basic laws of physics...

Agreed.
You can go read almost any site dedicated to running, shoot, any endurance type sport, and you'll find comments that if you reach a performance stall and just can't pick up the pace faster for equal long runs, it's likely to be a lack of muscle. The muscle you got is tapped out, aerobic system is as good as it's going to get, so you gotta build muscle.
The solution recommended - lift weights or do sprint intervals for a while, which is basically the same thing.

heybales

You can store probably 1000 calories worth more of glucose. That will weigh 2 lbs.

But that's about it.

uh...isn't 1000 calories less than a third of a pound?

Well .... if it was the potential energy in fat I was talking about. But I said glucose.

But 1 gram of glucose stores with 2.7 grams of water. For 4 calories per gram, you can do the math.

bizco

Eating more calories than you burn makes you gain weight. That's all.

scottb81

Several adaptations from endurance training happen rather quickly that will increase weight, not increase fat. These include increased blood volume and increased storage of glycogen and water for energy.

WIthout knowing what you are doing it is impossible to say if this is the case for you or not.

thomasxaviersayles

Cardio will not cause you to gain weight, only eating will do that.