Cardio help build muscle?

standoug888

When i first startes loosing weight i weighed 319 now im down to 232 i want to get down to 220 im 6ft btw i also wanna start tighting my stomach up and gain muscle definition will too much cardio make it hard to get definition?

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Excessive cardio hurts muscle growth. A little is OK, but if you're running a million miles a day have fun with your no gains. If you want to build muscle you need to lift. If you want your existing muscles to be more defined then you need to lose more weight.

heybales

Cardio won't help build muscle except at the very beginning coming from doing nothing, and moving to do something.

That's about the only time you are placing a load on your system that says more muscle please.

After that, it's a matter of the load being endurance, so the load on your system says longer please, which doesn't require much muscle. Just storing more glucose, with good training learning to burn higher ratio of fat at given intensities, getting oxygen to the muscle better, ect.

Marathoners and ultra don't have big muscles because it's not needed.
Sprinters though, besides actually working with weights, are training with heavy loads on their system.

Cardio ain't going to help define anything except as it helps burn fat off, and as mentioned sadly, risk of muscle mass too if you do things wrong. And that's assuming there is muscle under the fat in the first place.

But if you have a lot to lose, you are in unique position to actually lift and gain some muscle mass as newbie.
That ability goes away later as you have less to lose.

Besides, lifting burns less calories, so use MFP estimate which is small and correct, so you won't be eating at much. And it'll help retain existing muscle mass, and help with the deficit where it should be, diet.

standoug888

Cardio won't help build muscle except at the very beginning coming from doing nothing, and moving to do something.

That's about the only time you are placing a load on your system that says more muscle please.

After that, it's a matter of the load being endurance, so the load on your system says longer please, which doesn't require much muscle. Just storing more glucose, with good training learning to burn higher ratio of fat at given intensities, getting oxygen to the muscle better, ect.

Marathoners and ultra don't have big muscles because it's not needed.
Sprinters though, besides actually working with weights, are training with heavy loads on their system.

Cardio ain't going to help define anything except as it helps burn fat off, and as mentioned sadly, risk of muscle mass too if you do things wrong. And that's assuming there is muscle under the fat in the first place.

But if you have a lot to lose, you are in unique position to actually lift and gain some muscle mass as newbie.
That ability goes away later as you have less to lose.

Besides, lifting burns less calories, so use MFP estimate which is small and correct, so you won't be eating at much. And it'll help retain existing muscle mass, and help with the deficit where it should be, diet.

standoug888

Do you think a mile a day is ok? Or should i doo more

WinnerVictorious

Do you think a mile a day is ok? Or should i doo more

stop the cardio
eat at a modest surplus
lift weights

"skinny fat" is a disliked term on this site, but lacking a better one, what you're seeing in the mirror and what you're trying to fix is precisely what is meant by that term. too much cardio and too big a deficit for too long will lead to weight loss, but it won't all be fat. you now need to build back some of that muscle you lost and give your skin some time to snap back. this is just a reality for most people losing 100+ lbs.

MiloBloom83

I have to disagree to some extent with the other posters based only on my own experiences. I do only cardio, i don't lift. I run and cycle, and have had some decent muscle gains over the last 2+ years of doing this. I attribute my fat losses to running and my strength gains to cycling, mostly due to climbing hills. I ride a lot of hills, and my legs show it(i have maybe added 5 pounds of muscle over the last 2 years). I also eat back my exercise calories. I eat a lot, actually, especially when i ride in excess of 30 miles in a day.
So yeah, I've went from 550's to 560's because i need extra room in the thighs and "seat" from cycling.

BobOki

Do you think a mile a day is ok? Or should i doo more

stop the cardio
eat at a modest surplus
lift weights

"skinny fat" is a disliked term on this site, but lacking a better one, what you're seeing in the mirror and what you're trying to fix is precisely what is meant by that term. too much cardio and too big a deficit for too long will lead to weight loss, but it won't all be fat. you now need to build back some of that muscle you lost and give your skin some time to snap back. this is just a reality for most people losing 100+ lbs.

Great advice right here.

billsica

I lift and run. A mile isn't going to make or break you.

my short runs are 3 - 6 miles. Long run 6 - 12 miles. I have a long way yo go before I would become skinny fat. That being said Like Milo, my legs are ROCK solid. My lifting gains is squats are pretty steep in comparison to my chest. Part of that could very well being running for 3 years before starting to lift.

Do one or both, but whatever you do, get in on it now. . . today!

couch 25k, stronglifts .. its like having your cake, and eating it too. <-- I'm going to trade mark that.

TylerJ76

Do you think a mile a day is ok? Or should i doo more

stop the cardio
eat at a modest surplus
lift weights

"skinny fat" is a disliked term on this site, but lacking a better one, what you're seeing in the mirror and what you're trying to fix is precisely what is meant by that term. too much cardio and too big a deficit for too long will lead to weight loss, but it won't all be fat. you now need to build back some of that muscle you lost and give your skin some time to snap back. this is just a reality for most people losing 100+ lbs.

Why stop the cardio?
What if you like doing cardio?

whierd

There is no reason to stop cardio. Cardio is great for improving cardiovascular health.

RGv2

I have to disagree to some extent with the other posters based only on my own experiences. I do only cardio, i don't lift. I run and cycle, and have had some decent muscle gains over the last 2+ years of doing this. I attribute my fat losses to running and my strength gains to cycling, mostly due to climbing hills. I ride a lot of hills, and my legs show it(i have maybe added 5 pounds of muscle over the last 2 years). I also eat back my exercise calories. I eat a lot, actually, especially when i ride in excess of 30 miles in a day.
So yeah, I've went from 550's to 560's because i need extra room in the thighs and "seat" from cycling.

A little misleading. Cycling hills, running hills, and sprinting is much like a resistance exercise more than a cardio exercise...just say'n.

WinnerVictorious

Do you think a mile a day is ok? Or should i doo more

stop the cardio
eat at a modest surplus
lift weights

"skinny fat" is a disliked term on this site, but lacking a better one, what you're seeing in the mirror and what you're trying to fix is precisely what is meant by that term. too much cardio and too big a deficit for too long will lead to weight loss, but it won't all be fat. you now need to build back some of that muscle you lost and give your skin some time to snap back. this is just a reality for most people losing 100+ lbs.

Why stop the cardio?
What if you like doing cardio?

because his worry is his loose skin now, not continued weight loss (for the time being). if he does cardio, he'll just have to increase his food intake to offset that while trying to build back some muscle. better to spend his exercise time focusing on muscle gain now, and then down the road get back to the cardio when he resumes cutting his BF%.