Am I going to lose muscle mass due to too much cardio??

debzv
debzv Posts: 23
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there,

I am an avid gym goer, I absolutely love exercise. I want to build a stronger, leaner physique but I tend to always choose cardio over weights. I do a good weights session once or twice a week, but I do lots of cardio. I am battling to build muscle (I know this also has to do with what I eat of course) and am concerned that I am doing too much cardio.
We recently got a puppy and now I am adding on even more cardio with all the walking. Is this going to make me lose more muscle mass because I am doing even more cardio than I was before???

Typical week:
Wednesday: 2 hours cardio: Katabox and Zumba (1000 cal burn) & 45 min walk dog 200cal burn
Thursday: 1 hour weights and treadmill: approx. 400 cal burn & 45 min walk dog 200cal burn
Friday: 75min Run 7km: approx. 600 cal burn & 45 min walk dog 200cal burn
Sat: 1 hour Weights and treadmill: approx. 400 cal burn & 45 min walk dog 200cal burn
Sun: 50 min Sprinting intervals: approx. 400 cla burn & 45 min walk dog 200cal burn
Monday: 1 hour Cardio gym class approx. 450 cal burn

Your opinions please!!!!

I am 5’4, weigh 55.9kg, my daily net goal is 1340 calories.

Thanks :)

Replies

  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Here's my opinion - you're not eating enough. No way you will build muscle eating at that type of deficit and burning that many calories exercising. You're 5'4" around 120 pounds? You are at a healthy weight for your body. Another reason you need to up your calories intake and protein intake. Please tell me you're at least eating back your exercise calories.

    Eat more, less cardio, more weights.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    Cardio won't make you lose muscle. At least not until you're doing marathon style training. However, it can impede muscle growth simply by using up calories that your body needs to build muscle. To put on muscle you need to be in a calorie surplus. If you're burning 5,000 calories a week from cardio you'll need to eat all of that back and then some to get to a surplus and start putting on muscle.

    Also, if you're only netting 1340 calories, I assume you're trying to lose weight. You will lose some muscle mass while losing weight but generally it's pretty small unless you're running a huge deficit and not doing any strength training. Average weight loss is about 75% fat and 25% muscle, though this can be cut to about 90/10 if you eat high protein, keep a moderate deficit and do some weight training (high intensity at least once per week per muscle group).
  • debzv
    debzv Posts: 23
    Great, thanks guys.

    Yes I eat back ALL my exercise calories!!!

    Yes I am at a healthy weight for my height, but I want to lose 1-2kgs. My biggest focus is to lower my fat percentage and build more muscle.

    I am going to focus on making sure I eat enough protein, and try to do weights 3 times per week.
  • needtoloseweight0202
    needtoloseweight0202 Posts: 14
    I lost about 5 lbs this past month and now i'm down to 137. Would it be possible to lost another 20 lbs by February if I keep my calorie intake goal to 1200 a day and do 2-2.5 hours of cardio 5 times a week?

    I've been doing 2-2.5 hrs of cardio 4-5 times a week right now.

    If you have other suggestions, please let me know.

    Thanks!
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    You'll never gain muscle doing 8 hours of cardio a week and 1 hour of weights. If you truly want to gain mass, you need to eat a lot more, lift a lot more, and cut the cardio by a significant amount.
  • Tricep_A_Tops
    Tricep_A_Tops Posts: 319
    You'll never gain muscle doing 8 hours of cardio a week and 1 hour of weights. If you truly want to gain mass, you need to eat a lot more, lift a lot more, and cut the cardio by a significant amount.
    This !

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