How much is too much?? CARDIO!

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RippedRunner
RippedRunner Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am trying to build muscle, but am thinking my cardio is eating up all my hard work!! How can I build and cut at the same time? Am I doing too much cardio?? (3 bootcamps per week (45 minutes), and an occasional session of Insanity once or twice a week) I lift 5 days a week as well!
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  • kingkoopaluv
    kingkoopaluv Posts: 147 Member
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    bump!
  • PeterrJames
    PeterrJames Posts: 50
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    I think cardio after lifting is more beneficial to fat loss rather than eating into muscle so make sure you do cardio after.. i also think around 30 mins after each session is fine :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I am trying to build muscle, but am thinking my cardio is eating up all my hard work!! How can I build and cut at the same time? Am I doing too much cardio?? (3 bootcamps per week (45 minutes), and an occasional session of Insanity once or twice a week) I lift 5 days a week as well!

    you cant build and cut at the same time. you either eat at a calorie excess to bulk or a calorie deficit to cut.

    you dont NEED to do cardio for either of these.
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    Three sessions of boot camp a week doesn't sound like too much Cardio.....

    However, lifting five times a week, depending on what you are doing maybe too much, because you may not be giving your muscles enough time to rest and regroup, it depends on what you are doing and if you are working the same muscles on those five days
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
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    you cant build and cut at the same time. you either eat at a calorie excess to bulk or a calorie deficit to cut.

    you dont NEED to do cardio for either of these.

    Boom

    /thread
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Sounds like a lot of cardio to me and just too much exercise in general

    My trainer told me I should do no more than two 30 minute sessions of cardio a week especially because I'm sore from weight training 3 times a week. I often combine cardio and weight training if I can, always doing cardio after lifting.

    And you also need to be sure to eat back you exercise calories ALL of them, when doing cardio if you're hoping to add muscle. My trainer wants me on a surplus, right now I'm getting rid of 5 pounds of holiday weight then I'm going to switch to maintenance then I'll work my way up to a surplus

    Basically you need to bulk before you can cut. Other option is to figure out your TDEE and go minus 10 percent. That would probably work as well, it would have you stop eating your exercise calories back but it would account for all the cardio you do but you'd be eating more.

    PS- Are you on a split routine? It might be easier to have a full body routine you do 3 days a week. It's less time consuming and gives your muscles more time to heal. It sounds to me like you're doing too much.
  • baldzach
    baldzach Posts: 1,841 Member
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    Cardio shouldn't burn much muscle if you're eating right. Make sure you're getting carbs and plenty of protein, and if you're really worried about it, use caffeine before your cardio (a cup of coffee or equivalent) to help metabolize fat.
  • Lilyyy7
    Lilyyy7 Posts: 41
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    I think cardio after lifting is more beneficial to fat loss rather than eating into muscle so make sure you do cardio after.. i also think around 30 mins after each session is fine :)

    Yes, muscle training before cardio! I do 60 minutes of cardio 5 times a week, and do muscle training three times a week before the cardio. It may be excessive but I LOVE running so I will not stop. Lol.
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
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    How can I build and cut at the same time?

    You can't...you either cut the fat with a deficit in calories or build muscle with a surplus. Heavy lifting helps both. Cardio, whilst good for heart fitness/strength is not necessary for either...it helps to create a slightly bigger deficit, but can make you hungrier in the process, if you do too much. How much is too much, I have no idea...to each their own? I can lift heavy 3 times per week and cycle everywhere and run a few miles per week. Depends on how much energy you have left in the tank?!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Use your cardio for overall heart health and general fitness...it doesn't have to be manic marathon sessions of cardio, I do a good HIIT 3x weekly for 30 minutes and that's it...that's all the heart really needs. I focus more on lifting...I do 3x weekly heavy compound lifts to alsmost fail; at most I might take a 30-45 minute walk on my lift days. Use your diet to control calories/weight and exercise for fitness, heart health, strength, and body composition.

    The only way I would be doing silly amounts of cardio is if I was training for a specific endurance event that would require such intense cardio training.
  • dsmrunner
    dsmrunner Posts: 15 Member
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    How can I build and cut at the same time?

    You can't...you either cut the fat with a deficit in calories or build muscle with a surplus. Heavy lifting helps both. Cardio, whilst good for heart fitness/strength is not necessary for either...it helps to create a slightly bigger deficit, but can make you hungrier in the process, if you do too much. How much is too much, I have no idea...to each their own? I can lift heavy 3 times per week and cycle everywhere and run a few miles per week. Depends on how much energy you have left in the tank?!


    ^^^^^^ THIS.

    I'm in the exact same situation ... my trainer is having me add mass first, then we'll cut. While I'm adding mass I've cut way back on the cardio (still do some to keep me happy), but it's pretty much all circuit training / bootcamps and weights right now, plus a big calorie intake and protein bump.

    Speaking of, Dymatize ISO 100 is a great supplement for protein. 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 0 fat, 25g protein.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
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    I've been doing tons of cardio lately, triathlon training. It's making me hungrier than ever. Pretty sure there won't be any losing with as much as I'm eating, but I don't really care right now. Building up that base is more important to me right now.
  • jfang86
    jfang86 Posts: 19
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    Depends on what you're doing. I do combined running + strength 5x a week because I'm on both a running program and a lifting program. I am both losing (overall) weight (although very, very slightly) and building muscle (getting stronger and losing inches) on this program. Since I am not deliberately eating to promote weight loss, the weight loss has been sort of incidental.

    You may not be building a lot of muscle because your program may not be right. Could you post what you're doing in addition to the bootcamp? That will help answer the question as to whether or not you're doing too much and/or doing the right stuff.
  • nml2011
    nml2011 Posts: 156 Member
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    Firstly, if you are a novice lifter you don't need a 5 day (probably a body part split) routine, you would get much better results from a 3x a week full body program... such as stronglifts.

    Secondly, if you want to gain muscle then eat at maintenence+ and cut down to two cardio sessions a week of any type.

    Get plenty of rest.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    I am doing a 3x a week full body program and then do my C25K run afterwards. I always do a 10 minute warm up/cool down and stretch session before and after as well.
  • dfquigley
    dfquigley Posts: 186
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    Ok, there is a significant distinction to make here.

    You can build strength while losing weight. Significantly.

    If you are trying to get as much mass as possible, then bulking/cutting cycles end up working better, but this doesn't mean that you can't get stronger while losing excess weight.

    I've lost 60 pounds now, and I've never "bulked" and I am SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than I used to be.

    I couldn't do a single pull-up, now I can do 10.
    Weights and reps have gone way up.
    Lats are getting pretty damn huge.

    I do a TON of cardio. Not just cause I wanted to lose weight, but also because I am a cyclist turning triathlete.

    If you are doing lower intensity cardio and using a larger proportion of fat stores for fuel, then you decrease the risk of running your glycogen down and then catabolizing muscle as a result.

    HIIT can be good for short periods, but if you're doing a lot of cardio, keep it easy!!

    Keep your protein levels up, and don't spike your blood sugar which blocks fat burning, and you'll be fine :p
  • breyn2004
    breyn2004 Posts: 162 Member
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    Love this post -I'm trying to understand all of this too. I was lifting 6 days/week AND doing 30+ minutes of cardio on those days. After talking with a trainer in general, he told me to cut back on the cardio if I wanted to build muscle. So I did. I focused mostly on lifting 5 days a week since about October and still I am. I've started running again, just a couple of days a week. I suppose I've been bulking -maybe I should start cutting? There's so much to learn and understand. If anyone has some literature to recommend, I'm interested. Thank you in advance.
  • jfang86
    jfang86 Posts: 19
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    If you are trying to get as much mass as possible, then bulking/cutting cycles end up working better, but this doesn't mean that you can't get stronger while losing excess weight.

    This
  • Reza151
    Reza151 Posts: 517 Member
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    you cant build and cut at the same time. you either eat at a calorie excess to bulk or a calorie deficit to cut.

    you dont NEED to do cardio for either of these.

    Boom

    /thread

    You can't bulk up while cutting but you can definitely tone. Or so says the director of personal training at my gym. It will take longer though, rather than trying to focus on losing weight (fat) first and THEN bulking since building muscle does require more fat and protein
  • RippedRunner
    RippedRunner Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for all of the thoughts...I understand the "can't bulk while you cut" and know the distinction between the two, so maybe I posted my question wrong.

    How do we get our bodyfat percentages down while still maintaining or growing lean muscle tissue?

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