Too much cardio when strength training?

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anwest20
anwest20 Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So right now I do cardio for 1 hour everyday and weight train mon. Tues. Thurs. Fri. Is this too much cardio? Its circuit training with stuff like push-ups, burpees, lunges, and squats. I also use weights in most of the exersices. Is this kind of cardio ok to build muscle?
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Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    You won't build muscle unless you're lifting heavy. And, if you're eating at a deficit, you may gain some muslce in the beginning, this will even out, and you will simply be retaining muscle. Once you get past the "newbie" stage, you really only build significant muscle by eating at a surplus.
  • GlutesthatSalute
    GlutesthatSalute Posts: 460 Member
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    bump
  • legnarevocrednu
    legnarevocrednu Posts: 467 Member
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    I think an hour of just straight cardio is a bit much. You may make better use of your time if you just push yourself hard for 30 minutes. Weight training sounds good though. What type of cardio are you talking about though? I consider cardio anything that gets the heart rate up i.e. elliptical, jogging on treadmill, spinning, zumba etc. Those things you described I would not call cardio.
  • poodlepaws
    poodlepaws Posts: 269 Member
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    I was just told by my trainer NO cardio for more than 30 minutes a day! You are more or less undoing all the weight training work and muscle burns more calories.
  • mcfc4tony
    mcfc4tony Posts: 107 Member
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    You won't build muscle unless you're lifting heavy. And, if you're eating at a deficit, you may gain some muslce in the beginning, this will even out, and you will simply be retaining muscle. Once you get past the "newbie" stage, you really only build significant muscle by eating at a surplus.
    only build significant muscle by eating at a surplus. Do you mean eating more than MFP says you should eat eg cal + workout cal + more? :huh:
    Sorry if it's a bit of a dumb question :blushing:
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    To build muscle, the common wisdom says you must eat at a level greater than your total daily energy expenditure. You can build a lot of strength on a deficit, but not really bodybuild.
  • tassshhhaaa
    tassshhhaaa Posts: 29 Member
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    I was just told by my trainer NO cardio for more than 30 minutes a day! You are more or less undoing all the weight training work and muscle burns more calories.


    How do you "undo" torn muscle fibers, aka all the weight training work? I'm not being rude.. I really just don't understand what you mean?
  • mcfc4tony
    mcfc4tony Posts: 107 Member
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    Thanks :bigsmile:
  • kiekie
    kiekie Posts: 289 Member
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    bump - I'm interested in this too.
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
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    I usually do a short cardio warm up of 18-20 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5MPH with an incline and then do weight or strength training then do 25 minutes on upright bike and 15 minutes on ellipitical at the gym and do that every other time. The other times I do about 1 hour or so of just cardio and no weights or strength training. Usually 25 min on treadmill, 25 on upright bike and 15 or so on ellipitcal. This is what the trainer at the gym told me to do. Don't do alot of cardio before weights or weight machines but a short warm up to warm up your muscles and then go back after the weights and do as much cardio as you want and to do strength training every other day.
    Good luck!
  • anwest20
    anwest20 Posts: 17 Member
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    Ok. I lift heavy on my weight lifting days. My husband has one of those pulley system machines and we workout together. He likes to push me a little :) I have been using the dumbells during my "cardio" to try and not burn off the muscle. I never use a treadmill or anything like that but once a week when we go ride bikes for a few miles for date night :)
  • mcfc4tony
    mcfc4tony Posts: 107 Member
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    To build muscle, the common wisdom says you must eat at a level greater than your total daily energy expenditure. You can build a lot of strength on a deficit, but not really bodybuild.

    Thanks for the info :bigsmile:
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    This is an interesting question. I wonder if there are any scientific studies on how cardio affects strength training.
  • paxbfl
    paxbfl Posts: 391 Member
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    You still have 28 pounds to lose, so I would make that a priority for now. Do all the cardio you want! But keep lifting too! That will help you keep some of the muscle you currently have.

    When you get to your goal weight, then you can cut back on the cardio, eat more, and lift heavy to gain more muscle.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    An hour of burpees and lunges everyday sounds like a lot, but difficult to say without details. But what's more important is your current goal. I Are you trying to lose weight right now or build muscle? Your ticker shows that you have more weight to lose so if that's your priority, then you want to be in a calorie deficit. You won't be building much muscle, but keep lifting because it's going to improve how you look by a large margin.
  • michelle_00
    michelle_00 Posts: 38
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    Ok. I lift heavy on my weight lifting days. My husband has one of those pulley system machines and we workout together. He likes to push me a little :) I have been using the dumbells during my "cardio" to try and not burn off the muscle. I never use a treadmill or anything like that but once a week when we go ride bikes for a few miles for date night :)

    I'd be concerned that the muscles you work on your lifting days aren't getting enough rest if you are working them with lighter dumbbells, push ups etc, on non-lifting days. :smile:
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    There is no such thing as too much cardio if you are properly fueling your body with food.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    You won't build muscle unless you're lifting heavy. And, if you're eating at a deficit, you may gain some muslce in the beginning, this will even out, and you will simply be retaining muscle. Once you get past the "newbie" stage, you really only build significant muscle by eating at a surplus.
    only build significant muscle by eating at a surplus. Do you mean eating more than MFP says you should eat eg cal + workout cal + more? :huh:
    Sorry if it's a bit of a dumb question :blushing:

    Yeah, it's really hard to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. They're typically treated as seperate goals. If you want to build muscle, you have to consume more calories than you burn. If you want to lose fat you have to consume less calories than you burn. With building muscle also typically comes some fat gain.
  • DivaSlimsDown
    DivaSlimsDown Posts: 28
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    using your own body weight is definitely a form of strength training but you do want to add in some weights. lifting heavy is an option or use smaller weights but do more reps.
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
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    No, it's not too much. It's not necessary, but if you're comfortable with it there is no reason to stop.

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