whats 'wrong' with too much cardio?

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  • addreonnaseger
    addreonnaseger Posts: 205
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    I only do Cardio at this point (I'm planning on getting into lifting soon) but I've noticed that even just doing Cardio that I'm gaining muscle. I have a stationary bike (which works well for my legs, obviously but also my arms--which I just thought was the most brilliant idea I've ever concocted.) And when I up the resistance, I have to use my muscles more. Which only leads me to believe that while I am doing Cardio (getting my heart rate up, more rapid breathing--yada yada) I am also using my muscles, which obviously means that they're not just going to wither away. Will I be perfectly toned as I lose weight? Probably not. Will I still have some semblance of muscle mass? Definitely.
    you're probably not gaining muscle but burning the fat that hides your existing muscles.

    Lol. You're probably right. I just said "gain" because I can feel and see them again...which is a gain for me! xD
  • mandypizzle
    mandypizzle Posts: 633 Member
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    Lifting will help you lose the fat. I add in running with lifting because I love running. Just do what you enjoy and watch what you put in your mouth.
  • Isakizza
    Isakizza Posts: 754 Member
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    I LOVE CARDIO!

    Recently decided to try heavy lifting as well only cuz I want a well rounded workout. I personally think you need to DO WHAT YOU LOVE. If it's lifting, lift! Cardio... go for it!

    We're all different beings and don't have to all do what everyone else is doing, just do something. I personally have an idea of how I want my body to look, and I cannot get that without lifting. So now, with my cardio, I'm also hitting the weight room.

    To each it's own :happy:

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  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
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    Cardio - cardiovascular. so once you have the minimal muscularture to do the actual MOVEMENT- all you are training is your cardiovascular system- you know- your heart and lungs.

    you are training 0 muscles.

    Am I mis-interrupting this? How is it that no muscles are trained? I train for my sport, we do noting but HITT style training and my whole team has built legs.
  • TLow97
    TLow97 Posts: 55
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    Cardio is pretty much what I have time for. At the gym, I don't have time to wait around for someone to get off a weight set just to see someone new on it the next time I come back. At this point, it's whatever gets it in. Chances are I'll incorporate some body weight resistance exercies (push-ups, crunches, and the like) but this is life for now.
  • SoullessGinger1
    SoullessGinger1 Posts: 8 Member
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    Just an FYI...muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle and one pound of fat both are one pound. :smile:

    True but the muscle is smaller :flowerforyou:
  • SaraBrown12
    SaraBrown12 Posts: 277 Member
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    My understanding is. Yes muscle weighs more then fat so chuck scales out of the window. If you have a high bf% still and feel "skinny fat" then yeah sure hit the cardio to burn up the calories but lift weights aswell. You supposedly wont build muscle but by training them hopefully you wont lose any either. If you lose muscle mass in effect it slows your body down because more muscle means your body burns more calories.

    I am on 1200 cals and i have gained muscle since i started lifting and my gawd have i dropped inches. I am also still doing cardio as i still have fatty areas i need to work on, plus i would die if i couldn't do cardio, its like air to me now. My bf% is dropping, my muscle mass is growing, losing inches at a rapid rate and can see the difference by way of toning up and dropping clothes size's. But the scale is not moving a vast amount. My scale is a bit redundant now and the tape measure is my new best friend. Tho apparently i am a freak of nature as its not possible to build muscle while on low calories so don't be upset if you don't gain muscle, I believe my luck in building muscle lies in my protien levels, however who knows.....

    There is nothing negative about lifting weights its just adds an extra element to your current work outs. Not to mention a bit of variation. Then you feel the rush of knowing your stronger and that proud feeling. When i started my journey i could not lift my own weight off the floor to do a basic plank, Now i can do all sorts, there is not an exercise that i have not been able to do in the gym. That is the BEST feeling i promise you, way way better then dropping lb's. I recommend the new rules of lifting for women book. Its a great read and it also explains that you will not end up looking like "the hulk" by lifting and the science behind it.

    Good luck on your journey however you go forward xxx
  • SaraBrown12
    SaraBrown12 Posts: 277 Member
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    Cardio is pretty much what I have time for. At the gym, I don't have time to wait around for someone to get off a weight set just to see someone new on it the next time I come back. At this point, it's whatever gets it in. Chances are I'll incorporate some body weight resistance exercies (push-ups, crunches, and the like) but this is life for now.

    Buy yourself a kettle bell, a decent weight. Not ideal if your wanting to go down the "heavy" route but i have a 12kg that i use at home when i cannot get to the gym. lifting 12kg is better then nothing, Still gets your muscles working.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    how about

    lift heavy weights for strength

    lift heavy weights fast for cardio

    Thoughts?

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  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
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    If weight resistance is what builds muscle then exercise which uses muscles will do more than just increase your heart/lung capacity. Zumba has had a great effect on my legs in particular, and my toning DVDs have also helped.

    (To weight lifters who insist toning does not exist :tongue: I was weak as well as overweight and now my muscles are bigger and stronger.

    I think what they are saying is that cardio at some point will stop building muscle. So if a person has a hard time losing those extra pounds. Then turning to a weight exercise will build more muscle. More muscle equals more calories burned..
  • MariahRea
    MariahRea Posts: 24 Member
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    You should break it up and do cardio and weights. The weights will help you firm up instead of having the flab from the weight you have lost. Don't look at the scale. Take measurements and pictures and track your progress that way. Also keep food journals and workout journals, it really helps. You can do cardio and weights in the same day with a 3 day split. Say 1 hr cardio daily with chest, back and abs day 1, 1 hr cardio with shoulders, biceps and triceps day 2, and 1 hr cardio with legs and butt day 3 then rest. Or you can go 6 days, do 1 hour cardio day 1, then day 2 lift and do chest, back and abs, day 3 is 1 hr cardio, day 4 is lifting doing shoulders, biceps and triceps, day 5 is 1 hr cardio, day 6 is lifting and doing a hard leg and butt day, then rest on day 7. I have found I don't have the energy to do the 6 day split so I am doing the 3 day one and get better workouts and have more energy for them. It's all up to you, but doing both is the key with watching your diet. There's no reason to workout to look good if what you are eating isn't good also.
  • enewsome2
    enewsome2 Posts: 355 Member
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    Someone on reddit explained it really well the other day.

    Think of your body as a car. Cardio is like driving your car really fast, you will go through gas really quickly, but it will not change your engine. Weight training is like upgrading to a more efficient engine. Muscle burns fat with no effort.
    The guy on reddit doesn't know what he is talking about. Cardiovascular training, done properly, does change the engine because it transforms how your body processes glycogen and fat to create energy.

    As for "Muscle burns fat with no effort", well so does fat.

    Well. Crap. It was really well accepted by the people on the fitness boards, and made it to bestof.

    But, as we know, misinfo can fly around the internet like crazy.

    And I do agree with the idea of the "lifting cult". I love my running and it's really helped me lose weight, because I like it. I don't have anything against lifters, but when people scoff at me for avoiding the weight room, I don't like it so much. (At least I'm off the couch!)

    Have you seen any "legit" articles discussing cardio v weights? I would like to do more research.
    My opinion is that the whole cardio vs. weights argument is stupid because there is no versus, they do two entirely different things. Additionally, the only people advancing the argument are weightlifters using wholly specious arguments and internet sites trying to sell something. For some reason, many here believe this stuff for no good reason other than that it sounds good. I guess that ignorance is bliss.

    The stupidest argument is that if you don't lift weights your muscles are all going to whither away while your body preserves all its fat.
    #1 - The body doesn't process energy that way. and
    #2 - That doesn't even pass the logic test. The body will preserve the muscle needed to meet the body's activity level. If the activity level is not reduced then why would it shed muscle?

    The only way someone is going to lose muscle given a sustained activity level is if they starve themselves. But that is a diet problem, not a cardio problem.

    This article references some studies on the subject: http://scoobysworkshop.com/does-cardio-burn-muscle/

    I will check that out.

    I'm suprised I haven't seen it before, as I am a big scooby fan. Thanks for your help!
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    You need to have a low bodyfat in order for muscle to be lost when doing cardio. Otherwise, you can do as much as you want.
  • lucyhross
    lucyhross Posts: 87 Member
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    hi everyone,

    thanks soo much for your replies. it really has sorted all my confusion out!

    sooo... if i was to change up my exercise, how would this sound?

    -run 2/3 a week (but as someone mentioned (sorry cant remember the name!) change it up so run hills for one and sprint intervals another)
    - ride 2 a week
    - ive also recently got quite into the FitnessBlender workouts on youtube as i don't have access to weights or a gym. Could i do some of their body strength training 2/3 times a week (i also found i quite liked the body strength training and cardio mix ones too) they vary from 10mins - 30mins+ each session- would that be enough?

    and then keep within my calorie goal of 1500-1600.

    does that sound ok? or would anyone suggest anything else?

    thank you!

    All this info has been fab, ok .. deep breath in..... im going to start weight training officially (planks, push ups... thats still weight training right?

    could anyone check out my exercise plan, i think i want to get it okayed before i start. x
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    Don't get stuck on the number the scale sez. If 150 fits in a size 4 who cares if it is a 150. People who lift look better in their clothes. Ditch the scale and get a very tight pair of jeans to measure your progress.

    I really like this idea of the jeans. I often think my scale is broken because I just cant fathom why I havent lost when I fit in to certain items of clothing better.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    ...using your existing fat and convert it to muscle, i like that too, eating protein supplements is a bit of a no no for me. as i want tight lean muscle with good definition and minor bulk, not watery mass that deflats after a few weeks away from the gym...
    Your plan is to not eat protein and convert your fat into muscle. Are you a Wizard or a Warlock?
  • jessykab74
    jessykab74 Posts: 167 Member
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    My understanding is. Yes muscle weighs more then fat so chuck scales out of the window. If you have a high bf% still and feel "skinny fat" then yeah sure hit the cardio to burn up the calories but lift weights aswell. You supposedly wont build muscle but by training them hopefully you wont lose any either. If you lose muscle mass in effect it slows your body down because more muscle means your body burns more calories.

    I am on 1200 cals and i have gained muscle since i started lifting and my gawd have i dropped inches. I am also still doing cardio as i still have fatty areas i need to work on, plus i would die if i couldn't do cardio, its like air to me now. My bf% is dropping, my muscle mass is growing, losing inches at a rapid rate and can see the difference by way of toning up and dropping clothes size's. But the scale is not moving a vast amount. My scale is a bit redundant now and the tape measure is my new best friend. Tho apparently i am a freak of nature as its not possible to build muscle while on low calories so don't be upset if you don't gain muscle, I believe my luck in building muscle lies in my protien levels, however who knows.....

    There is nothing negative about lifting weights its just adds an extra element to your current work outs. Not to mention a bit of variation. Then you feel the rush of knowing your stronger and that proud feeling. When i started my journey i could not lift my own weight off the floor to do a basic plank, Now i can do all sorts, there is not an exercise that i have not been able to do in the gym. That is the BEST feeling i promise you, way way better then dropping lb's. I recommend the new rules of lifting for women book. Its a great read and it also explains that you will not end up looking like "the hulk" by lifting and the science behind it.

    Good luck on your journey however you go forward xxx

    Agree!! I started lifting heavy 10 weeks ago. I did my current results last night and I only lost 7lbs but gained 7lbs of muscle. I went down 8 inches all over! I also do cardio, but I love lifting! These results also would not have happened if I would have not changed my food also. What I do is 20-30 min cardio along with lifting weights for 30-40 min. About once a week I do straight cardio with no weights.
  • affacat
    affacat Posts: 216 Member
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    i definitely gained considerable muscle while losing weight. was overdoing cardio, though (possibly still am). cut time down to 1/3 of previous, increased intensity considerably. still doing strength m/w/f. i hit a weight loss wall for about a month at 150, weighed in at 148 this morning so past that wall.

    to the poster who said they don't have time to wait at the gym but mentioned push-ups, etc. do it! m/w/f i wake up and do 4 max sets of pushups to start the day while getting ready. that alone will eventually get you to the point where you want to do more strength training soon enough (i also do other stuff later in the day m/w/f)

    now i just need to invest in a kettlebell.
  • Meganisaface
    Meganisaface Posts: 20 Member
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    YES! Do more cardio! Cardio is great for weight loss. your original idea is great! Just always keep your cardio in the mix! I do cardio EVERY day. It's been working out great for me. I'm to the point that I have began a bit of weight lifting to tone.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
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    YES! Do more cardio! Cardio is great for weight loss. your original idea is great! Just always keep your cardio in the mix! I do cardio EVERY day. It's been working out great for me. I'm to the point that I have began a bit of weight lifting to tone.
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