Will running cause muscle loss?
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I also do both. I also mix up HIIT sprints with static running and hills.
I don't profess to know as much as many on here but from my own experience I've not lost any muscle mass but have notice it become more toned with various workouts and weights.
Op is that what you are after ie not losing the definition you have?0 -
As a general rule, runners are not muscular people. Yes, running does burn muscle as well as fat. It's not really a healthy exercise. In fact, studies show it's dangerous. Personally I think anything in moderation is ok. But science does not agree with me where running is concerned.
It's good for your brain. And running is 100% better for you then sitting on the couch. Hmph!
That's why all those Olympic and professional marathoners are dropping like flies. Not to mention the thousands of amateurs suffering and dying. If you could link to the news reports of that and the scientific evidence of causation or even correlation that would be great.
Oh, wait, none of that ever happened. Never mind.
Running is good for my brain ,specifically my mental health. It is a stress reliever for me and a confidence booster. I'm no ultra runner. I maybe log 15-20 miles a week. I'm in great cardiovascular shape, my cholesterol and blood pressure have all improved, and I look good. Too much of anything is bad for you. The marathoners that die often have underlying heart conditions, which is why seeing your doctor is important before you start exercising. If you're too scared too run, it's no big deal. No need to be a fear mongering a**hole.0 -
OP:
Why do you want to cut your weight training down to once a week? Why can't you lift AND run? I run 4 days a week (5th day is a different cardio) for 30 min. which is 3.1 - 3.5 miles depending on the type of run I'm doing and I lift every day.
Is there a specific reason as to why you don't want to do both?
I'm cutting weight training down to once a week because I don't want to get my thigh muscles to get any bigger. I'm pretty much still a noob with lifting because I just started 3 months ago. Would it get bigger if I continue to lift 3 times a week? I was assuming if I only do it once a week I'll just be able to maintain it. I want to slim down first instead of getting bulkier and once I become slimmer I'll go back to increasing my lifting days to 3 times a week again.0 -
My point was a physique like Ronaldo's (the large upper body he has) doesn't come from 90% cardiovascular work.
That's a fair point (re: his upper body.)
Given CR's modelling work I am pretty sure he is doing a little more than the usual football specific training...
Cool, I was just trying to point out their overall physique was from far more than running (which I do quite a bit of too).0 -
...but 95% of the game is played at a sprint pace
The game may be played like that, but individual players do not move like that. There have been plenty of studies done with GPS planted on players and with frame-by-frame video analysis. The distribution of movement for a typical player over the 90 minutes of game time is roughly 6:3:1, walking:jogging:"sprinting".
Which should be obvious, because even Usain Bolt can't do "95%" of a 90 minute activity at a sprinting pace.0 -
My point was a physique like Ronaldo's (the large upper body he has) doesn't come from 90% cardiovascular work.
Ronaldo is 6'1", 165 pounds with 13" biceps - he doesn't have a "large upper body". Crimminy, I'm the same height and have more LBM than he has total BW.
What he has is a supremely conditioned body.0 -
man there is a ton of good knowledge being thrown around here
but there will always be a biast to what goals they are after. Bodybuilder types like myself are usually, against running for the most part. Some of it comes from fear of loosing that hard work others come from studies but like all things, studies can be dis proven. You got your body builders that will choke you out if you mention the word run. Then you have those that wish to have a good physique. To them they are usually indifferent towards running. Mostly cause they are not trying to optimize either side of the curve of strength physique vs cardio physique and they can still get great results from this decision and build muscle as well. All in all it is what works best for you that is the real stickler here and what you want your reflection to look like.0 -
My point was a physique like Ronaldo's (the large upper body he has) doesn't come from 90% cardiovascular work.
Ronaldo is 6'1", 165 pounds with 13" biceps - he doesn't have a "large upper body". Crimminy, I'm the same height and have more LBM than he has total BW.
What he has is a supremely conditioned body.
To be fair, can you remember what he looked like when he first joined Man U?
He has specifically trained for that look over and above just the needs of his football training.0 -
All in all it is what works best for you that is the real stickler here and what you want your reflection to look like.
Cheers to that!
:drinker:0 -
My point was a physique like Ronaldo's (the large upper body he has) doesn't come from 90% cardiovascular work.
Ronaldo is 6'1", 165 pounds with 13" biceps - he doesn't have a "large upper body". Crimminy, I'm the same height and have more LBM than he has total BW.
What he has is a supremely conditioned body.
To be fair, can you remember what he looked like when he first joined Man U?
He has specifically trained for that look over and above just the needs of his football training.
^^bing.0 -
OP, I suggest you peruse the web and look at images of elite sprinters versus elite distance runners(especially women) . The 2 things are totally different and produce a much different body. Most studies show that too much long slow distance produces the opposite effect you want from bodybuilding or strength training.0
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To be fair, can you remember what he looked like when he first joined Man U?
I sure can - he was a barely 18 years old kid, not even a fully grown adult yet. If he had done nothing but grown older, he would have ended up looking more "manly" than when he started.0 -
...but 95% of the game is played at a sprint pace
The game may be played like that, but individual players do not move like that. There have been plenty of studies done with GPS planted on players and with frame-by-frame video analysis. The distribution of movement for a typical player over the 90 minutes of game time is roughly 6:3:1, walking:jogging:"sprinting".
Which should be obvious, because even Usain Bolt can't do "95%" of a 90 minute activity at a sprinting pace.
Wow....no kidding? You mean I can't sprint for 90 minutes. I don't know what I would have done if you had not pointed that out.
When you're actually playing, you're sprinting to get in position, attack goal, make a run down the line, etc... The rest of the game is a walk or a jog. So yes, 95% of the actual game is at a sprint, but whateve's. There is far more training to soccer than going for a 5 mile run.0 -
OP, I suggest you peruse the web and look at images of elite sprinters versus elite distance runners(especially women) . The 2 things are totally different and produce a much different body. Most studies show that too much long slow distance produces the opposite effect you want from bodybuilding or strength training.
I keep looking at these pictures but somehow all my despite distance running I don't look like an elite distance runner.0 -
To be fair, can you remember what he looked like when he first joined Man U?
I sure can - he was a barely 18 years old kid, not even a fully grown adult yet. If he had done nothing but grown older, he would have ended up looking more "manly" than when he started.
True, but not to that degree in my opinion.
Look at his lats - that is simply not a case of "growing up". He would have ended up looking like Peter Crouch if he hadn't been careful
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Wow there is some serious crap being thrown around in this thread!
Bumping to finish reading/laughing :laugh:
To the OP.....creating the deficit is what will help you achieve your goals. Running is a great way to help you achieve that deficit but with that being said, lifting is also important.....including upper body lifting. At the end of the day though, you should be doing activity you enjoy and keeping your nutrition in check.
Good luck
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Errrrr, I extend my apologies to the OP for spamming her thread a bit.
Football makes men a bit strange at time 0 -
True, but not to that degree in my opinion.
Look at his lats - that is simply not a case of "growing up". He would have ended up looking like Peter Crouch if he hadn't been careful
Peter Crouch :laugh: now there's an image best forgotten.
I hear ya, but we're still talking about a very trim, slender, and (compared to lifters) relatively unmuscular body here. At 165 pounds and 13" biceps, half of MFP (and most of this thread
) has more LBM and bigger arms than he does. 0 -
My husband is now a bodybuilder but started out obese. He has always done a lot of cardio and still does. He has kept most if not all his lean muscle, he's really defined now.
What he recommends for me is to meet my macros daily, especially my protein intake as I lose weight. Also to keep lifting weights as I run. I've been doing that for about 4-6 months and so far so good.
Best of luck
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bump for later0
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Most studies show that too much long slow distance produces the opposite effect you want from bodybuilding or strength training.
Please name one.0 -
OP, I suggest you peruse the web and look at images of elite sprinters versus elite distance runners(especially women) . The 2 things are totally different and produce a much different body. Most studies show that too much long slow distance produces the opposite effect you want from bodybuilding or strength training.
If you do this be sure to look for distance runners who do nothing but distance, because if they do resistance training and marathons, they can look more like a lifter. But since you are only planning short runs, it likely won't give you much info on what will happen to your body.0 -
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The studies you cite are primarily "micro" studies--looking at isolated processes and extrapolating the results without ever testing them in a "cause and effect" macro study.
Just looking at an isolated event and saying "look, that increased cortisol" is an interesting observation, but it doesn't mean anything unless you can actually prove that that particular event and that transient increase in cortisol actually causes the specific effect that you think it does. It's one of the most common mistakes that people make when citing "research" to support their ideas.
In your case, it seems (and I apologize if I am incorrect) that you are looking at the subject from the narrow perspective of your chosen sport/activity. A bodybuilder, a football lineman, a power lifter--in the case of someone who is trying to maximize gains in muscle mass will likely see "loss of mass" from doing a lot of cardio--especially if the cardio involves a lot of eccentric movements, like running. So yes, someone who is 6' tall, 250lbs and 6% bodyfat and starts to run 40 miles a week is likely going to lose a substantial amount of muscle.
But that only applies to a rather tiny subset of the population. With an appropriate diet and lifting program, the average person can run a lot and gain muscle mass. It probably won't be as fast or as much as if they didn't run (that's the inhibiting part), but they can gain, and likely gain as much as they want--again assuming they don't "want" to become bodybuilders or power lifters or maximize muscle mass gains.
It's important to put these discussions in the proper context. It's quite common for people who are into max lifting and max muscle building to assume that what is applicable to them is the same for everyone--but that's just not true.
Exactly ~ It's the principle of specificity. 0 -
Most studies show that too much long slow distance produces the opposite effect you want from bodybuilding or strength training.
Please name one.
really?
There are over 80 references in this article, I'm sure most can find more with a simple Google search
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/women-running-into-trouble/
Everyone has different goals and what they want to achieve. If you like running then run, I do, but not while attempting to add muscle / bulk. I have found it extremely difficult for me to bulk and run alot of distance at the same time. You can help prevent the muscle loss by good nutrition and strength training. Most "experts" I have read feel like bulking and long distance are opposites and negatively affect one another. Many people find for them the experts seem to be correct. How you run and train will affect they outcome for what you build. Do you want fast as possible? Do you want to jump as high as possible? Those things come part by genetics and from fast twitch muscle cells. Slow twitch will have a negative impact on those things. Do you want to be as fast as possible for a half marathon or a full marathon? Excess bulk and muscle will negatively that goal.
Most people here probably are not training for the pros, but you can't deny some goals may be counter productive to other goals.
I agree that this is still some debate. Most people t0
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