Adding muscle but don't want to give up running

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  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
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    Those are all pretty much my mainstays. Oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and Ezekiel bread.
  • GeordieRover
    GeordieRover Posts: 22 Member
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    From personal experience , way back when I was only approx 68kg, used to walk at a good pace for on average 3 hrs per day in a warm climate.
    But my body tone went to almost an old mans.
    Felt fitter than at any time in my life, only ate tuna brown rice stir fry.
    Doctor told me to stop the diet and eat meat.
    Twenty years later, Iam 104kg as of today.
    Sometimes what works and is best, doesn't mean muscles.
    How you feel inside, and perform is best for you.
    Your muscles , will develop, as you naturaly eat more the more you run.
    Bulking up, will perhaps, send you downwards.
    Small adjustments.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 500 Member
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    I dont do marrathons, but I average 5-7 miles a day either on my treadmill or outside. What I have been doing with good results is running with a weight vest and switching to high level incline whilewalking with hand weights. I started with 5lb each hand weights, but now doing 8lb each hand weights. My upper body is getting ripped with a gain of 3lbs in 3 months and my body fat is 8%
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
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    You can definitely gain muscle while eating at maintenance. Just don't expect a drastic change overnight.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
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    Also, for adding muscle, how much of my calories should I eat back after running? I tend to run enough to burn 800-1300 calories at different distances.

    If it is factored in your TDEE , eat back nothing

    If it isn't factored in your TDEE. eat back all 1000 calories

    You need to be in a calorie surplus in order to gain
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
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    ...
  • RoyalMoose11
    RoyalMoose11 Posts: 211 Member
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    I'm set at lightly active (to only account for work/rest days) and I add my fitness into the app. That way if it's a rest days I have an accurate reading.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Eat all the food:)

    Seriously though, as long as you're still in surplus it should be fine. Insulin spikes are your friend in this situation so after a run (as well as being well fueled) try to get some form of simple carbs. Insulin spikes keep cortisol levels down so should prevent too much muscle loss.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Eat moar.
  • anzi888
    anzi888 Posts: 102 Member
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    I'll tell you what works for me, but you will have to experiment to find what works for you...

    I'm 5''2, 136 lbs. I eat between 1600-1800 cals per day and work out about an hour a day, 5-6 days per week (2-3 runs per week, 3 weight days and I throw in Yoga once in a while to mix things up). I net around 1300 cals per day (which I thought was a bit low at first) BUT I have lost fat and gained muscle -- my stomach is flatter and I can actually see my biceps and triceps.

    Overall, you can gain muscle and keep running... good luck :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    At what bf% do you need to start being really concerned about this? I lift 3 days a week and then spin for an hour afterwards. My bf% is somewhere around 25-26%. I think I have enough bf to not have to worry about this yet. Right?
    Being concerned about what specifically? OP is trying to add muscle which I am assuming at this point in time you are not?
    Do you mean you are worried about losing muscle as well as fat when running? If so, as long as you are eating adequate protein, and lifting, your muscle loss will be limited :)

    I guess what I'm confused about is what level of cardio is too much and then starts to eat at muscle. I'm in a deficit so no muscle gains but don't want to take away from what I have. A girlfriend of mine thinks I could add more while a pt thinks what I'm doing is taking away from strength training.

    way to de-rail the thread...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I would think that marathon training and building muscle are pretty much opposed to another...as they both require a lot of energy, so if you are trying to do both, one will suffer at the expense of the other...but that is just my opinion...

    someone provided a picture of an Olympic runner but that guy is going to be training and eating 100% of the time...is the average person going to be able to put in that much dedication...I would say no, so that example is a slight outlier...

    I would say run a little less, eat more, hit macros, and keep lifting..

    what does is your current lifting regimen like?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Do the marathon first. Keep your body weight low to go faster. Are you going over lactate threshold? Then fuel 2-3 hours before with low fibre (less gastric distress) different speed releasing carbs and some fat and protein. Fruit, oats, etc. expect to run out of fuel after about 90 minutes and get those gels and stuff in a little bit before.

    If you're purely aerobic, then you can teach yourself to burn more fats for fuel so you can eat a selection of fuels. Just calculate your burns and keep at maintenance. I put on lots of fat during tri training from overeating because of the hungries from cardio. I lost muscle from under eating and not fuelling my over lactate threshold workouts. Only strength training and surpluss built the muscle I needed. But I had to recover from the workouts so no cardio. Cardio also complicates the maths, making it hard to hit the right bulking numbers of calories.

    High fibre and running doesn't go hand in hand. Nor does muscle repair from bulking and running. Nor do deficits and running. Nor does fat from bulking and being able to run fast as you have to oxygenate the fat and you are heavier and slower.

    I've had a well known personal trainer refuse to take me on to weight train and lose body fat because I was tri training.

    In my experience it's best to bulk in the off season, and endurance train and maintain muscle in the race season. I'm not an expert at all, just had a few years experiences.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Do the marathon first. Keep your body weight low to go faster. Are you going over lactate threshold? Then fuel 2-3 hours before with low fibre (less gastric distress) different speed releasing carbs and some fat and protein. Fruit, oats, etc. expect to run out of fuel after about 90 minutes and get those gels and stuff in a little bit before.

    If you're purely aerobic, then you can teach yourself to burn more fats for fuel so you can eat a selection of fuels. Just calculate your burns and keep at maintenance. I put on lots of fat during tri training from overeating because of the hungries from cardio. I lost muscle from under eating and not fuelling my over lactate threshold workouts. Only strength training and surpluss built the muscle I needed. But I had to recover from the workouts so no cardio. Cardio also complicates the maths, making it hard to hit the right bulking numbers of calories.

    High fibre and running doesn't go hand in hand. Nor does muscle repair from bulking and running. Nor do deficits and running. Nor does fat from bulking and being able to run fast as you have to oxygenate the fat and you are heavier and slower.

    I've had a well known personal trainer refuse to take me on to weight train and lose body fat because I was tri training.

    In my experience it's best to bulk in the off season, and endurance train and maintain muscle in the race season. I'm not an expert at all, just had a few years experiences.

    Edit double post
  • RoyalMoose11
    RoyalMoose11 Posts: 211 Member
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    I'm only doing the strong lifts program at this point as my way of breaking back into the free weight world and three days a week fits my schedule.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
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    In. Not because I want to gain muscle while training for a half, but I don't want to lose it either.
  • Chain_Ring
    Chain_Ring Posts: 753 Member
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    For the love of God, why would you have to give up running?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    In. Not because I want to gain muscle while training for a half, but I don't want to lose it either.

    Can I suggest that you calculate your exact burns and eat them all back to maintain, eat 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, and strength train UPPER BODY twice a week to maintain your muscle, not progressively heavier weights ( that's if you already are lifting) or even do all body weight strength training like yoga so you don't give your muscles the message that they aren't needed and can shrink now.

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