Muscle gain from cardio?

if the cardio is new, you may be retaining water. Are you taking measurements? I always notice that even when my scale doesn't budge or even goes up a lb or two, my shape is changing.

Like those above have said, it could easily be water retention. Are you keeping a record of your sodium intake, and are you drinking enough water during the day? These are essential most of the time, especially when you're focusing primarily on cardio.

Tell that to my legs and if the muscle stops growing there from all the cardio I might believe you. Truth is depends on the workout and the diet. Cardio and muscle growth are not mutually exclusive. Now having cast the shot across the bow of that ship...break it down...

Muscles are grown primarily through the tearing of the tissue and then the body repair mechanism. So to grow muscles your workout has to create micro tears and your diet needs to provide the correct nutriements (mostly protein) to buld them back up. Cardio will only consume muscle if you do so in a manner consistent with kicking over into body tissue consumption on an extented period of time (for most people about 40 minutes).

You can gain some muscle from cardio but only to a small extent. Your body/muscles will quickly adapt to cardio. I think what people see from doing cardio is a reduction of fat, which makes the body appear to be more muscular. That said, cardio is an ineffective way to build muscle, while lifting weights IS an effective way to gain muscle, being that you can always increase the weights so your body doesn't adapt to lifting. That is how muscles are "torn down". When I see someone who runs have legs that look like someone who squats 400lbs, then I might buy into what you're saying.

That said, no way can one gain 2.5lbs of muscle doing cardio. It's hard enough gaining that much muscle by lifting weights.

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If you could build muscle doing cardio we wouldn't have need for heavy plates, bars and racks...be cheaper that's for sure...:laugh:

Tell that to my legs and if the muscle stops growing there from all the cardio I might believe you. Truth is depends on the workout and the diet. Cardio and muscle growth are not mutually exclusive. Now having cast the shot across the bow of that ship...break it down...

Muscles are grown primarily through the tearing of the tissue and then the body repair mechanism. So to grow muscles your workout has to create micro tears and your diet needs to provide the correct nutriements (mostly protein) to buld them back up. Cardio will only consume muscle if you do so in a manner consistent with kicking over into body tissue consumption on an extented period of time (for most people about 40 minutes).

You can gain some muscle from cardio but only to a small extent. Your body/muscles will quickly adapt to cardio. I think what people see from doing cardio is a reduction of fat, which makes the body appear to be more muscular. That said, cardio is an ineffective way to build muscle, while lifting weights IS an effective way to gain muscle, being that you can always increase the weights so your body doesn't adapt to lifting. That is how muscles are "torn down". When I see someone who runs have legs that look like someone who squats 400lbs, then I might buy into what you're saying.

That said, no way can one gain 2.5lbs of muscle doing cardio. It's hard enough gaining that much muscle by lifting weights.

Yeah,. that's why I've put an inch and half on my calves since I started doing cardio.. it's fat going away.

So much bad broscience from the 80s being repeated as fact.

your body IS a weight. When you start doing cardio from a dead stop, you are effectively lifting weights.

Is it true that someone who is already at an extreme level of low body fat, and right on the knife edge maintaining vs building, will have to go into a surplus to build muscle? Sure.

But guys like me, carrying an extra 40 or 50 lbs, who have been on a couch, effectively for years, will convert to muscle, and build muscle, without hitting the lat tower. Not as fast, mind you, but it will happen.

Initially if you're pushing/pulling at a much higher weight than you used to be, you'll gain some newbie muscle, but load has to progress (meaning you'd have to gain weight) to continue to build. If one is losing weight, then the resistance is being reduced.

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In for all the derp...and building 2.5 Lbs of muscle in two weeks...and in for all of the people that actually believe that is possible....derpilicious....

Yeah,. that's why I've put an inch and half on my calves since I started doing cardio.. it's fat going away.

So much bad broscience from the 80s being repeated as fact.

your body IS a weight. When you start doing cardio from a dead stop, you are effectively lifting weights.

Is it true that someone who is already at an extreme level of low body fat, and right on the knife edge maintaining vs building, will have to go into a surplus to build muscle? Sure.

But guys like me, carrying an extra 40 or 50 lbs, who have been on a couch, effectively for years, will convert to muscle , and build muscle, without hitting the lat tower. Not as fast, mind you, but it will happen.

The laws of adaptation for muscle growth being broscience and your logic that "fat will convert to muscle" (LOL) tells me you need to do a little more research on the topic.

Initially if you're pushing/pulling at a much higher weight than you used to be, you'll gain some newbie muscle, but load has to progress (meaning you'd have to gain weight) to continue to build. If one is losing weight, then the resistance is being reduced.

Exactly ^^^ (as I mentioned in my OP)

Yeah,. that's why I've put an inch and half on my calves since I started doing cardio.. it's fat going away.

So much bad broscience from the 80s being repeated as fact.

your body IS a weight. When you start doing cardio from a dead stop, you are effectively lifting weights.

Is it true that someone who is already at an extreme level of low body fat, and right on the knife edge maintaining vs building, will have to go into a surplus to build muscle? Sure.

But guys like me, carrying an extra 40 or 50 lbs, who have been on a couch, effectively for years, will convert to muscle , and build muscle, without hitting the lat tower. Not as fast, mind you, but it will happen.

The laws of adaptation for muscle growth being broscience and your logic that "fat will convert to muscle" (LOL) tells me you need to do a little more research on the topic.

Initially if you're pushing/pulling at a much higher weight than you used to be, you'll gain some newbie muscle, but load has to progress (meaning you'd have to gain weight) to continue to build. If one is losing weight, then the resistance is being reduced.

Exactly ^^^ (as I mentioned in my OP)

On point. This is what happened with me when I ran the whole month of January. My legs got bigger too, and I gained weight, but it's only water weight, not muscle growth. It's virtually impossible to put 2.5 pounds of muscle on in a week (barring all unnatural methods like steroids).

Yeah,. that's why I've put an inch and half on my calves since I started doing cardio.. it's fat going away.

So much bad broscience from the 80s being repeated as fact.

your body IS a weight. When you start doing cardio from a dead stop, you are effectively lifting weights.

Is it true that someone who is already at an extreme level of low body fat, and right on the knife edge maintaining vs building, will have to go into a surplus to build muscle? Sure.

But guys like me, carrying an extra 40 or 50 lbs, who have been on a couch, effectively for years, will convert to muscle , and build muscle, without hitting the lat tower. Not as fast, mind you, but it will happen.

The laws of adaptation for muscle growth being broscience and your logic that "fat will convert to muscle" (LOL) tells me you need to do a little more research on the topic.

Initially if you're pushing/pulling at a much higher weight than you used to be, you'll gain some newbie muscle, but load has to progress (meaning you'd have to gain weight) to continue to build. If one is losing weight, then the resistance is being reduced.

Exactly ^^^ (as I mentioned in my OP)

No, fat won't convert to muscle. It will convert to energy. and the protein you are taking in SHOULD convert to muscle. I never said "Fat would convert to muscle".

As I said, nowhere near the level you are going to get to with weightlifting, or bulk/cut. but that's a different animal entirely.

Flat statements like "you cannot build muscle while on a deficit" are so nebulous as to be useless, without specifics regarding what people are doing, what shape they are in to start with, and how they are eating.

Thanks for the replies and its pretty much what I thought , I have without doubt gained muscle in my legs so you can build muscle but not 2.5 in a week, let's hope it is water weight and see if I can shift it I still don't 100% understand it tbh do I just drink water to get rid of water?

Yes, drink water. Lots of it, regardless of what your workout consists of. As long as you are exercising, though, you will have water retention to repair muscles. To be honest, I don't know why it matters so much. Focus less on the scale and more on your fitness/strength gains and how you look in the mirror.

The only "cardio" type exercise I know that you can gain muscle from are hill sprints repeats. Quads muscles will gain from these with the proper diet and also give you cardio benefits.

Otherwise, I am unaware of any other that have been successful in both areas.

*Edit to add, you're not going to put 2.5lbs of muscle on in a week. It would be hard to do that for most in a month.

THANK YOU! All I am doing right now is walking (4.5 MPH for 30 min 4 times a day) and no one can tell me I'm not gaining muscle. I see my legs and they are difinitely gaining muscle and losing fat. My scale may not be moving much but I am burning 500-1000kcal/day according to my Flex. There is no way to cheat on that thing.

Your not gaining muscle. There I said, now what is going to happen!? It's like when people say "only god can judge me" no I will judge the crap out of you, you may not care, but I'm gonna do it!

But yeah you need more of test than an eye test. Like people have said most likely you are losing fat from your legs so they look bigger and more defined, and if they are bigger it is probably because they are retaining a butt load of water from doing so many walks a day.

Thanks for the replies and its pretty much what I thought , I have without doubt gained muscle in my legs so you can build muscle but not 2.5 in a week, let's hope it is water weight and see if I can shift it I still don't 100% understand it tbh do I just drink water to get rid of water?

Yes, drink water. Lots of it, regardless of what your workout consists of. As long as you are exercising, though, you will have water retention to repair muscles. To be honest, I don't know why it matters so much. Focus less on the scale and more on your fitness/strength gains and how you look in the mirror.

The reason it matters is cause my goal I is to weigh under 200lbs and I'm soooo close!

What methods did you use to detirme that you without a doubt gained muscle in your legs?

THANK YOU! All I am doing right now is walking (4.5 MPH for 30 min 4 times a day) and no one can tell me I'm not gaining muscle. I see my legs and they are difinitely gaining muscle and losing fat. My scale may not be moving much but I am burning 500-1000kcal/day according to my Flex. There is no way to cheat on that thing.

You may be getting better muscle endurance and seeing more definition, but that doesn't equate to building muscle. To build muscle you have to invariably gain mass and that means adding weight. And if walking built muscle, then really there shouldn't be many "unmuscular" people because many people walk everyday.

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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition