Question for lifters- how much cardio is too much?
EmbeeKay
Posts: 249 Member
I've read that excessive cardio can hinder your lifting goals. What is excessive?
I've had to stop lifting weights due to joint issues over the past several weeks of my pregnancy. To maintain some level of fitness, I've been jogging in the mornings instead. On a given day I'll go anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 miles.
While I am very excited to get back to lifting, and I won't miss running every single morning, I for sure am going to miss all the extra calories I earn doing it. Will it hinder my lifting goals if I run a 5K each morning just so I can learn another 400 cal or so? I'm not going to lie, a big part of my workout motivation is knowing I can eat more, and I'm going to miss that (since lifting doesn't burn a whole lot).
I've had to stop lifting weights due to joint issues over the past several weeks of my pregnancy. To maintain some level of fitness, I've been jogging in the mornings instead. On a given day I'll go anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 miles.
While I am very excited to get back to lifting, and I won't miss running every single morning, I for sure am going to miss all the extra calories I earn doing it. Will it hinder my lifting goals if I run a 5K each morning just so I can learn another 400 cal or so? I'm not going to lie, a big part of my workout motivation is knowing I can eat more, and I'm going to miss that (since lifting doesn't burn a whole lot).
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Replies
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Your body will let you know. Try it and see.1
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Since no one knows where you are physically right now- and what your goal is.... it's really hard to say.
It *could*impact recovery. and it *could*mean you are not not eating enough.
But as @Chef_Barbell said- your body will tell you- you'll notice you're legs still feel sore- or heavy and you can't squat as well. And I don't mean once- or twice- because evey one has bad days- under fed days- under rested days- but across the board- you consistently feel like you're putting forth a subpar effort.
I think 3 miles every day for 5 times a week is too much. But- I don't like running LMAO- 2-4 times? probably more realistic. Nothing wrong with doing cardio a couple times a week- your heart and lungs need work to. I don't do "cardio" necessarily- like- dedicated - go out and run cardio- but I lift and dance- and my dancing usually gets me enough to "check the box" so I don't worry myself with it to much. But a lot of people forget it's not just "cardio" for your goals- it's cardio for your body- so your longs and heart get work too.
Cardio and strength are key components to a well rounded fitness routine.5 -
I do about 5k a day 4-5times a week and have not had any problems since I started. I usually do my weights first, so the running does not effect my workouts.2
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I've read that excessive cardio can hinder your lifting goals. What is excessive?
You need better sources.
Essentially at the point that it becomes difficult to eat back the fuel you burned, and recover effectively.
So don't try running 15-20 miles every day and not eat back the calories.0 -
cardio trains your muscles different than they are used for lifting, but that usually doens't matter until you are at advanced or elite level. something to do with the fast and slow twitch, its confusing and i never really looked into it. I'm no where elite, but i cut out cardio because my lifting program is pretty intense and i get a lot of general conditioning from my workout. Also i'm just too tired for cardio.1
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Cardio fitness and strength training are as much complimentary as they are antagonistic.
But yes there is a point where volume/intensity of one will impact the training performance and/or recovery of the other. That "excessive" point is very personal and depends on your current levels and capabilities.
For me I hit that point about April/May when my cycling volume ramps up to 550+ miles/month and I'm doing some all day events. Then I'm having to prioritise and ration out my recovery. So for the summer months I'm really a cyclist who lifts - my lifting is effectively in maintenance mode for the summer.
But I'm older (57) so someone younger could probably cope with my training volume better.
Someone in a significant calorie deficit on the other hand is likely to struggle more. My Spring cut is at a very slow rate of roughly 1lb/month.
PS - a short duration daily run doesn't seem anywhere near excessive to me. Try it, adjust if you have to.1 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »I've read that excessive cardio can hinder your lifting goals. What is excessive?
You need better sources.
Essentially at the point that it becomes difficult to eat back the fuel you burned, and recover effectively.
So don't try running 15-20 miles every day and not eat back the calories.
Simply eating enough to cover the calories burned is not enough to consider yourself recovered from running. The body itself needs time to actually rebuild. One thing the OP hasn't mentioned is the intensity level of the runs. That will have an impact as well.0 -
richardgavel wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »I've read that excessive cardio can hinder your lifting goals. What is excessive?
You need better sources.
Essentially at the point that it becomes difficult to eat back the fuel you burned, and recover effectively.
So don't try running 15-20 miles every day and not eat back the calories.
Simply eating enough to cover the calories burned is not enough to consider yourself recovered from running. The body itself needs time to actually rebuild. One thing the OP hasn't mentioned is the intensity level of the runs. That will have an impact as well.
If the originator is going out for between 5 and 8K, none of those sessions are likely to be highly intense.
That's warm up and cool down distance. It's between 30 and 40 minutes, so not all that demanding.1 -
Good to know! Thank you everyone. Your responses have all been very helpful. Right now, since I have a big pregnant belly, I am at about an 11 minute mile :-) but I will shoot to go faster after pregnancy, to challenge myself, of course. Don't think I would add much to the distance as again, I really want to make a lifting a priority and have no interest in running a marathon.1
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Excessive is going to vary from person to person. If the 5k isn't too difficult for you, you'll mostly likely be fine. Way too many lifters shy away from any kind of cardio or conditioning0
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Just a thought, it may be worth waiting to see how you feel post-pregnancy to decide. Our bodies change a lot in the months of carrying and then through delivery and PP recovery. You'll have to see how everything feels afterward to see if the running is too much at that point.1
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amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »Just a thought, it may be worth waiting to see how you feel post-pregnancy to decide. Our bodies change a lot in the months of carrying and then through delivery and PP recovery. You'll have to see how everything feels afterward to see if the running is too much at that point.
I agree with this.1 -
amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »Just a thought, it may be worth waiting to see how you feel post-pregnancy to decide. Our bodies change a lot in the months of carrying and then through delivery and PP recovery. You'll have to see how everything feels afterward to see if the running is too much at that point.
Well I will tell you one thing, there's no way I'm gonna be getting up early and running until the baby is sleeping through the night consistently. Things always turn upside down for a few months. This is my fourth and probably last baby so I'm really going to try to focus on the newborn months and enjoying those, plus I'll be breast-feeding so it will be important to me to establish that first. All in good time.
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amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »Just a thought, it may be worth waiting to see how you feel post-pregnancy to decide. Our bodies change a lot in the months of carrying and then through delivery and PP recovery. You'll have to see how everything feels afterward to see if the running is too much at that point.
Well I will tell you one thing, there's no way I'm gonna be getting up early and running until the baby is sleeping through the night consistently. Things always turn upside down for a few months. This is my fourth and probably last baby so I'm really going to try to focus on the newborn months and enjoying those, plus I'll be breast-feeding so it will be important to me to establish that first. All in good time.
Ah, did not realize this wasn't your first. Totally agree about focusing on bonding, recovery, and sleep in the early days! And if you're able to BF (I had major supply issues so it didn't work out for me), by all means get that well established. At least the time off means you might get to experience the noob gainz again!0 -
a big part of my workout motivation is knowing I can eat more, and I'm going to miss that (since lifting doesn't burn a whole lot).
Lifting has an "after-burn effect." If you got in a good workout and damaged your muscles well you will burn extra calories after you lift while your body is repairing the muscles.
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a big part of my workout motivation is knowing I can eat more, and I'm going to miss that (since lifting doesn't burn a whole lot).
Lifting has an "after-burn effect." If you got in a good workout and damaged your muscles well you will burn extra calories after you lift while your body is repairing the muscles.
So does running.. so does walking, so does swimming.1 -
Not with the after burn effect. Nothing compares to lifting in this regard. HIIT is good as well though.0
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Not with the after burn effect. Nothing compares to lifting in this regard. HIIT is good as well though.
If you're saying that different activities have different afterburn, that's true. But lifting isn't special in this regard.
Also. It's not about damaging the muscles, but about stressing the CNS.
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Stressing the central nervous system plays in brain health, muscle growth, etc. but it is the muscle repair and growth that accounts for the after-burn effect.
"Exercise stresses the muscles which creates growth factors. This contributes to brand new brain cells and it increases the number of pathways for oxygen, energy, and to remove waste from the brain. Aerobic exercise is the most beneficial type of exercise on the nervous system."0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Not with the after burn effect. Nothing compares to lifting in this regard. HIIT is good as well though.
If you're saying that different activities have different afterburn, that's true. But lifting isn't special in this regard.
Also. It's not about damaging the muscles, but about stressing the CNS.
Well I don't know much about all of this... my plan/hope is to have the baby, establish nursing and nurse baby until a year (hopefully while losing the baby weight), and once hormones return to normal, endeavor to figure out my TDEE so I can recomp at maintenance. I know that lifting does burn some cal, and hopefully with tracking and trial & error, I can figure out what that is. Figuring out TDEE while breastfeeding is (IMO) too much of a project when my calorie output changes from day to day. (Of course, any tips for that are appreciated.)0 -
Yeah, sorry, we got sidetracked.1
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No worries! I always like learning something new. I know that lifting burns calories, just from what I've read it's harder to figure out how many, versus tracking a session of running, for example.0
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You can do basically however much LISS as you want as long as you get adequate calories/protein. HIIT should be kept to a minimum (tabata for 4 mins 3x/week at an absolute max). Anything other than LISS and HIIT is counterproductive.0
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I lift 2x per week and do some kind of cardio 5x per week. Excessive is going to be very much an individual thing. At the moment I'm not training for anything so my rides are pretty much just fitness rides and not particularly demanding so they don't really interfere with my lifting or recovery. I like hitting the climbing gym most Sundays...
I have a couple of body building buddies and they don't do much for cardio save for a jog here and there and some walking...it's not a recovery thing as much as it is a wanting to put on muscle mass kind of thing and they already have to eat a lot so "too much" cardio would require that much more eating.0 -
Not with the after burn effect. Nothing compares to lifting in this regard. HIIT is good as well though.
In percentage terms yes - calories are still insignificant though
A small percentage of a big burn easily exceeds a big percentage of a small initial expenditure.
None of it is worth bothering about!2 -
I use cardio as a way to trim the fat as necessary....so I tend the focus on weights for awhile so I am not pulling my body in two different directions....once I have gained a few pounds of fat and muscle, I will do nothing but cardio and maintenance lifting until the fat is trimmed off....for me it works out better than trying to do both at the same time. Everybody is different though....depends on your goals, etc.0
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a big part of my workout motivation is knowing I can eat more, and I'm going to miss that (since lifting doesn't burn a whole lot).
Lifting has an "after-burn effect." If you got in a good workout and damaged your muscles well you will burn extra calories after you lift while your body is repairing the muscles.
the EPOC value is negligable at best- it's a nice "talking" point but in reality it's trivial.1 -
I've read that excessive cardio can hinder your lifting goals. What is excessive?
Back to the OP's initial question - It really depends on your goals. Many bodybuilders say more than 20 minutes of steady state cardio has a negative effect on muscle building. Personally I don't like jogging so I do HIIT on the elliptical which I find more enjoyable and is much shorter.0 -
Just do cardio after lifting and best to do it after at least 10-15 post lifting rest period.
Personally, I do just one 15 min moderate steady state or two 5 min HIIT sessions on my rower at least an hr after eating and/orlifting, which is easy for ne to do because all of my gym equipment is at home.0
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