Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below its been a few years since i really posted anything on here. a lot of you know me and a lot dont. either way im now 29 years old, ive been lifting since i was about 17. around 19 i started to follow the typical flex/muscle & fitness training splits that are overwhelmingly common amongst most recreational weight lifters in the gym and have decided to try some things now outside of the box. at this point i just do what i feel. i might take a ten day rest period between body parts just because the extra recovery time feels right to me. recently i started doin a little more cardio in order to cut fat, but my cardio is only done 3 times a week (interval cardio for 20 min). now, most weight lifting magazines will never tell you to do cardio 2 days in a row if u want to get stronger (i still continue to lift heavy, as i always have). the thing is, i go running the next day. i do it because i love it in what it does for my body and endurance, but what ive recently noticed is that since i began running outside my strength on my lifts has gone UP. im curious if anyone has any comments on this. is it possibly increasing because my core is getting stronger? maybe my muscle strength is going up from running uphill? just curious what you all think about this. thanks
Going running= getting stronger?
- Thread starter markshark
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Pound4PoundAAS
Survivor
Typically running will work your Type 1 muscle fibers and anaerobic lifting will increase your Type 2 which control strength and size. So no, there should be no carry over from cardio. Your body will actually adapt to Type 1 muscle fibers and increase your endurance if you do too much cardio making you weaker when lifting weights, and visa versa for Type 2. The body will naturally adapt to weight training after a while which may be why your strength is going up.
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thanks for that info. the running i generally do isnt distance running, but about 15 minutes of short bursts up 2 extremely steep hills and level ground and then downhill and back around again. i get a great endorphin rush from it and my quads and hamstrings feel amazing, but im limited because ive got a torn acl in my left knee so i can only do so much.
so is it true that getting blood pumping through a particular body part that is tryin to recover will in turn help it recover rather than just trying to sleep and rest as much as possible and avoid using that muscle group? i know this is off subject, but i tend to have ocd when it comes to muscle recovery. if my chest gets extremely sore for example, ill literally not even lift weights period for at least three days and ill try to avoid doing any pushing motions in my day to day life. i get a little over obsessive about muscle recovery if, for example, i lift and that night dont get enough sleep for whatever reason. ill literally not touch a weight for days until i feel ive gotten 8 hours of sleep several nights in a row.
as long as you don't do too much cardio you can get stronger and build mass. but cardio should be reduced significantly if you really want to put on major muscle mass and strength.
but if you want to look fit just keep doing what you are doing and don't worry that the dude next to you is benching 50 pounds more.
cardio burns away fat and muscle, thats a fact. just a matter of balancing both..
but if you want to look fit just keep doing what you are doing and don't worry that the dude next to you is benching 50 pounds more.
cardio burns away fat and muscle, thats a fact. just a matter of balancing both..
die faster
New member
more cardio i do, the lower my strength goes. youre new so you can easily increase your cardio and strength together, but as you become an advanced lifter, it becomes a sliding scale
^^^ exactly and vice versa too.
someone who is getting into cardio can increase their cardio while dedicating themselves to weights.. but if you want to be running 18 minute 5K's gonna have to dedicate 5X per week to the running and reduce the weight training which will get in the way.
if you want to be great OP pick one to excell in.. if you want to be 'fit' then just do both and balance them. nothing wrong with looking good, you don't have to be built like a train or run a 5 minute mile.
someone who is getting into cardio can increase their cardio while dedicating themselves to weights.. but if you want to be running 18 minute 5K's gonna have to dedicate 5X per week to the running and reduce the weight training which will get in the way.
if you want to be great OP pick one to excell in.. if you want to be 'fit' then just do both and balance them. nothing wrong with looking good, you don't have to be built like a train or run a 5 minute mile.
Yup. All what your goals are really. Not many can be both built like a train and move like a cheetah.
and there are few athletes like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders that can play both baseball and football and be great at both. just look at Mike Jordan, one of the best bball players ever, but baseball he was a minor leaguer.
sometimes it can get tricky at a young age deciding what sport you want to really dedicate yourself to and it can make a difference between landing a scholarship and having to walk on in college. but as you get older you will notice you can decide to do X for a little while, then switch over to Y. or do both X and Y. there isn't that pressure to have to pick 1 thing
sometimes it can get tricky at a young age deciding what sport you want to really dedicate yourself to and it can make a difference between landing a scholarship and having to walk on in college. but as you get older you will notice you can decide to do X for a little while, then switch over to Y. or do both X and Y. there isn't that pressure to have to pick 1 thing
nah, man. i wish i were new. i been lifting for 14 years now. i understand my body really well and i know well enough that more cardio=decrease in strength. i was just more specifically referring to short up and downhill runs a few times a week and wondering if, because its almost a type of interval cardio, im possibly increasing my muscle strength by utilizing different muscles and my core all at once.
the amount and type of cardio you are doing does not seem like it would burn away any significant amount of muscle... it may possibly help your strength in some manner, you know your body best...
i too can take some nice 10 day rests on certain lifts (especially squats, never on bench for some reason) and come back just as strong and more primed for gains or even come back stronger altogether...
i too can take some nice 10 day rests on certain lifts (especially squats, never on bench for some reason) and come back just as strong and more primed for gains or even come back stronger altogether...
Yea some research is also there about protein fasting. To re sensitize the body to higher protein intake. So I would think dropping off for a while, eliminating the stimulus might up regulate the receptors for growth and make even more gains after time off.
Iron Warrior707
Banned
Cardio does not burn muscle or makes you weaker, unless you are at 6%bf and doing 45min cardio everyday, yes it can, but doing 20-30 min cardio 3-4 times a week is not bad for mass and strength..
The reason you're getting stronger is because cardio makes you recover faster between workouts, doing 30 min slow paste cardio on your off days will make you stronger the next day for weight training, because of recovery, also it makes your heart stronger..
FACT: STRONG HEART=STRONG BODY..
The reason you're getting stronger is because cardio makes you recover faster between workouts, doing 30 min slow paste cardio on your off days will make you stronger the next day for weight training, because of recovery, also it makes your heart stronger..
FACT: STRONG HEART=STRONG BODY..
cardio most definately burns away muscle, go to a 5K road race sometime and look the way runners look, or how swimmers look then come back and tell me cardio is good for muscle gain. cardio is catabolic.
strong heart doesn't equal strong body either.. those guys on worlds strongest men are all overweight and all have poor heart health. yet they are the strongest people in the world.
and yes if you do intense cardio it will wipe your strength out the next day. powerlifters don't do cardio the day before a meet, they REST their body so its fresh! a light walk or jerking around on the elliptical won't make a difference perhaps that is what you mean by cardio.
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Iron Warrior707
Banned
I dont even know what you're talking about.. What does runner who run alot have to do with someone who hit the weight room hard and does slow paste cardio for 30 min 3 times a week..
The guys that you mentioned run for 2-4 hours almost everyday, dont eat like a bodybuilder (less than 60g protein and 1500 cal a day) and dont do weight training, ofcourse they'll look like a stick.. And powerlifters tain for power, there are tons of small skinny guys who can lift heavy..
i myself do 20min slow paste cardio on the stationery bike 3 times a week and im getting bigger and stronger day by day, and im 100% natural dont take anything no roids or supplement expect creatine..
CARDIO DOES NOT BURN MUSCLE, ITS A MYTH, DONT CARE IF YOU WANNA BELIEVE ME OR NOT.... THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE GOING TO BURN MUSCLE WITH CARDIO IS IF YOU ARE ALREADY AT LOW BF% (7%), GETTING VERY LITTLE PROTEIN AND CALORIES AND DOING TOO MUCH CARDIO..
SINCE YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY JUCING I DONT THINK YOU NEED TO EVEN WORRY ABOUT LOSING MUSCLE, EVEN ON A CALORIC DEFICIT AND UP TO 2 HOURS OF CARDIO EVERYDAY WONT BURN MUSCLE...
I AM STATING THE FACTS, ITS NOT AN OPINION..
sorry for the caps, it needed to be said..
^^^^ you really think runners train 2-4 hours a day? gosh you are so out of your league its not even funny. you don't know what you are talking about. runners train LESS than weightlifters. how is that for a fact? track practice is like an hour tops.. you really believe that runners run around the track for 4 hours to train???? seriously? lets use facts a bit better.. runners train 15-50 minutes depending on if they are doing interval training or they are doing LSD training. a 5K typically takes a runner 16-25 minutes to complete depending on their speed.. a freaking half marathon takes under 2 hours to complete, so you are pretty much saying that runners do half marathons almost everyday. your knees, ankles, feet, knees, shins, would turn into jello if a human being did that. your CNS would probably shut down and you would die running 2-4 hours a day.
and dude i seen what you look like, you are in no position to give advice on cardio no disrespect but its the truth. don't be posting nonsense and advertising it as fact on this board, i've already warned you in the past about trolling threads. this is now the 5th thread you have trolled on and you have only been a member for a few months. RADAR already banned you for it before, cut it out, last warning i will give you
and dude i seen what you look like, you are in no position to give advice on cardio no disrespect but its the truth. don't be posting nonsense and advertising it as fact on this board, i've already warned you in the past about trolling threads. this is now the 5th thread you have trolled on and you have only been a member for a few months. RADAR already banned you for it before, cut it out, last warning i will give you
Actually, as both a D III runner (a long time ago) turned cyclist/triathlete I have to correct you.
1. No one runs 2-4 hours a day except maybe one day a week if training for a marathon (notably certain women with body image disorders will do something like this but they are going slow and have severe physical (and mental) issues)
2. Even in college we may have run 10-12 miles a day but it was at a 7/min mile pace so we were never out longer than 1.5 hours.
3. Even on speed work days, we may do a 5 mile warm followed by some speed work, then a cool down and even then maybe 1.5 hours.
4. As far as food--I would put my college cross country team against any same age body builders for caloric intake--as we need at least an extra 1500 just to stop from wasting away.
5. When you are in caloric deficit (a true deficit)--and I am right this very minute and have been for two months, you burn muscle in the form of amino acids (hence the NO3 smell from your skin). What is a FACT is that it is physiologically impossible to convert fat to glucose --the glucose the brain requires must come from amino acids--from breaking down muscle tissue--(AND where does the energy come from for this cycle--cleaving off part of a fatty acid molecule). So you do burn fat AND muscle--period--there is NO WAY AROUND IT
You understand some macro concepts but where the rubber hits the road you are in over your head.
6. I not only have first hand knowlege of the above I will start talking about various metabolic cycles if you wish to discuss this on a deeper level.
7. as far a steroids--only certain ones will curb muscle wasting when in severe caloric deficit--curb, not prevent (again, personal and academic experience)
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^^^^ good points Eddy. and I totally left out the carb intake thing, I was eating more as an endurance runner/triathlete than I do today as a bodybuilder especially on weeks i put in a lot of mileage it wasn't even close. i would eat entire pizza's on my own in one sitting.. no way would i dare do that today as a bodybuilder for fear of putting on body fat. i might have 1 slice as a treat once every couple weeks thats all
