Cardio bad for gaining muscle?

[W8isGR8]

Does anyone here actually read bodybuilding magazines? **** like this has been covered in detail in Muscular Development, citing all the studies.

[Hut*Hut]

Yes. it is ALWAYS bad for gaining muscle. It gets in the way of recovery.

Why do you need to be 8-10% bodyfat? those sort of levels arnt going to allow for any decent mass. Wtf is the point of bodybuilding if you wear a size M shirt?

Not true mate. In fact intelligent cardio will greatly ENHANCE recovery by increasing work capacity. Re: Westside sled pulling.

Steady state jogging of course is extremely far from intelligent cardio.

[crafty100]

There's a couple reason I see to keep doing cardio:

1. If you don't you'll gain weght, but a lot of it will be FAT. Cardio, at the very least, sends a singal to your brain that running is going to happen so fat=bad.

2. I can't remember where I heard this, but it should increase circulation which in turn means nutrients get to your muscles faster/more effectively.

First point = Is ridiculously untrue, however, there is some evidence to support reason 2.

Doing cardio is good for general fitness of the body and organs, which in turn help support your weight training. Maybe don't do so much, maybe 3 miles twice a week or 1.5 miles 4 times a week.

[crafty100]

Evidently people like to delete my posts, but I'm glad you replied.

I humbly disagree. You can lose fat without a caloric deficit if you train and eat properly, additionally you can put on muscle with a caloric deficit if you train and eat properly. I am doing this right now, so there is no need to read anything- it's just a fact.

The science suggests otherwise!!!!!

[autonoma]

oh, wow


Your cardiovascular system pumps blood and circulates oxygen. When muscles are worked, it places demands on that system. Weight training is proven to increase "cardio" benifits in a fraction of time as endurance work. Review the literature. People who do intense weight training see better results in minutes a week as opposed to hours of cardio


Apparently only running makes your blood pump and your lungs breathe

I don't know but for me weight training doesn't help me hike up a mountain or biking or climbing or anything with long endurance. I am willing to bet god Jesus and da virgin Mary that none of the Olympia competitors can let's say hike half dome in yosemite when the are bulking up .. He'll the can barely walk 10 miles flat

[Duperman]

I do believe doing lots of cardio will be detrimental to maximal strength gains...But I do it anyway because I like to be fit and active in all aspects of life, I want my heart to pump strong even when I'm an old man

[BradKemp]

I've gone from 23% body fat to 12% body fat without my weight fluctuating more than a couple pounds either way so to say you can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time is BS.

I go for an hour long uphill walk every day and and do Mike Mentzer's High-Intensity training program 1-2 days a week.

[XXX666]

Does anyone here actually read bodybuilding magazines? **** like this has been covered in detail in Muscular Development, citing all the studies.

The majority in here doesn't read which is why this is the #1 battle of the idiots site for bodybuilding and exercise science. the majority on here are ignorant to the science behind building muscle. there is a substancial amount of individuals quoting the theory "it worked for me" or "somebody told me....."

so welcome to the uphill battle

[W8isGR8]

I don't know but for me weight training doesn't help me hike up a mountain or biking or climbing or anything with long endurance. I am willing to bet god Jesus and da virgin Mary that none of the Olympia competitors can let's say hike half dome in yosemite when the are bulking up .. He'll the can barely walk 10 miles flat

its about increasing work capacity. Things like circuit training and supersets will do that more than "jogging" will.

You really think a marathon runner would make it through a set of 20 rep squats without gasping for air, even though his "cardio" levels are so high

You ever hear about Lance Armstrong running the marathon? Said it was the hardest thing he ever did, and placed horribly. How can that be if he rides hundreds of miles without even breaking a sweat......

[W8isGR8]

The majority in here doesn't read which is why this is the #1 battle of the idiots site for bodybuilding and exercise science. the majority on here are ignorant to the science behind building muscle. there is a substancial amount of individuals quoting the theory "it worked for me" or "somebody told me....."

so welcome to the uphill battle

You: Nov 2007

Me: Jun 2005

Let me welcome you

[W8isGR8]

Ah-ha! #3: Cardiovascular programming is an ass-backward concept.

I don't know when I first thought this, but it was confirmed to me when viewing Lance Armstrong's performance in the New York Marathon.

Throughout my college education, countless training certification programs and seminars, I'd been taught the same thing: that cardiovascular exercise was necessary to improve the cardiovascular system and subsequently aerobic performance. But there seemed to be an inherent flaw in that argument.

Let's say I tested your aerobic fitness through a treadmill test.

Then let's say that for the next sixteen weeks, we developed a five-day per week aerobic training program that involved you running at various heart rates and for various lengths of times. The program would progressively increase in difficulty and duration, and the end result was a very significant improvement in your aerobic fitness.

At the end of this sixteen-week period, how much do you expect your swimming times to have improved? Marginally, if at all, right? It seems almost stupid to ask. But wait a second. If you have one cardiovascular system, why doesn't your cardiovascular system improve across the board regardless of the activity?

More to the point, why didn't Lance Armstrong, with perhaps the highest recorded VO2 max in history, win the New York Marathon? Or beat people with lesser aerobic levels than himself?

The seven-time winner of the Tour de France, the greatest endurance cyclist, quite possibly the greatest endurance athlete in the world, finished the Marathon in 868th place, and described the event as the "hardest physical thing" he'd ever done.

The flaw in this thinking was looking solely at VO2 max: the "engine," as it were. It's fair to say that Lance had a "Formula One" engine, but his wheels and chassis were built for a different kind of race. In other words, he just didn't have the structural development for running.

Lance was a cyclist: his body had adapted to the demands of cycling, but not to the specific demands of running. In fact, the longest distance he'd ever run prior to the Marathon was 16 miles. Lance had developed strength, postural endurance, and flexibility in the correct "cycling muscles," but it didn't transfer to running the way his VO2 max did.

The muscles don't move because of cardiovascular demand. It's the reverse. The cardio system is elevated because of muscular demand. We need to program the body based on the movements it's going to perform, not based on the cardiovascular system.

Basically, if that muscular system can't handle the stress of performing thousands of repetitions (which is what you're doing, after all, when running or cycling), then we have to condition that muscular system first. And by doing so, we automatically improve cardiovascular conditioning.

The only reason there's any demand on the cardiovascular system is because the muscular system places that demand: the muscles require oxygen in order to continue to work. In fact, cardiovascular exercise is impossible without moving the muscle first.

I've seen this across various sports. The cardio conditioning required to run a 10K won't transfer to motocross or jujitsu.

Conclusion: If cardio training doesn't transfer well from one activity to another, and it only 'kicks' in because of muscular demand, we should program muscular activity first in order to create a cardiovascular response.

^^^^^

[proteintime]

im bulking and i run 1-2 times aweek for 20 minuts still gaining muscle and getting way stronger.it just depends on the person, everyone is differint.in the past i used to go overboard with cardio 4-6 times a week for 1 hour runs, since i cut back to 1-2 days week my strenght and muscle growth has been way better, save the cardio for cutting, if you want to get huge, just keep bulking untill you reach the size that you want to be, then cut the fat after that.

[jamo2010]

obviously lance armstrong struggled in the marathon cos its not all about fitness, running is about strength in your feet an calves aswel but cycling is mainly your quads an hams. if you run on a treadmill it doesnt mean u wanna be a runner, its just ONE of the best ways to get fit. if u have to pause for breath when while your in the middle of a heavy set then u could probly benefit from getting fitter. THE best way to get fit is on a boxin bag. an dont forget to quit smoking ;-)

[houtexans23]

obviously lance armstrong struggled in the marathon cos its not all about fitness, running is about strength in your feet an calves aswel but cycling is mainly your quads an hams. if you run on a treadmill it doesnt mean u wanna be a runner, its just ONE of the best ways to get fit. if u have to pause for breath when while your in the middle of a heavy set then u could probly benefit from getting fitter. THE best way to get fit is on a boxin bag. an dont forget to quit smoking ;-)

strong bump. it doesn't matter what type of cardio, just do it. all year around. no matter what.

[Currensy420]

No dafuq.

[SpartanGrit]

Cardio is for well sculpted muscle.

Like I’m pretty sure their is no other way to get abs too.

You can build muscle all you want but unless your skinny af your abs won’t show.

So yeah do it!