How does doing cardio affect muscle gains?

[lexmusic1]

i have heard a lot of people on this board say that doing cardio can decrease muscle gains. can someone please explain why this is?

i am trying to lose the excess flab around my stomach, but i dont really want to go on a diet where i greatly reduce my calories, because i know that will decrease muscle gains.

if i do light/moderate cardio 4 times a week, will that hurt my muscle gains? even in my upper body??


also, my maintanance amount of calories is 1900. if i reduce my calorie intake to 1800, will this at all hurt muscle gains?

thanks!

[The Brotherhood]

if your not in too much of a deficit, getting enough protein, training your ass off (not losing strength and intensity in the gym), and not doing cardio in a fasted state, you should be fine.

BCAA supplementation during cardio can help.

[ryuten]

and uh.... u can't gain muscle on a calorie deficit. u can gain strength, but that's another story

[G0tcha]

if you want to lose the flab fast try to cut carbs out of your diet. 40-70grams max a day so that when you do cardio you burn fat a lot faster. As for losing muscle, you wont lose it as long as you eat your weight (lbs) in grams of protein at the least + all the other extras like veggies fruits and so on. You would have to cardio like a maniac and have really bad nutrition to the point where you start to break down your muscles. Diet right and you have nothing to worry about. good luck

[The Brotherhood]

if you want to lose the flab fast try to cut carbs out of your diet. 40-70grams max a day so that when you do cardio you burn fat a lot faster. As for losing muscle, you wont lose it as long as you eat your weight (lbs) in grams of protein at the least + all the other extras like veggies fruits and so on. You would have to cardio like a maniac and have really bad nutrition to the point where you start to break down your muscles. Diet right and you have nothing to worry about. good luck

40-70 grams carbs is ridiculously low for a normal person. Carbs are more muscle sparing than protein. Horrible advice. Negged.

[Andrew69]

40-70 grams carbs is ridiculously low for a normal person. Carbs are more muscle sparing than protein. Horrible advice. Negged.

Yes , and all the bber's that go on a keto diet for a show are idiots
Not everything is as clear cut as you make out.

[The Brotherhood]

Yes , and all the bber's that go on a keto diet for a show are idiots
Not everything is as clear cut as you make out.

Keto isn't something you recommend off-the-bat to anyone wanting to lose some fat. Its very different from regular dieting, and needs to be researched by the concerned party before delving into.

Keto is NOT as muscle sparing as a higher carb diet

40-70g carbs,in 90% of the cases is not enough to go into ketosis. Your body wont run off ketones, neither will it have enough carbs.

[Dave P]

I dont think your carb count will effect your rate of muscle loss in any way. Its more about total calories/enough protein when it comes down to it.

[lexmusic1]

thank you for all the responses. i think i will try to eat around my maintenance weight, and just increase the amount of cardio i do on days that i dont lift.

[G0tcha]

40-70 grams carbs is ridiculously low for a normal person. Carbs are more muscle sparing than protein. Horrible advice. Negged.

40-70g is not a horribly low amount if your trying to lose body fat fast. This isnt the only aspect of the diet. You have to efficiently intake percentages of protein crabs and fat to to add up to the most efficient kcals per day depending on your body weight. I am currently using John Berardis diet plans and it is about the average amount that is recommend by many different high protein low carb diets. and on another note, one burns more calories with an efficient macronutrient meal 90 minutes prior to cardio then one who has fasted which is clinically proven. I thought that the fast prior to cardio was the fastest way to burn calories and get the body fat down when in fact it is the macronutrient meals (meals with variety and balanced nutrients) which help to burn more calories during a workout. If you plan on doing a low carb diet with high protein to lose body fat and build muscle be sure to do your hw and follow the diet plan.

[Andrew69]

Keto is NOT as muscle sparing as a higher carb diet

I beg to differ. Its a lot more complicated than that.
It depends on your current bf level, your lifting routine, total calorie consumed, cardio, etc, etc, etc.
I can drop fat easier and keep my strength quicker and easier with a keto diet than a conventional high(er) carb diet.

40-70g carbs,in 90% of the cases is not enough to go into ketosis. Your body wont run off ketones, neither will it have enough carbs.

Again, it all depends on the person, theoir goals and their current exercise routine. If you weight 150 lbs, then maybe yes, 40-70g wouldnt be a great idea.
If you were 250 lbs, that level could easily allow you to get into ketosis quickly.

If you are going to quote numbers, you really should be more specific.

All Im trying to get at is that "one size does not fit all."

[KingSht]

Yes , and all the bber's that go on a keto diet for a show are idiots
Not everything is as clear cut as you make out.

LOL he's 19. I doubt he wants to turn up for a bb show and radically change his diet for a bit of gut flab.

[Andrew69]

LOL he's 19. I doubt he wants to turn up for a bb show and radically change his diet for a bit of gut flab.

True, very true...so why not just drop 300-500 cals per day and see what happens?
Losing fat doesnt have to be complicated at all...I dont know why people try to make it complicated.

[Dirty Shoez]

40-70 grams carbs is ridiculously low for a normal person. Carbs are more muscle sparing than protein. Horrible advice. Negged.

You need to do a bit more research yourself, lad. If you have a question, ask. If you don't need to ask and already know what is going on....CLARIFY. But don't go around neg'ing people because you misunderstand or have a Anti-Keto bias. That is tacky.

[Hallock]

if you want to lose the flab fast try to cut carbs out of your diet. 40-70grams max a day so that when you do cardio you burn fat a lot faster. As for losing muscle, you wont lose it as long as you eat your weight (lbs) in grams of protein at the least + all the other extras like veggies fruits and so on. You would have to cardio like a maniac and have really bad nutrition to the point where you start to break down your muscles. Diet right and you have nothing to worry about. good luck

You are 146 pounds, most people here can rep your weight. Don't give ****ty misleading advice.

[MoGeaYuglay]

True, very true...so why not just drop 300-500 cals per day and see what happens?
Losing fat doesnt have to be complicated at all...I dont know why people try to make it complicated.

because trying to lose weight at a decent pace consistently, and holding on to the muscle, is more complicated than just "losing a few pounds"