Can anyone give me some explanation on muscle wasting? How do you know if its happening to you? I'm curious if the intensity of my cardio could trigger that?
I lift 6x week; start with my weight training first for about 45 mins then I do cardio/HIIT (also 6x week) for 20 mins (5.6 then increase to 9.4) on the treadmill and then I might add the bike or Ellipt for an additional 10-15 mins if I feel up to it.
THanks!
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Thread: How does "muscle wasting" occur?
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07-29-2007, 08:38 PM #1
How does "muscle wasting" occur?
Last edited by livingloca; 07-29-2007 at 08:40 PM.
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07-30-2007, 04:54 AM #2
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07-30-2007, 06:00 AM #3
but that's it..... how do i know if i'm losing muscle.... just visually?
I just didn't know if my not dropping weight/fat had anything to do with it. For as much cardio as i do i would think that i would see a drop in bf or the scale. I have been in a plateau for 2 months. I've straightened out my clean eating even more to see if it will change anything but am wondering what is holding back the progress? I should have dropped at least 5 pounds in the last 2 months for the amount of intense cardio i do everyday...
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07-30-2007, 06:11 AM #4
You can tell visually, but also by tracking your lifting progress, muscular endurance, weight to a certain point (because if you're losing very quickly, chances are you're losing muscle). If your lifts are suffering and your legs can't keep up with your lungs, you might be overdoing it. But if your nutrition is in order, there's no reason for your body to break down its own muscular tissues
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07-30-2007, 11:08 AM #5
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well from what I read you most likely are in muscle wasting. Correct me if I am wrong but you are doing 6xweek of HIIT cardio? HIIT is intended not to be more than 2-3 sessions a week since its so hard on the CNS. I would reduce down to 3 sessions a week along with adding one moderate intensity. See what progress you make there. Also how many calories are you taking in? THat could lead to muscle wasting also not taking enough could be just as big of an issue as doing to much cardio.
"You can't take some pill and hope your fat will jump off of you like you have the plague. You must work out and eat clean to have a lean, green, fighting machine." Sunshineslynn
'If you always do what you always did, then you will always get what you always do'
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07-30-2007, 11:38 AM #6
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If the diet is dialed in, then there are two things to look at:
1) You may be burning muscle with too much cardio - HIIT is pretty good at preserving muscle, but as mentioned, is not meant to be done every day.
2) When was the last time you took a break? You may simply need time for your body to recover and rest in order to come back and start seeing results again. Take a week off every 2-3 months.
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07-30-2007, 10:04 PM #7
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07-31-2007, 06:29 AM #8
I know.... i love the "high" i get on doing my sprints. My stamina has been awesome. I added up my protein and cals yesterday. I got to my protein goal, but my cals lagged behind. so the only thing i can say is that i'm not eating enough for the amount of exercise i do. I haven't visually lost muscle and my strength on lifting has gone up.
I tried not doing HIIT this morning. I felt bored just running at the same speed. ugh -so i jumped on the bike for a while then got back on the treadmill. Guess i will not do my intervals on the treadmill for a week and see how my progress goes...
thanks!
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07-31-2007, 06:45 AM #9
it was reeeal easy to tell for me. my thighs got nice and skinny but when i flexed they looked the same - i always had very muscular legs (and now i got them back, yay!). also, my abs stopped feeling hard and defined when i flexed too. if you are muscle wasting, you'll know. if you can't notice, you're probably not, so very litle. also i was too tired to get through cardio routines anymore, that's how i knew i was in a severe catabolic state (plus loss of menstruation for several months).
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07-31-2007, 07:11 AM #10
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Aerobics does not cause muscle loss
Muscle loss is usually a direct result of an inadequate supply of calories to sustain the aerobic work rather than aerobics itself. A bodybuilder who loses muscle during a period of aerobic training is not eating enough to compensate for the calories expended.
Also, aerobic exercise increases levels of myoglobin which is a protein that transports oxygen from the bloodstream into the muscle fibers. This increases the level and activity of the enzymes involved in the aerobic metabolism of glucose. Larger mitochondria (cellular furnaces where fat and other nutrients are burned) in greater numbers, increased levels of aerobic enzymes, coupled with increased blood flow all boosts the fat burning capabilities of the muscle fibers.
As for the cause of muscle waste, if you are consantly in the catabolic state of metabolism through repeated training, your body cannot produce the chemical substances and parts needed for repair. The stress of excessive training can exceed the body's ability to recover and adapt, which results in more catabolism (breakdown) than anabolism (buildup).Last edited by Donzi Las; 07-31-2007 at 08:16 AM.
Jump and the net will appear.
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08-01-2007, 11:25 AM #11
It's kind of what i thought (although you had much more great information! than what i was aware of ).
A personal trainer friend of mine thought that maybe even going longer periods of time in cardio (doing 45 mins) daily would help shed the fatloss and only doing HIIT but maybe once a week (bc i'm probably going into an anaerobic state when i'm sprinting) AS LONG AS I keep my calories up to what I will need for the expenditure of my day-to-day activities/cardio. In otherwords, yes, i need to keep the cals up to meet my daily activity requirement.
Since i haven't really seen any strength lost (only on those days which i completely attribute to not eating correctly) i think i just haven't been eating enough.
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08-01-2007, 11:46 AM #12
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Yikes!
This is definitely one of my fears. I am having a hard enough time gaining muscle, but I haven't seen my strength going anywhere but up. Still I am concerned that with all the weight lifting & cardio, I may not be seeing the gains I want because my body is wasting muscle instead of tapping into my fat stores...
What should I do?!
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08-01-2007, 12:11 PM #13
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08-01-2007, 12:20 PM #14
if your strength goes up it's not likely you are wasting muscle.
high-intensity work (~70-75% and up) uses carbs for fuel. if you don't eat adequately around workouts and/or eat too little in general for your activity level you can lose muscle tissue in the long run. the body is at its most vulnerable when you place physical stress on it.
what you use for fuel during a workout is less of importance than being in an energy deficit over a longer period of time if you want to lose fat. iow, you don't need to worry about 'burning fat' during the workout - you burn fat all day long."The human race is still largely a group of monkeys with slightly better grooming habits. Give them a microscope and and they'll examine their own ****, give them a telescope and they'll go looking for tits."
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08-02-2007, 08:32 AM #15
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Right now, I'm eating about every 2 to 3 hours, trying to get in about 5 to 6 small meals in a day, concentrating on protein. Last night, I was hungry before I went to bed and ended up eating some boiled egg whites before bed. My basic food diary & workout schedule is posted in my latest bodyblog, for more detail, I guess!
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08-02-2007, 08:35 AM #16
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08-02-2007, 08:59 AM #17
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It looks like your eating the right stuff, just not enough of it. For building muscle = cal increase over maintenance, fat loss = calorie deficit.
Just a suggestion, but it did work for me..... I split it up. One week on a deficit, next on an increase. I continually cycled both carbs and calories, kept my protein at 1 gr x bw or higher. Like I said, only a suggestion. It worked for me but not every ones body will react the same.
Good luck!!Jump and the net will appear.
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08-02-2007, 12:19 PM #18
i don't think there is 'one' approach that works best.
high-intensity work burns more calories than low-intensity and very intense interval work creates a bigger EPOC - heightened burning afterwards.
and - it is not about what you use for fuel during a workout. it is about the overall energy balance over longer period of time.
imo burning fat is more about a good diet than cardio but everyone is different. also, it depends on how deep you are into a cut. you can't forever lower food intake."The human race is still largely a group of monkeys with slightly better grooming habits. Give them a microscope and and they'll examine their own ****, give them a telescope and they'll go looking for tits."
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08-02-2007, 01:09 PM #19
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Hmm...makes sense, but at the same time, I'm trying to both add muscle & cut my body fat percentage, particularly in time for a fitness modeling show in 8 weeks. I am slightly scared to up my calories more than what they already are...
Would you guys say that I should just stick with my current schedule & see where it can take me in 8 weeks?Last edited by Jessica Bella; 08-02-2007 at 01:12 PM.
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