Is Your Cardio Training Killing Muscle Mass Gains?
Cardio — the one thing that everyone thinks about when it comes to heart health, endurance and so-called fat loss… Or is it? But could it actually be undermining your gains invisibly, through things like daily runs or spin class and treadmill sessions? Cardio has its place and yes, there are benefits (of course) but it turns out that those long sweaty sessions could actually be working against you. Well, lets dig into the science and see if your cardio routine is actually sabotaging you.
The Cardio-Muscle Paradox
While cardio is known as the best way to burn fat, it s also one of the worst ways if for toning because like we know, its promotes muscle loss. The first thing is catabolism; this process leads to your body breaking down muscle for energy, which will more than frequently occur during long-duration cardio sessions. This is especially true when your glycogen stores (your stored muscle and liver sugar) have been depleted, at which point you start to burn protein — aka, your own muscle fibers!
Why Does This Happen?
Your body is intelligent and it will always choose survival over pretty muscles. If you do enough long or intense cardio without adequate fuel, your body will eventually start to break down muscle protein for energy. This, in response to muscle breakdown and over time leads to the loss of muscle mass which is a big slap on face if you are trying yo build or even maintain your muscles.
What's more, extended periods of cardio can disrupt your muscle-building hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone while enhancing cortisol (the stress hormone). Persistent high cortisol levels will also increase muscle breakdown and fat storage, making it fairly easy to understand why battling chronic stress is similar fighting a losing battle.
The right balance: Cardio and strength training
That does not mean cutting all cardio out, but it means optimal level reach in between the two. Below are some of the major strategies that should be implemented to make cardio arial in which muscle mass is not lost.
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Avoid Long-Duration Cardio: HIIT ( Don't bother running on a treadmill or cycling for hours >> **Stick to shorter, more intense cardio sessions like high-intensity interval training. HIIT — High-Intensity Interval Training will even allow you to burn fat yet not lose your muscle; simply due the brevity of a HIIT workout.
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*Fuel Properly: Your body will use your muscle as energy before it burns fat, so going into a cardio session without enough carbohydrates would be counterproductive. Eating carbs and protein before you do volume work can also help protect those gains in a big way.
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weight lifting is key to getting jacked: Your cardio isn't gonna help your gains as much! Cardio to torch fat long sleeves Optional Strength training as your foundation, cardio of weights racts in o you sovereignty for the universal soldiers_DGRAM_DVCS versions.
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2.Rest and Recover: Overdoing the cardio, under resting your body will lead to a catabolic state if you are not careful. So I hope you will show them plenty of love and recover between your really hard sessions.
Cardio and the Preservation of Muscle
By no means are all cardio sessions going to lead to muscle loss — it depends on how you utilize it. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is very effective, but there are some kinds of exercise in the low- to moderate-cardio zone that actually support fat loss without sapping your muscle gains while dieting: Low-intensity steady-state (LISS) cardio like walking or cycling at a moderate pace. It helps to control your heart and metabolism well without burning up as much of muscle now with long period(10-15min) high-intensity cardio.
The Bottom Line
First, you must prioritize cardio for better health and fat loss, but it should be paired with your muscle-building program. With so much or poor nutrition, you can lose all of your muscles that were built up over time without knowing. The magic happens when you balance strength training with a little bit of cardio and give your body the fuel that it needs for fat loss but also to build muscle.
So the next time you decide to go out and lace up your new pair of running shoes, consider that less just might be more when it comes some strengtheners for those muscles we spend so long constructing.