Does Cardio Kill Strength Gains?
Does cardio kill strength gains? This is one question that many people have asked over the years in their quest to maximize their muscle and strength gains. In this post, we will answer that question.
Does cardio ruin muscle gains?
In the early 1980s, a group of exercise researchers (Hickson et. al) tried to determine if adding cardio to a resistance training program attenuated strength or muscle gains in a group of college-age males. These researchers found that the subjects who added cardio to their weight training gained less muscle than those who performed resistance training only. The researchers decided that adding cardio to resistance training created an interference effect that lessened strength and muscle gains.
However, the study did require the students to use a very extreme training program that involved very strenuous daily cardio and lifting to muscle failure. The study participants performed a huge volume of very taxing training, so it’s possible the subjects were just beginning to exhibit signs of overtraining syndrome.
More recent studies have found that adding cardio to muscle strengthening activities does not lessen strength or muscle gains. The recent research seems to suggest that as long as cardio is relatively brief in total volume and low to moderate in intensity, cardio does not attenuate strength or muscle gains.
Should I do cardio if I want to gain muscle?
IF you want to gain muscle, you should probably still do cardio. Cardio strengthens your heart and allows you to tolerate more total weight training volumes, helping you make better gains in the long term. Low intensity cardio can also help you improve your recovery from strenuous weight training. Cardio also helps you really more on fat rather than carbs for fuel. Coupled with a better work capacity, this helps your training to feel easier overall.
So even if you just want to gain muscle and build strength, you should still add cardio to your routine. Just keep it relatively moderate in duration and intensity. Two to three brisk 30-40 minute walks, bike rides or swims can go a long way towards improving your recovery and work capacity.
How can I do cardio without losing muscle?
To perform cardio without losing muscle, ramp up your cardio routine gradually while maintaining your lifting routine. Start with just 15-20 minutes of walking, cycling or using an elliptical a couple times per week and add 5 minutes a week until you can tolerate 30-45 minutes of moderate intensity cardio two or three times per week.
You could also try incorporating some circuit training into your resistance training workouts to make your weight training more metabolically taxing.
Start small and ramp up gradually.
Also make sure you take in enough calories overall and enough protein to maintain your total muscle mass.
Does cardio ruin bulking?
If you are currently trying to gain weight or muscle, you don’t have to fear cardio. Just make sure to perform the cardio while adding the calories back into your diet so you can continue to gain weight and muscle at your desired rate.
Cardio can actually help make a bulking phase more effective by helping you preserve your aerobic and work capacity while pushing heavy weights in your strength workouts.
Add Cardio to Your Lifting Routine
Hopefully this article reduced your fears about adding cardio to a resistance training routine. Cardio can benefit your health and probably won’t take anything away from your strength workouts, provided you implement it carefully. So make sure to add regular cardio to your resistance training routine!
