Will cardio hurt my muscle gains?

[richieboy89]

Hello all,
I've been working on my fitness goal of 175lbs for a little bit now. I want to incorporate some running into my routine but I've heard that it is counterproductive to a person of my build (6' 160lbs) to do this if I want to gain muscle mass. I am a member of the military so it is necessary that I maintain a good overall fitness level, not just strength. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the workout program I am currently using:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...ctomorphs.html

[Doug]

Originally Posted by richieboy89

Hello all,
I've been working on my fitness goal of 175lbs for a little bit now. I want to incorporate some running into my routine but I've heard that it is counterproductive to a person of my build (6' 160lbs) to do this if I want to gain muscle mass. I am a member of the military so it is necessary that I maintain a good overall fitness level, not just strength. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the workout program I am currently using:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...ctomorphs.html

Hi, You can perform cardio but if your goal is to build muscle then the number of calories expended during the cardio has to be added to your total daily calories. You should also carefully monitor your recovery from all your training

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by richieboy89

Hello all,
I've been working on my fitness goal of 175lbs for a little bit now. I want to incorporate some running into my routine but I've heard that it is counterproductive to a person of my build (6' 160lbs) to do this if I want to gain muscle mass. I am a member of the military so it is necessary that I maintain a good overall fitness level, not just strength. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the workout program I am currently using:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/wor...ctomorphs.html

Running a few miles a day isnt going to hurt your gains , I personally find that on the days that I run 3-4 miles before my workouts I do 100% better then on days where the weather prohibits me from warming up with a 3-4 mile run... doug covered the bases as far as eating more calories to make up for the ones lost from aerobic activity but having been running almost every day before my workout's with the exception of around 3 workouts when there was freezing rain and I did jumping jacks and skip rope for my pre workout warm up , I've still managed to go from 185 to 211lb , currently I am down to 208lb but I think some of the fluxuation is water weight.

I am currently preparing for Basic Military Training... Navy is my final destination , which field are you in ?

[DannyT]

Originally Posted by IvanTheTerible

Running a few miles a day isnt going to hurt your gains , I personally find that on the days that I run 3-4 miles before my workouts I do 100% better then on days where the weather prohibits me from warming up with a 3-4 mile run... doug covered the bases as far as eating more calories to make up for the ones lost from aerobic activity but having been running almost every day before my workout's with the exception of around 3 workouts when there was freezing rain and I did jumping jacks and skip rope for my pre workout warm up , I've still managed to go from 185 to 211lb , currently I am down to 208lb but I think some of the fluxuation is water weight.

I am currently preparing for Basic Military Training... Navy is my final destination , which field are you in ?

Studies have proven that doing cardio before weightlifting is counter-productive. Maybe you're an exception, who knows, everybody's body is different. But I would like to see if you do better with cardio POST workout, and see how your weightlifting goes.

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by DannyT

Studies have proven that doing cardio before weightlifting is counter-productive. Maybe you're an exception, who knows, everybody's body is different. But I would like to see if you do better with cardio POST workout, and see how your weightlifting goes.

well I will be hitting the gym tomorrow , I am down to try anything once & repeat it if it works !

I will let you know how things go -

[richieboy89]

Originally Posted by IvanTheTerible

Running a few miles a day isnt going to hurt your gains , I personally find that on the days that I run 3-4 miles before my workouts I do 100% better then on days where the weather prohibits me from warming up with a 3-4 mile run... doug covered the bases as far as eating more calories to make up for the ones lost from aerobic activity but having been running almost every day before my workout's with the exception of around 3 workouts when there was freezing rain and I did jumping jacks and skip rope for my pre workout warm up , I've still managed to go from 185 to 211lb , currently I am down to 208lb but I think some of the fluxuation is water weight.

I am currently preparing for Basic Military Training... Navy is my final destination , which field are you in ?

Air Force. Ive been in a little over a year now. How long did you enlist for?

Good advice so far guys. I just have to make sure I can keep my 1.5 mile time under 13:45 so I can pass my PT tests. Hence the concern about running.

[DannyT]

Originally Posted by IvanTheTerible

well I will be hitting the gym tomorrow , I am down to try anything once & repeat it if it works !

I will let you know how things go -

Do a 5 minute cardio warm up. Then get straight into the weights. I will almost guarantee you have more energy for lifting than if you had done a long period of cardio before your weights. Hopefully I'm correct , hit the weights HARD buddy.

[richieboy89]

I'm planning on purchasing this weight gainer as well (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/sto...ious-mass.html). Is 1250 calories overkill or should I aim for something in the 600 range?

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by DannyT

Do a 5 minute cardio warm up. Then get straight into the weights. I will almost guarantee you have more energy for lifting than if you had done a long period of cardio before your weights. Hopefully I'm correct , hit the weights HARD buddy.

I will give it a shot & I'll reply back after my workout tomorrow

Originally Posted by richieboy89

Air Force. Ive been in a little over a year now. How long did you enlist for?

Good advice so far guys. I just have to make sure I can keep my 1.5 mile time under 13:45 so I can pass my PT tests. Hence the concern about running.

I have enlisted for 4 years service , I am still somewhat concerned about my run times to... not sure if in the PT test the run is first or last or in the middle !!! needless to say I am a little worried.

so far the best time I can make on a 2 mile track is around 16 minutes - Ive been practicing it for a few months now and I seem a lot less tired but I cant seem to increase my speed / lower my run times

[Steve]

During 1986 to 1987, I played basketball after lifting weights nearly every day and I made great gains. Just make sure you're working out the spoon hard and heavy too.