Cardio after lifting;does it really kill muscle?

[sharaabi]

I was reading the following 10 tips for cardio but just wanted to know from people who have transformed their body and reduced their bodyfat how they performed their cardio.


question:

After reading the following "tips", I jus wanna know that after I complete my H.I.T(fullbody), is it OK to do lets say 20 minits of brisk walking? I do 2 circuits, so after completing each circuit.....would doing 20minits really eat my muscle even if i supplement it with 45grams of protein?





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1. For FAT loss, cardio should be done on an empty stomach. (Everyone knows this, no need to go on with it)

2. Cardio and weightlifting should be done 8 hours apart from each other. This was something I picked up from AST-Sports. To allow something to take place... forgot what they said.

3. Start small with cardio, and increase gradually (weekly). This way if you are dieting to be ripped you will not eat away at your hard earned muscle.

4. Each cardio session should not be done the same. Vary your forms of cardio, whether it is running, rowing, martial arts, and so on. This way it will not be boring (for those who really hate cardio) and it has something to do with your body getting used to it.

5. This is concerning cardio for fat loss. Your body starts consuming fat after a certain time during your cardio. Some say 20 minutes, but it depends on the individual (everyone is different). So a helpful tip is to keep your cardio going for at least 30 minutes, this is moderate to high intensity cardio.

6. Always, ALWAYS, stretch your muscles before cardio. Do a good stretch before each cardio session (includes claves, quads, hamstrings). If you don't you will be feeling it 5 minutes into your cardio.

7. Switch up the intensity during your cardio. Start with a short walk, go into moderate, then intensity, then if you can do what I like to call ULTRA intensity, then reduce it down to moderate, and end the session with a nice and easy pace. The walking parts should only be like a minute or two combined! Your cardio should consist of 50% moderate, 40% high, and 10% low (that's what I like to do).

8. It is very important to know your target heart rate. This is a must, because if your under your target heart rate, your not doing much to get yourself ripped. I do not know the actual equation (I think it was subtract age from 220), because I use a heart rate monitor thingy.

9. Never ever do your cardio right after your workout. For any of you that do this, or are thinking of doing it, don't. After a workout your body is in need of food and other good stuff, and if you do cardio right after, just think what is going to happen. Something so bad, so terrible, so disgusting, that I forgot. So that just shows you that it must be pretty bad, so don't do it!

Let me see, I need one more tip to make it a top 10 tips.
10. I got one, concerning fat loss, cardio will not make you become a lean mean muscle machine, it's only 10% of the equation, the other 90% is nutrition. I would bump up the nutrition but that will depress everybody.

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[cursor]

It's apparent that the list was created by someone who is simply regurgitating a batch of independent 'rules' that he/she's picked up from a number of sources.

With respect to your questions about cardio and burning muscle: Burning Muscle?

[threenorns]

just like muscle doesn't grow in the gym, fat doesn't burn on the treadmill. the fat-burning benefits come in the increased metabolic activity.

latest thinking is that high-intensity or low-intensity doesn't matter - it's the number of calories burned that tells the tale, however it's up to the individual physique. i, personally, do not do well on high-intensity cardio. i was just exhausted to the bone 24/7. with low-intensity (walking), i get better results. other ppl may find the opposite, which still others benefit either way.

the target heart rate is outmoded thinking - it basically doesn't work like that.

empty stomach or not is up to the individual. i can't exercise on an empty stomach - i have no energy and i feel nauseous. i usually eat about 45 minutes before working out.

[cursor]

Another consideration is, "what are you willing to do?" If you don't like HITT, then chances are, you're not going to approach it with optimal intensity. Maybe alternating HITT with a more moderate cardio style is something that seems more doable. Adopt a plan that you are willing to live with ... in the long run.

[jallen]

you always have to think about who this "advice" is intended for. Are you a competitive bodybuilder a few weeks out from a competition? If not then why would you be religiously following said "advice" for a competitive bodybuilder? You just pretty much need to take most info you find on the net with a grain of salt.

I know several very large guys at my gym that always do cardio after they lift, obviously they must find some benefit in it, at least that which outways any possible negative effects. I've just recently started doing cardio after i lift to see if any benefits come from it, where as before i never would because i didn't think and apply advice that i read to my body and my goals. If i drop some bodyfat from doing this, then mission accomplished. If i burn any significant amount of lean mass, then lesson learned, and i just put it back on, simple as that.

your body really doesn't like to burn lean muscle mass as fuel, it's the last option, but sometimes necessary because oxidizing fat is a slower process. When you're looking at what energy pathways are going to be used during your exercise, it gets very complicated and there are so many variables to take into account.

i think you should give it a try, and if it is effective for YOU, then good. If you have substantial losses in the weight room, maybe you ned to switch it up. What's the worst that can happen?

[maverick]

If you workout, chances are that your glycogen stores are depleted, meaning your body is in a state where it must find energy from other sources, i.e. fat and muscle. Doing cardio in this state, when your body would benefit most from reintroducing glycogen in the form of high-glycemic carbs, just seems like you are asking to limit your gains. Its the carbs, not the protein, at this point that will save muscle, though protein is crucial to increasing that muscle.

I don't think the question is whether or not you can still make gains doing this jallen. He's asking if he can potentially lose muscle this way. The guys in the gym you see working out then doing cardio are big, but they are quite possibly limiting their gains.