Comments on: Attention Bodybuilders: The Case Against Cardio

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:54:22 +0000

Thank you heaps Mark that helped a lot. I will just have to endure the extra cardio training. Thanks again.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:17:06 +0000

@Greg. Well you’re talking about a very specific type of adaptation that you wish to produce. Marathon runners must train with long-distance running, cyclists must train on their bikes and so on.
While what I’m recommending here is optimal for those who are training for lean muscle gains, someone in your position would have to factor in some endurance/cardio activities in my opinion.
You can certainly get very fit by lifting weights only, but the army will want specific skills developed which you will have to specifically train for. I’m no expert in that field but if soldiers are running long distances with heavy backpacks on and so on, you would be best advised to incorporate this type of activity into your training.
Would this compromise muscle gain? I would say yes for most people (except the very genetically gifted) but that’s not to say that you would actually lose muscle, so you can put your mind at ease about that.
Hope that helps.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:03:08 +0000

Hello Mark I was wondering since doing too much cardio is not the best for muscle building what would be the best way to go for getting trained for the armed forces. As I am in the process of applying for the armed forces I want to be very fit but not lose my muscle mass that I have worked so hard for.

By: David

David — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:02:33 +0000

Clark,

I just completed my first marathon last week. During my 20 week training program, I was able to increase my speed (going from a 7 minute time for a 1 mile trial to a 6 minute time), endurance (going from exhaustion at 11 miles to exhaustion at 26.2!), AND leg muscle strength (increasing my 12 rep squat weight by 15%). As Mark has pointed out, strength and muscle cross sectional area are proportionally related, so that strength gain must have resulted in muscle gain. In short, it IS possible to gain significant muscle mass while improving aerobic capacity. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the legs of a speed skater/hockey player.

Perhaps I could have increased my strength gains more had I not been running as much (or at all). I don’t really know. Now that it’s winter, I’ll be dropping the long runs in favor of HIIT type training, so ask me again in 4 or 5 months.

While I disagree with Mark a little over cardio, I am in complete agreement with his general thesis here that OVERtraining can be very catabolic. It’s very important to give your legs days off (I only ran 3 days a week during my marathon training). It’s also important to keep your BCAA supply as high as possible (lots of glutamine and alanine), and to add 25-40g of carbs to a post run protein shake. This is not to increase protein synthesis, but to simply replace muscular glycogen stores faster (and hence obviate your liver from having to catabolize protein via gluconeogenisis).

By: Clark

Clark — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:19:40 +0000

So if I need to stay in good running condition but still want to bulk up what should I do? I know that sprints, stairs, jumping routines, and cycles help preserve muscle mass. Should I just *not run 3 or so miles and instead to a short and intense sprint cardio?

By: Jerome

Jerome — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:38:54 +0000

This was an excellent look at the merits of, not, doing any cardio! I look forward to the day when I can be down for that approach. However, as it stands right now, I am in the process of losing 50 pounds fo body fat. :s Your statement, “Wouldn’t it just be easier to not eat it in the first place?”, made me want to go back in time and slap myself every time I looked at a Big Mac. In any case, if there is justifacation for getting rid of cardio in the future my motivation for weight loss just trippled!

By: Rooy

Rooy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:29:17 +0000

So..it means that even when we want to cut (maybe TSPA) we shouldnt do cardio?cheers

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:25 +0000

Mark,

Great article and I see your points. I must admit that this article is all about me as I run 3 times a week to keep fit. I am 39 yrs old, 5’’11 and weigh about 85kg but the only area of my body that I’m not happy with is my mid-section. I wish I am discipline when it comes to my diet. Problem is that I have sweet tooth and I find it difficult to stop eating cakes, chocolates etc. But since I started back in the gym I have tried cutting down on the bad habits e.g. baking my own cakes with healthier ingredients, changed to dark chocolate etc. I also enjoy running but thought that since I can’t do the diet thing, the only other option was to turn to cardio. God help me!

Sam.

By: zam

zam — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:45:39 +0000

Nice article, but it won’t make me stop my sessions of HIIT. The key is to keep those workouts SHORT, the study you mentioned proves that point. The overall effect may be equivalent to body building but I do it anyway to add variety to my workout.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:45:26 +0000

I believe that doing HIIT or Sprint Interval training is a good way of preserving the body’s anabolic state without breaking down muscle or adding to the recovery time needed. I tend to do sprint intervals and hill running alongside my weight training, rarely do I go for long steady state cardio sessions, mainly it’s just too boring 🙂

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:22:08 +0000

David, was going to make a similar point.
Mark, I do HIIT sprints once per week, as far away from my leg workout as possible, surely the mechanical work is on my legs only, I agree that stressing my legs like this shortly after a leg workout would be detrimental but what if my legs are no longer in recovery? Of course other parts of my body will be in recovery but will they be affected?
Never bother with long steady state cardio sessions, boring (although trail running/cycling is fun) and counter productive.
It’s pretty sick but I really enjoy a heavy HIIT session that leaves me gasping for air and pouring with sweat.

By: Pyjammez

Pyjammez — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:29:30 +0000

Very nice article. I love the sentence “Wouldn’t it just be easier to not eat it in the first place?”

By: Darrin_lean_muscle

Darrin_lean_muscle — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:02:27 +0000

This is one of the more thorough treatments I’ve seen about cardio during mass-gain phases. Most writers/gurus/meatheads just say “don’t do cardio when you are trying to build muscle” but they are unable to articulate a reason. You, on the other hand, have articulated several good reasons! The only thing I might like to see added is a discussion about somatypes and how that might affect the need for cardio more often, even during “bulking” phases.

Personally, I love running, so I do it year-round but I do scale back the steady-state and try to do more HIIT when I’m trying to gain muscle mass.

Excellent article!

By: Johnny W

Johnny W — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:43:16 +0000

Hey Mark I found this to be a very good article. I’ve been doing cardio and weight training for quite a while now and I must admit I havn’t progressed as much as I thought I would have. I’m gonna stop doing the bike right now.
Although I do have a question. I mainly go on my bike (exercise bike) to build my stamina. Not to burn fat. because I’m pretty skinny. So what would be another way of increasing my stamina if I shouldn’t be doing cardio? Thanks.

By: Andrew Mast

Andrew Mast — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:15:30 +0000

Thanks for getting this info compiled and explained with good arguments.

By: Tajwar Alexander

Tajwar Alexander — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:54:13 +0000

So if doing cardio is counter-productive for putting on mass—is it also counter-productive if you’re OVER FAT- like say, 35% bodyfat? Would lifting and diet alone be sufficient to get down to a 7% bodyfat level in a speedy time?–That is if you’re goal is to keep as much muscle as possible while cutting the fat.

By: David

David — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:32:04 +0000

Mark,

I agree that it’s easy to overtrain your legs, but if you follow THT, you’re only training your legs once a week. Unfortunately, mitochondrial density starts decaying toward baseline levels in as little as 4 days of inactivity, whereas strength gains can last for up to two weeks before degrading. Thus, with proper nutrition, it would be possible, and I’d say advantageous, to do at least one round of high intensity cardio (leg based) 4 days after your leg lifting day to keep aerobic gains constant over a bulking cycle.