Question:

What’s the maximum amount of cardio you can do without losing muscle mass?  I want to get in better cardiovascular shape but I don’t want to burn up all the muscle I’ve worked so hard to gain.

Answer:

The maximum amount of cardio you can do without losing muscle mass depends on two main factors:

1. The type of cardio you do:

You can do a lot more low intensity cardio work such as walking without losing muscle as compared to higher intensity training such as distance running. Interval training, if done for no more than 15 minutes per session, can actually support muscle mass while burning fat effectively.  It’s far more effective for developing your cardiovascular system than low-intensity aerobic training, so definitely perform THAT type of cardio preferentially.

2. Your state of nutrition:

If you are eating a lot of carbs, your body will preferentially burn those for energy rather than eating up your muscle mass. The downside to this is that you also will burn less fat. So, if you are dieting for fat loss, you have a greater chance of your body eating up muscle mass to provide energy. As it is, most people do cardio to lose fat, in which case strive to keep your protein intake high and make sure to do weight training to help preserve your muscle.

Ideally, you want to take in at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day of protein.  So if you weigh 150 lbs, you’d aim for 150 grams of protein.  Higher quality sources of protein like eggs, whey, lean meats, fish, etc. will work great.

In general, if you do 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio work three times a week, you will not lose significant amounts of muscle.

I would also highly recommend following a program designed for building muscle that incorporates cardio training directly into it.

Tags: can cardio cause muscle loss, cardio training, lose muscle, muscle mass
Filed under: Fat Loss