# Who said that too much cardio will burn muscle?!?!



## hsmann87 (Jun 22, 2010)

I hear so much about how certain cardio will burn muscle, how doing it at different times of the day will burn muscle.

The science behind the body readily excreting Nitrogen and hence breaking down muscle mass is believable.

But I honestly think that people are getting a little too fanatical about it.

Look at sprinters. They are better built than 99% of people in the world, however if a random newbie on a muscle building forum was to say that they want to train 6 times a week, AM cardio each day and 4-5 weights sessions a week, I can pretty much guarantee that 99.9% of people would reply and instantly say that the OP is overtraining.

But just take a look at the following article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/10/harry-aikines-aryeetey-sprinter-olympics-2012

Harry is probably bigger than 90% of people on this forum. And he HEAVILY "overtrains"&#8230;.apparently

P.S. He is quite a muscley dude&#8230; http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=Harry+Aikines-Aryeetey&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=KBF-TYT7GI_VsgaNionlBw&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1053&bih=516

Acutually. He is probably like that just because he has sick genetics:whistling:


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## Dagman72 (Apr 2, 2009)

hsmann87 said:


> Look at sprinters. They are better built than 99% of people in the world, however if a random newbie on a muscle building forum was to say that they want to train 6 times a week, AM cardio each day and 4-5 weights sessions a week, I can pretty much guarantee that 99.9% of people would reply and instantly say that the OP is overtraining.


But surely his nutrition etc is perfect where the average joe is not.


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

And I'm sure a top level sprinter is going to reveal his exact training schedule to a newspaper...

Plus he's a professional athlete, all he has to do is train, eat, recover. Little different to your avergae joe with the demands of a job, kids, family etc. No doubt his nutrition and recovery is spot on too.

Bit of a poor example to use as an argument against cardio not burning muscle, plus he lifts 3 x per week.


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## Jim78 (Aug 20, 2010)

Dunno, Linford christie in his Bio said he hardly ate anything (but god knows what he took lol) and he looked awesome in his prime, they are elite athletes and most have elite genes too.

That being said, cardio works different for everyone. My mate, an ex marine just eats normal foods but keeps it clean, no protein powder, 8 mile run per day (at a fast pace no jogging) and gym without fail, and hold single digits all year round.

Everyone is different.


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## hsmann87 (Jun 22, 2010)

He didnt reveal his exact training schedule. The info he gave is enough for us to understand that he trains A LOT which, in the realms of many, would constitute overtraining.

Im not telling everyone to go out and train like he does and they will attain the physique he does. That would be stupid.

Just trying to make a point that overtraining is very overhyped these days...

(and perhaps used as an excuse for people to not do cardio and be lazy? i myself was guilty of this a year or so ago, hands up i admit it)


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## Magic Torch (May 30, 2005)

hsmann87 said:


> Just trying to make a point that overtraining is very overhyped these days...


Overtraining being detrimental to growth is differnet to burning muscle tho. For a newbie that is the main cause for concern. Getting enough rest and food are more important to a new trainer, a seasoned athelete training hard like a sprinter will be well versed in diet and rest.

The main point of too much cardio burning muscle is true, if you do too much cardio and burn more calories than you are taking in you will burn muslce.

Plus a sprinter will be on a decent amout of drugs which will more than likely provide resistance to catabolism.


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## Dagman72 (Apr 2, 2009)

hsmann87 said:


> He didnt reveal his exact training schedule. The info he gave is enough for us to understand that he trains A LOT which, in the realms of many, would constitute overtraining.
> 
> Im not telling everyone to go out and train like he does and they will attain the physique he does. That would be stupid.
> 
> ...


Fair enough mate, food for thought though and like you bulked up over the years and did no cardio and regret that now so always tell people not to neglect cardio even when bulking.


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## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

The world is full of conflicting info. I don't do ANY cardio, not because I'm scared of muscle catabolism. Just because it's boring and I'm lazy


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## hsmann87 (Jun 22, 2010)

Magic Torch said:


> Overtraining being detrimental to growth is differnet to burning muscle tho. For a newbie that is the main cause for concern. Getting enough rest and food are more important to a new trainer, a seasoned athelete training hard like a sprinter will be well versed in diet and rest.
> 
> The main point of too much cardio burning muscle is true, if you do too much cardio and burn more calories than you are taking in you will burn muslce.
> 
> Plus a sprinter will be on a decent amout of drugs which will more than likely provide resistance to catabolism.


Agreed. But assuming a newbie takes in adequate macros, I feel that catabolism is still less likely to occur than in a much bigger guy:

Homeostasis-the body is excellent at functioning in the easiest way possible. Therefore the more muscle, the more difficult it becomes to function, thereby increasing the need for the body to break down muscle mass so the heart, metabolic furnace etc doesn't need to operate at an abnormal rate.

Newbies with hardly any muscle will therefore not have the requirement to get rid of any excess muscle as they don't have any in the first place. Thereby catabolism will be less rife in people with less muscle mass.

I think that a LOT of muscle mass is required before catabolism starts (obviously assuming a sound nutrition protocol is in place and the trainer isn't living off a kebab every day lol)


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## shinobi_85 (Feb 20, 2011)

he can do this because he has increased his schedule slowly over years, he didnt just pop up at sutton atheltics club and say yes im going train 5 hours a day, hes adapted to it, as have other professional athletes, and the part of the basis that allows for this adaptation is the level of rest they are afforded. However, a person that is closer to theyre ideal weight, that there body is comfortable at, is likely to lose less than a bigger guy whos taking his natural settings to another level (especially if hes natural).

so in summary, the smaller guy may not catabolise from the cardio as much as the big guy relatively speaking, when adjusting for percentage muscle mass, but a newb will just not be used to it, i think their body will not cope with the rise in cortisol as well as say a seasoned smaller athlete and thus even if they dont lose muscle mass, they will effect the amount they will gain from there subsequent gym workouts (when trying to gain mass). just my take on things.


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## Brotein (Mar 22, 2010)

You can't compare a sprinters cardio to that of what a bodybuilder does, a sprinters training will be short bursts, not LISS, he will only be using the atp system in that sprinting and won't be going much in to his glycogen/fat stores. Here is a good post on cardio

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=639771283&postcount=1087


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## MarkFranco (Aug 26, 2010)

Hes probably on steroids


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## hsmann87 (Jun 22, 2010)

Brotein said:


> You can't compare a sprinters cardio to that of what a bodybuilder does, a sprinters training will be short bursts, not LISS, he will only be using the atp system in that sprinting and won't be going much in to his glycogen/fat stores. Here is a good post on cardio
> 
> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=639771283&postcount=1087


Whilst I agree with this...why is it then that sprinters are shredded?


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## Big Gunz (Jun 9, 2009)

hsmann87 said:


> Whilst I agree with this...why is it then that sprinters are shredded?


One main reason is genetics and the fact that their world class athletes.

Another is that even though they may not do LSD training, it's about the calorie expenditure that they have throughout the day because of their sprint training (HIT) and then not to mention how clean their diet will be and maybe the use of gear.


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## hsmann87 (Jun 22, 2010)

Big Gunz said:


> One main reason is genetics and the *fact that their world class athletes.*
> 
> Another is that even though they may not do LSD training, it's about the calorie expenditure that they have throughout the day because of their sprint training (HIT) and then *not to mention how clean their diet will be* and maybe the use of gear.


What does the fact of them being world class athletes have to do with them being shredded?? They still need to work hard at being shredded. Its not a birth right :confused1:

Yes. Clean diets. But thats not something that only athletes have. If you or I want clean diets, its not that difficult


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## Wevans2303 (Feb 18, 2010)

MarkFranco said:


> Hes probably on steroids


This x 104258438054345345345


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## Ironclad (Jun 23, 2009)

Dunno if this has already been said, but it seems a bit obvious to me. All these guys are sprinters NOT endurance athletes, they train for explosive power so I'd hazard their training isn't too far off a BBers. Hence the aesthetics, low-fat, ripped etc


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## Big Gunz (Jun 9, 2009)

hsmann87 said:


> What does the fact of them being world class athletes have to do with them being shredded?? They still need to work hard at being shredded. Its not a birth right :confused1:


It's their profession so they have to train that hard, eat this and that without fail. It's a lot easier for them to be in the shape their in.



> Yes. Clean diets. But thats not something that only athletes have. If you or I want clean diets, its not that difficult


This is only the icing on the cake. Like I said, top athletes have great genetics.


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## MarkFranco (Aug 26, 2010)

Big Gunz said:


> It's their profession so they have to train that hard, eat this and that without fail. It's a lot easier for them to be in the shape their in.
> 
> This is only the icing on the cake. Like I said, top athletes have great genetics.


Genetics yes, and access to probably some of the best advice in the business when it comes to diet, training, supplements and Dr's who can help him pass the test for steroid use :whistling:

Not to mention he probably doesnt have to do anything else other than train leaving plenty of time for rest and recovery


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

hsmann87 said:


> Whilst I agree with this...why is it then that sprinters are shredded?


Perhaps because sprinting is actually alot better form of cardio than what most people do when trying to be a bodybuilder 

Overtraining is person specific - athelets didn't start doing hours of training per day, they built up to it. As the volume of work is increased the body adapts. That's the whole principle of training.

Most recreational trainers do not overtrain. They train stupid - totally different things!


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## goonerton (Sep 7, 2009)

Top sprinters are very genetically gifted , they are the generally the types that without picking up a weight are heavily muscled and with great definition.

What someone with amazing genetics can do and hold muscle has little relevance to the average joe.


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

Cardio means cardiovascular, use of oxygen is needed, sprinters do not train aerobically they train anarobically as oxygen is not needed! Sprinters are more muscular because of this type of training using the creatine phosphate system 8-10seconds the same as a bodybuilder. However how many endurance athletes do you see with a similar phyique to a bodybuilder..none! Cardio to excessive levels will use muscle as a energy source


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## grantinerfe1436114737 (Oct 29, 2010)

i've heard jay cutler saying that you can only overtrain if you don't eat properly


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