Cardio work/"Burning muscle"

[jordan12 1]

Does anyone here know if it's possible to "burn muscle" from doing too much cardio work? This seems like complete BS to me; I would think that excessive cardiovascular exercise could hinder the repair of the muscle you already have as you might use up the amino acids you consume in your diet...and therefore slow the growth or even lead to deterioration....but would there ever be a situation where the body would actually convert its own muscle into energy during exercise?

[AltaPGT 0]

In a way yes. When the body needs energy and food is not providing enough, it will break down both fat and muscle tissue for energy. The ratio of fat/muscle that is broken down depends on the person, the diet, the activity, the intensity, and other factors. As long as you are using your muscles tho they will regenerate and what not, thats no reason to quit cardio. I wouldn't overdo it tho, IMHO weight lifting and cardio, not like marathon running, just good aerobic workouts.

[jordan12 1]

Are you sure that's not a myth based on muscles deteriorating simply as a result of a lack of amino acids available for repair as the result of overexercise/an inadequate diet? Obviously, muscles break down all the time (and that's the catalyst for body building--causing enough muscle damage so the body responds by increasing the strength of them)...but that's separate from being broken down because the body doesn't have enough glucose to provide energy.

What I'm saying is I have extreme doubts as to whether muscle is actually "burned for energy." I have a hunch people may be mistaking "wastage" for metabolism. I'd be interested to see if there's any definitive research on the issue.

[xebag 0]

Have your extreme doubts. Its real. Muscle can be used for energy. Cardio can also shrink muscle fibers.

Don't be fooled by the intended audience.. read http://www.figureathlete.com/article/train...eadmill&cr=

[jordan12 1]

Have your extreme doubts. Its real. Muscle can be used for energy. Cardio can also shrink muscle fibers.

Don't be fooled by the intended audience.. read http://www.figureathlete.com/article/train...eadmill&cr=

I see nothing in that article about "burning muscle for energy." I see things about the body reducing the size of muscle fibers to adjust for the type of exercise one performs, but that has nothing to do with "burning it for energy."

What do you base "it's real" on? Where's the scientific evidence?

[xebag 0]

You asked about 2 different types of muscle wasting. I provided a link for one.

Muscle for energy... Research muscle catabolism.

[Guest anonymous]

yes absolutley if your trying to put on muscle. don't do to much cardio. if your trying to lose weight cardio is the most important thing along with some kind of circuit training. of course muscle is broken down from exertion and cardio causes exertion. have you ever looked at a long distance runner or a lance armstrong. don't get me wrong cardio is vital but don't run for hours everday. I wouldn't run for more that 30 min after my workout. or more that an hour TOPS on an off day.

[Jeremyn 25]

Doing cardio can actually help with building muscle though, since it helps increase the appetite and makes you eat more.

[Danny© 2]

The point is the body doesn't have any interest in keeping a lot of muscle mass.

Bulky mass is not only totally useless and metabolically expensive but also an hindrance as we are better suited by slender, thin, fast bodies and limbs than bulky one.

So when you stop doing resistance training and overeating the body simply get rid of excess muscles mass leaving you with the right amount no more no less. Cardio helps in this process but it is not catabolic per se. You won't lose needed muscular tone by doing cardio but you would start to lose excessive hindrance mass from doing it.

[KenScofield 0]

The point is the body doesn't have any interest in keeping a lot of muscle mass.

Bulky mass is not only totally useless and metabolically expensive but also an hindrance as we are better suited by slender, thin, fast bodies and limbs than bulky one.

So when you stop doing resistance training and overeating the body simply get rid of excess muscles mass leaving you with the right amount no more no less. Cardio helps in this process but it is not catabolic per se. You won't lose needed muscular tone by doing cardio but you would start to lose excessive hindrance mass from doing it.

What the hell are you talking ab- no, nevermind, not going to bother...

Anyway...

Yes, your body can burn muscle for energy. Your muscles are protein, and your body can use it for energy. It's not a myth, if it were a myth then starving kids in Africa wouldn't be skeletons.

If you're so worried about losing muscle from cardio, do HIIT, and eat a consistent, nutrient rich diet.

[Danny© 2]

Does anyone here know if it's possible to "burn muscle" from doing too much cardio work? This seems like complete BS to me; I would think that excessive cardiovascular exercise could hinder the repair of the muscle you already have as you might use up the amino acids you consume in your diet...and therefore slow the growth or even lead to deterioration....but would there ever be a situation where the body would actually convert its own muscle into energy during exercise?

"too much" cardio is just a transitory phase where you try to lose unwated body fat.

Increasing cardio always works wonder in decreasing further body fat, even more than HIIT (the EPOC effect, studies have shown, has been grossly overestimated) If you don't have fat to lose you just do normal regular cardio to maintain a conditioned cardiovascular system and have fun.

If you have fat to lose then always lose fat first by maximizing cardio and when you are glad with your body fat, build the amount of muscles you want whether you want to be slender, toned, ripped, bulky or huge.

[Guest anonymous]

some good info:

http://www.atozfitness.com/wordpress/doing...-muscle-part-1/

[bleedingthrough 0]

wow no it does not turn the muscle into fat, unless u never eat, which im doubt u, but you will not get stronger as long as u do the excessive cardio, i was lifting wieghts while i was in wrestling, and my lifting strength went down 50%, so just choose one or do light cardio, but lifting i thing is stupid and does build real muscle, plus lifting weights has nothing to do with figthing, so just lift all day long if u want to lol

[Necromancer 3]

Does anyone here know if it's possible to "burn muscle" from doing too much cardio work? This seems like complete BS to me; I would think that excessive cardiovascular exercise could hinder the repair of the muscle you already have as you might use up the amino acids you consume in your diet...and therefore slow the growth or even lead to deterioration....but would there ever be a situation where the body would actually convert its own muscle into energy during exercise?

Yes, have you not seen the comparison of a bodybuilder, athlete, and a long distance runner? WTF

The point is the body doesn't have any interest in keeping a lot of muscle mass.

Bulky mass is not only totally useless and metabolically expensive but also an hindrance as we are better suited by slender, thin, fast bodies and limbs than bulky one.

So when you stop doing resistance training and overeating the body simply get rid of excess muscles mass leaving you with the right amount no more no less. Cardio helps in this process but it is not catabolic per se. You won't lose needed muscular tone by doing cardio but you would start to lose excessive hindrance mass from doing it.

What the hell are you talking ab- no, nevermind, not going to bother...

Anyway...

Yes, your body can burn muscle for energy. Your muscles are protein, and your body can use it for energy. It's not a myth, if it were a myth then starving kids in Africa wouldn't be skeletons.

If you're so worried about losing muscle from cardio, do HIIT, and eat a consistent, nutrient rich diet.

LOL @ HIIT - the biggest misconception going around today.

[One_Love 0]

if you havent eaten anything and work in a labor camp under a cruel dictator

[KenScofield 0]

LOL @ HIIT - the biggest misconception going around today.

How so? I'd assume that 30 minutes of HIIT will benefit more than an hour of jogging when it comes to fat loss.

[Danny© 2]

The point is the body doesn't have any interest in keeping a lot of muscle mass.

Bulky mass is not only totally useless and metabolically expensive but also an hindrance as we are better suited by slender, thin, fast bodies and limbs than bulky one.

So when you stop doing resistance training and overeating the body simply get rid of excess muscles mass leaving you with the right amount no more no less. Cardio helps in this process but it is not catabolic per se. You won't lose needed muscular tone by doing cardio but you would start to lose excessive hindrance mass from doing it.

What the hell are you talking ab- no, nevermind, not going to bother...

Exactly what I said

Cardio is not a problem for muscles but it is for excessive muscle mass.

The body burns muscles for energy when the cardio is very long lasting.

Unless a cardio session doesn't long more than 70 minutes the muscle burning is irrelevant because muscular glucogenesis is not needed. But if you're muscular enough as in having big triceps and quadriceps circumference, the body will burn the excessive muscle mass even if there's enough substrate and the reason is that the body is always looking for a chance to remove the excess mass which is just an hindrance from its "point of view".

If you're so worried about losing muscle from cardio, do HIIT, and eat a consistent, nutrient rich diet.

HIIT is not muscle sparing

[Necromancer 3]

LOL @ HIIT - the biggest misconception going around today.

How so? I'd assume that 30 minutes of HIIT will benefit more than an hour of jogging when it comes to fat loss.

I never said anything about jogging.

The point is the body doesn't have any interest in keeping a lot of muscle mass.

Bulky mass is not only totally useless and metabolically expensive but also an hindrance as we are better suited by slender, thin, fast bodies and limbs than bulky one.

So when you stop doing resistance training and overeating the body simply get rid of excess muscles mass leaving you with the right amount no more no less. Cardio helps in this process but it is not catabolic per se. You won't lose needed muscular tone by doing cardio but you would start to lose excessive hindrance mass from doing it.

What the hell are you talking ab- no, nevermind, not going to bother...

Exactly what I said

Cardio is not a problem for muscles but it is for excessive muscle mass.

The body burns muscles for energy when the cardio is very long lasting.

Unless a cardio session doesn't long more than 70 minutes the muscle burning is irrelevant because muscular glucogenesis is not needed. But if you're muscular enough as in having big triceps and quadriceps circumference, the body will burn the excessive muscle mass even if there's enough substrate and the reason is that the body is always looking for a chance to remove the excess mass which is just an hindrance from its "point of view".

If you're so worried about losing muscle from cardio, do HIIT, and eat a consistent, nutrient rich diet.

HIIT is not muscle sparing

The reason why Danny is one of the few I respect on the entire internet.

[Danny© 2]

LOL @ HIIT - the biggest misconception going around today.

How so? I'd assume that 30 minutes of HIIT will benefit more than an hour of jogging when it comes to fat loss.

HIIT was though to be more effective because it raised EPOC (post exercize oxygen burning)

It has been demonstrated that the extra EPOC of HIIT account for at most 25 calories.

Most studies have shown that as intensity of exercise decreases the dependency on peripheral adipose deposits increases (that means that lower intensity relies more on abdominal, bum and thighs stored body fat compared to high intensity cardio.

During low intensity cardio (26% V02) 80% of fuel is derived from body fat with a 10% from tryglicerides. At 90% (V02) only 20% of fuel is derived from body fat.

Studies have shown that HIIT is not muscle sparing but actually is more likely to cause muscle catabolism as the increased intensity of cardio exercise increases exponentially the release of cortisol.

It's also important to note that the real HIIT (the Tabata one) was shown to be effective on studies only as long as the intensity was insane. The people in the study exericise at 95% V02 in the HIIT group and the majority of them vomited or fainted. No one who claims to use HIIT is doing the real HIIT because the real HIIT is a killer workout few would tolerate. People who want to improve their cardiovascular system and lose fat are better suited by traditional low intensity cardio than the pseudo-hiit.

[rakbs 1]

Can somebody explain/point to an article about the advantages/disadvantages of HIIT versus other forms of cardio?

[KenScofield 0]

Danny, what studies and sources you're referring to? Lot of the stuff you said is... what sources are you using? I'm not going to rage until I know what you're basing your info on.

[hipster23 0]

"Studies have shown that HIIT is not muscle sparing but actually is more likely to cause muscle catabolism as the increased intensity of cardio exercise increases exponentially the release of cortisol. "

Are you sure? The sources I've looked at claimed cortisol increased and testosterone decreased during low/moderate intensity cardio workouts that lasted more than 45 minutes. Also, if it has any authority whatsoever, the Wikipedia article on HIIT claims it burns fat more effectively than typical cardio.

[Necromancer 3]

"Studies have shown that HIIT is not muscle sparing but actually is more likely to cause muscle catabolism as the increased intensity of cardio exercise increases exponentially the release of cortisol. "

Are you sure? The sources I've looked at claimed cortisol increased and testosterone decreased during low/moderate intensity cardio workouts that lasted more than 45 minutes. Also, if it has any authority whatsoever, the Wikipedia article on HIIT claims it burns fat more effectively than typical cardio.

HIIT burns more fat than most forms of cardio. That is the statement. It also burns a lot of muscle too. References aren't needed, just logic and/or experience. The best way to burn fat and retain nearly all muscle is long low intensity cardio aka walking.

/thread

[KenScofield 0]

HIIT burns more fat than most forms of cardio. That is the statement. It also burns a lot of muscle too. References aren't needed, just logic and/or experience. The best way to burn fat and retain nearly all muscle is long low intensity cardio aka walking.

/thread

Noooo, don't end the thread yet D: I still want to see danny's 'sources'.

[Seabass 0]

What's HIIT?