Thread: cardio and weight training

If you've only just started then yes, as you'll be building new neural pathways and so on. Just turn up at the gym and breathing the fumes will boost your strength to start with, it's later that you should ideally separate cardio from resistance exercise.


B.

i have been doing weight for almost 2 years now, and have started to get a bit of a gut now, and i want to lose it. before you say its okay to get a bit of a gut when gaining muscle, i am not trying to bulk then cut. i just want to gain lean muscle nice and slowy, i am not looking to gain alot of muscle fast even 10 pounds a year would be great. i don't care if i have a bit of fat, i am not looking for a really low body fat % just not too hign ethier. so if i lift weights and do alot of cardio of a few mouths, even if i stop gaining muscel, then will i A) lose some muscle i have at te moment and B) can i at least still gain some strengh (not alot of strengh just uncresing the weight on my exercises over time, e.g. extra 10 pounds on bench over 4 weeks, extra 10 pounds on deadlifts over 4 weeks, ect...). is A and B possible when doing cardio for a few mouths.

By doing weights do you mean working out hard 3 times a week or turning up at the gym to get 'toned' once a month?

Are you changing your routine around occasionally? You slurp up calories while you're growing but if you hit a flat spot the belly can bulge instead.

I'd suggest you give a little more info and await an uber-member, I can advise on the basics but someone here could probably be more precise.


B.

i do propper workouts, right now i am on the push/ pull routine. i do push day (chest, shoulders, triceps), rest day, legs, rest day, pull day (back, biceps) . thats a 5 day circle, 4 days rest for each muscle group.

It depends what kind of cardio you are doing. Assuming you are doing low intensity cardio your strength and size gains should be fine as long as your diet is in order. You can get stronger without putting on muscle, for sure. Still, a solid diet for recovery will need to be used in order for optimal gains and recovery to be sought.

People may say it is hard to get bigger doing alot of cardio. That is not as true as people think. Compared to the power of your diet in regards to total calorie intake, cardio is not nearly as powerful a factor in weight management. You can still get bigger if you eat enough calories to replace those burned during cardio training.

However, if you are doing high intensity cardiovascular training - that is different. That will be demanding on the body and is a significant stress on the body just like lifting heavy weights, so you will have to factor that in as well. You may hold back your strength gains if you do not give yourself enough time to recover.

thanks for all the help, keep up the good work.