B Pirate

I wonder if people could shed some light on a potential problem.

I am coming back into the gym after a 2 year break (it was a womans fault). I Used to be in pretty good shape but I have let it go a bit.

I have started playing rugby league again so my first port of call was to get my fitness back again. I am currently running about 4 miles 5 days a week. I have been doing some light weight training but nothing to write home about.

The time has now come for me to really commit myself to both the running and the weight training.

Although i dont have my % body fat its a bit on the high side (not that high though) . I have set myself a 12 month goal of getting my % bodyfat right down and getting myself alot more muscle.

I have read alot of the articles on this forum regarding diet and nutrition, but the problem in my head still remains... the problem as i see it is as follows.

when i weight train, eat the right foods, get good periods of rest I will create muscle tissue. BUT when i run 4 or 5 miles a day, will this running not strip the new muscle tissue away? Am i right in thinking that the body uses this as fuel? or have i got it totally wrong?

can someone recommend a way in which i can run to keep my fitness levels high and put muscle mass on at the same time.

cheers

Burner02

you are gonna have to experiment with your food intake.
Also, do you have to run so far? Have you trained interval training? (Wind sprints and such)
As my examples are always:
Compare an Olympic marathon runner to a sprinter.

Success leaves clues. People who produce outstanding results do specific things to create those results

Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing NOW to solve our problem

THERE IS NO TOMORROW!
- Appollo Creed

rmcfar

well if you plan on running that much you will have to adjust your caloric intake in order to compensate for what you are burning during your runs. what you burn during your runs will largely depend upon a bunch of factors including weight, musclemass, where you run, etc. i believe there are some rough calculators on the internet that you can use i just cant find the links.
Anyways, you cant do two things at once, so if you plan on putting on muscle then you should maintain enough cardio to keep your CV fitness where it is now and then a month or two before you get back to rugby, cut the calories down to a defecit and then you can up your cardio again.

This is all very broad information i have given you but if you need more information then you should start by reading the diet stickies and then moving through the ones here in this training forum.

"When i was 15 years old, i took all of my clothes off and looked in the mirror. When i stared at myself naked, I realized that to be perfectly proportioned I would need 20 inch arms to match the rest of me." -Arnold

XFatMan

But what you can do is cutting with very little loss of mass. I believe it's better to cut first so you can get into a decent body fat percentage, which is by the way what I am currently doing. Once you get to a decent body fat percentage, it should be easier to bulk. See, if you're a bit chubby, who is going to see all your hard work? If you weight train during the cut, your loss should be minimal provided you're eating right. Check the stickies on dieting, especially this one: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/di...intenance.html (Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance)

Goal: < 15% Body Fat by June 30, 2008
December 30, 2007: Body Weight: 75.8 Kg / 174.3 lbs Body Fat Percentage: 21.9%
Current (January 13, 2008): Body Weight 75.7 Kg / 174.0 lbs Body Fat Percentage: 21.4%