Will Cardio Kill Your Gains?
You’ve seen the images with a thin marathoner on one side and a jacked sprinter on the other.
The idea is that endurance training, aka cardio, will not only interfere with your muscle and strength gains, but it’ll eat up the muscle you already have. The research paints a different picture, though.
Studies that compared concurrent training (lifting plus cardio) to lifting alone found almost no difference in strength or muscle development.
There’s really not much to worry about. Of course, there is still a point where doing too much cardio can interfere with your weight training.
The more intense the cardio is and the higher impact it is, the more likely it is to interfere. That means you can get away with more low-moderate intensity cardio than you can high-intensity cardio.
Going for a brisk walk every day isn’t going to do anything negative for your gains. Doing all-out sprints every day might.
Here’s my advice for combining cardio with strength training:
Always lift first, assuming that’s your priority.
Do cardio after weights, or in a separate session.
When doing high-intensity cardio, try to go for low-impact options like cycling or the elliptical.
Monitor your strength. If you notice it dropping, you could be overdoing cardio. Tone back on the intensity or the amount.
Remember: even if there’s a little interference, you'll still make great muscle gains as long as you're lifting consistently, sleeping well and eating enough.
