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Question:
What's the maximum amount
of cardio you can do without losing muscle mass?
Answer:
The maximum amount of cardio you
can do without losing muscle mass depends on two main factors:
1. The type of cardio you do:
You can do a lot more low intensity
cardio work such as walking without losing muscle as compared
to higher intensity training such as distance running. Interval
training, if done for no more than 15 minutes, can actually support
muscle mass while burning fat effectively.
2. Your state of nutrition:
If you are eating a lot of carbs,
your body will preferentially burn those for energy rather than
eating up your muscle mass. The downside to this is that you also
burn less fat. Thus, if you are dieting to lose fat, you stand
a greater chance of your body eating up muscle mass to provide
energy. As it is, most people do cardio to lose fat, in which
case strive to keep your protein intake high and make sure to
do weight training to help preserve your muscle.
In general, it is safe to say that if you do 20 minutes of moderate-intensity
cardio work three times a week, you will not lose significant
amounts of muscle.
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