Building Muscle - Do I still need Cardio

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
Building Muscle - Do I still need Cardio
5
Fri, 07-08-2005 - 7:44pm

I am fairly thin, 5'5" 115 lb and pretty happy with that weight. My main goal is gaining some muscle. I do weights and cardio about 4 days a week. I have some guy friends who do only weights, no cardio, and have done great things in terms of gaining muscle. But obviously women's bodies are different. Unfortunately, most of the info out there is geared towards men.

I don't have much body fat, and I am afraid that if I do too much cardio I will just be burning my muscle. Is this a legitimate concern or is cardio too important for overall health to skip?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Fri, 07-08-2005 - 9:04pm
Sounds like you're doing great!





iVillage Member
Registered: 11-15-2004
Sat, 07-09-2005 - 9:10am
Great advice Jean, but I dont think you addresssed the poster's comment that cardio will burn away her muscle.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Sat, 07-09-2005 - 9:29am

I was addressing the issue of the importance of cardio.






iVillage Member
Registered: 11-15-2004
Sat, 07-09-2005 - 10:30pm
Oy, too confusing for me.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 10:37am
that article makes an important point that i want to emphasize - if she doesn't want to lose more body fat, she should make sure to increase what she eats (and make sure it's nutrient rich, not junk food) as she lifts weights and does cardio. i agree that everyone should do cardio for good health, and that it won't significantly interfere with her gaining muscle as long as she makes sure to eat enough healthy food. it might be a LOT more than she's used to eating, between fueling the cardio and the strength training, and especially if she hasn't been eating particularly healthily and starts to eat healthier. us chunky folks don't think about it much because we don't have this problem, but naturally thinner people tend to lose weight quickly if they start exercising and eating healthy and often have trouble putting the muscle pounds on and not losing body fat. it might take some serious (healthy) eating to compensate.