- 10/22/08: Newsletter
- Strengthening Your Legs
- Working Out on Empty Stomachs
- Making Cardio Less Painful
- Avoid Crashing
- Coping With Sweets
- Increasing Metabolism
- Organize Your Training
- Eating Habits
- Visceral Belly Fat
- The Best Running Shoe
- Strength or Aerobic Capacity?
- Toning Legs with Cardio
- My Doctor's Scale is Off
- More Reps and their Effects
- 04/24/08: Newsletter
- 1-08-08: Newsletter
- 11-08-07: Newsletter
- 10-03-07: Newsletter
- 8-29-07: Newsletter
- 6-20-07: Weight Loss
- 6-13-07: Back Injury
- 5-08-07: Friendly Pressure
- 4-27-07: Running Routines
- 4-20-07: Cycling Cardio
- 4-10-07: Back Injury
- 4-03-07: Lunges Quads Butt
- 3-27-07: Running Off Fat
- 3-27-07: Runners Diet
- 3-23-07: Eating Late
- 3-13-07: Abs for the Obese
- 3-07-07: Supplements
- 2-21-07: Carbs Weight Gain
- 2-14-07: Accurate Bodyweight
- 2-07-07: Weight Fluctuations
- 1-30-07: Best Oatmeal
- 1-21-07: Winter Cardio
- 1-14-07: Training Children
- 1-10-07: Sick Bay
- 1-03-07: Shin Splints
- 2006: Archives
- 2005: Archives
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01-08-08//Running and Muscle Size
Will running stop me from gaining muscle size?
Chris:
Is it possible to gain muscle size if I run 5 days a week or is running just for toning. Most of my running sessions are approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Thank you very much for your time. I hope you can answer my question.
Adrian
Adrian:
Whoa! Slow it down. If your goal is to get bigger you’ll need to cut back on the cardio. You will never gain muscle size running 5 hours a week. In fact you may lose the muscle you already have.
In case you haven’t noticed big muscles and long distance running go together about as well as gasoline and water. If you don’t believe me pay a visit to the local high school track team and compare the difference between long distance runners and sprinters.
Long distance runners are thin and lean. Their lack of muscle mass allows them to move at a strong pace for long periods of time. Their body efficiently burns excess weight in order to stay mobile for long tough workouts. They run everyday after school for approximately an hour or more.
On the other hand sprinters have thick muscular bodies that resemble bodybuilders. This is because their workouts consist of short intense sessions that burn fat but spare muscle.
Since you’re trying to gain muscle size you’ll need to limit your cardio sessions to short intense sessions much like the sprinter. Instead of doing 5 hours of cardio a week try doing 2-3 cardio sessions for 15-20 minutes. You can adjust the time based your progress.