Quote:
Originally Posted by Weitz
Is it worth working out in an attempt to gain some muscle and jogging/running at the same time to develop better cardio?
I have heard that it should be an either or type scenario and doing both could hinder both?
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I think the way in which people view losing and gaining weight is a little flawed, which is why the cardio question often comes up. This question can only be answered by looking at your current goals.
Whether you incorporate cardio or not, losing weight (ideally more fat than muscle) comes from a caloric deficit, while gaining weight (ideally more muscle than fat) comes from a caloric surplus. The incorporation of cardio will simply change the amount of energy you burn in a given day. So, the cardio question can only be answered in relation to your current goals. If your goal is to lose weight and decrease body fat, then adding cardio will help you be in a caloric deficit without requiring you to drop your caloric intake from food too low. If your goal is to gain muscle, then cardio may make it difficult to be in a caloric surplus unless you really increase your caloric intake.
The key point is that losing fat and gaining muscle are typically separate goals that cannot be done at the same time without the assistance of drugs. You can gain weight or lose weight whether you do cardio or not, depending on what your caloric intake is.
Losing weight means losing fat and some muscle, but the goal is to try and maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle loss (and the exact opposite when trying to gain lean muscle mass). The reason why people are under the impression that they are gaining muscle while also losing weight is simply because the loss of body fat, in addition to a regular weight lifting routine, begins to bring out more definition and reveal the muscles hiding underneath body fat... A balanced, yet higher protein diet, that puts you in a moderate caloric deficit, is going to help you shed body fat while hopefully minimizing muscle loss. An insane super low calorie diet with loads of cardio is going to see you lose a lot of muscle and fat very quickly.
All that said, I think it only makes sense to limit cardio if you are trying to gain muscle and weight, while increasing it if you are trying to decrease body fat and lose weight. The notion that you can lose weight on diet alone is true, but I am of the opinion that it requires you to drop your caloric intake too low, while adding cardio allows you to increase food volume, getting in more essential nutrients.
And I didn't mention weight training much, but that is based on the assumption you would incorporate that into your routine regardless of goals. As for me, I always incorporate cardio into my work out plan, whether I am trying to gain or lose weight, and simply adjust my caloric intake. Leaving in cardio is good for many reasons and simply allows me to eat more food. I do change the intensity and volume of course depending on my goals: 45 minutes 5 times a week while cutting vs 30 minutes 4 times a week while bulking sort of thing.