Is Too Much Cardio Is Hindering Your Progress?

While cardio definitely has its place in our day-to-day lives no matter what fitness disciple we train in, doing too much can affect muscle growth. If you have an overload of cardio in your routine and you’re not fueling your body properly, then the body may turn to break down muscle tissue during your sessions.

With less muscle in your body, your resting metabolism will drop. This refers to the number of calories your body burns while resting. So, a loss of muscle will lead to a loss of calories being burned at rest, which subsequently leads to slower fat loss. You’re going to have to do more to burn more calories and shed fat than what you were doing before. You’ll find yourself in an endless, vicious cycle.

If this is happening to you, then you may become skinny fat, which is when the scale may indicate that you’re lean but you actually have a high body fat percentage. You may have smaller arms or legs for example but still have a stubborn belly that refuses to leave.

To avoid accelerating muscle loss, be mindful of doing too much cardio. Rather than cutting cardio out of your routine altogether, make sure that you add strength training to your routine as well. Lifting has its own benefits, as does cardio and so by doing both, you’ll be getting the best of both worlds (a bit more about lifting here).

What's the lesson here? Eating a balanced nutrition plan in a caloric deficit, and combining cardio and strength training is the best way to change your body composition in a healthy way. Remember too much of anything is NOT necessarily a good thing!