Cardio and muscle gain!

Hey guys, just wanted to do a post on cardio and muscle growth. What to avoid etc! I have been doing a lot of research on the subject as whenever I seem to post that I'm doing cardio (in the form of HIIT) people question why I'm doing it..as I'm bulking. I can see where they're coming from, especially as a hard gainer like I am, I try and limit cardio, but a session a week is enjoyable for me, and I think people need to actually bare in mind, that cardio keeps the heart healthy, Fitness isn't all about being aesthetically pleasing. It's also about health and the word 'fit' really doesn't apply to bodybuilders who avoid cardio completely in order to maximize their gains.


How cardio causes muscle loss  

Cardio can actually cause muscle loss, obviously if you're doing too much of it. But another thing is, to gain you need to be eating more than you burn, and if like me you find it hard to gain, you could be burning too many calories..which means MORE food..which can be difficult if you're already constantly full. 

Simply put, the more you put stress on your body during cardio, the more muscle growth is hampered. This means that doing more than 30 minutes ..or cardio over 3 times a week is strongly unadvised. So just be wise with it..if you enjoy cardio, do some..but limit it. 

I've also looked into 'fasted cardio' and I've found that it's not really great for muscle gains..you don't wanna be working out on an empty stomach. Have at least a small pre workout meal. 

If you really think about it, weight training also breaks down muscle. So, when you're training bare that in mind. Don't over train, make the reps count. If you're pairing cardio with a lot of over training in the weights department don't expect to see muscle gains. 
Benefits of cardio

When we work our muscles, the time of repair and therefore growth is regulated by 2 things. 1) How much of the substances needed for repair are brought to the muscles (eg fooooood) 2) How quickly waste products are removed.
So, you can kinda see why cardio would help, by increasing blood flow to the muscles! 

Another thing is, when a person is bulking..a lot of the time they compeltey cut out cardio. This isn't great, because when they're ready to cut their body is pretty shocked by all the cardio they've introduced which actually causes MUSCLE LOSS. dun dun dun. It also could cause a lag in weight loss, doing a form of cardio means that you maintain the bodies ability to oxidize fat. 

Another example is the long distance runner vs the sprinter, looking at their training programs the effects are evident. (i.e- long distance training hampers muscles growth, short interval training combined with strength will increase muscle growth)  Obviously, a sprinter has a very high fitness level and their muscles are usually crazy too..so it is possible to incorporate cardio and grow. 

What to do 

So, how much cardio should you be doing if you want to GAIN muscle?
There's no real answer to that, we are engineered different genetically. For some, cardio reduces muscle growth, whilst others thrive on it. For me, I do HIIT once a week, on some occasions twice..but rarely. Muscle growth is slow for me, like all women..I have more levels of fat gaining hormones that the testosterone which influences muscle growth. BUUUUT, all is not lost, women can be strong (it is evident) and why not make the best of our bodies? I certainly am. 

When you're constructing a workout routine for yourself, bare in mind what I've said. Take into account that cardio is good at the right levels. Make it suit you, if you find it hard to gain but love cardio like me..then 1-2x a week is plenty, no more than 20 minutes in my case. 
When you do cardio, make sure you replenish your muscles with food ASAP, the faster you get some food in you..the faster your muscles can repair. 

Hope this helps somewhat!