how much muscle is lost when doing cardio?

hey
i am just curious ... how much muscle can you possibly lose if you exercise without caring about burning muscle up ?

could a somewhat built guy turn into a little, small muscled guy if he exercises all the time and doesnt do things to maintain his muscle?
thnx
 
I am very curious about this myself. My friend is naturally thin, but he has a pouch on the bottom of his stomach that he can't seem to get rid of. He's been trying to do a lot of Cardio (Running), and he is also lifting weights to try and build muscle in the rest of his body. Is the running going to hinder him building muscle through the weight training? He is drinking a few Protein shakes a day, and also making sure he eats enough. He only works out 3 hours after his last meal.
 
I'm not sure myself - but I think it's minimal, especially if you eat right. You should be eating a meal high in carbs and moderate in protein 90 minutes before you work out, either doing cardio or weight lifting. If you're going for an extended cardio session (like a marathon, or a personal record breaker), keep your glucose up by drinking a sports drink, like Gatorade, or just normal water mixed with a reasonable amount of sugar. Afterwards, grab a carb+protein shake.

I can't stress enough about the post-nutrition part. The (simple) carbs are actually more important than the protein, because they cause an insulin reaction that drives the protein into your muscle to help promote muscle synthesis. There are mixes out there for post-workout drinks (like Surge, I don't use it myself, but I may sometime soon), or you could mix the whey powder of your choice with maltodextrose/dextrose powder.

About your friend... I think that's what we call a skinny fat person ;) What's his nutrition like? If he's eating fast food, eating too much, eating at the wrong time of the day or not eating frequently enough, then that might explain the pauch.
 
post workout

I totally agree when it comes to post workout nutrition. I know so many people that think they don't have to worry about it. I used to take a protein shake before and after my workouts, but now I make sure to have a protein and carb shake after to spike my insulin levels. It's worked tremendously. I've purposely gained 20lbs in 2 months(not all muscle of course) but my numbers have gone up. I'm 5'8" 180 lbs and dumbell press 120lb dumbbells with no problem. I'm going for the 130's in about a month i think. Also, I'm blowing my workout partner out of the water. I Have to say that the high carbs after the workout helps a lot.
 
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