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From 1 episode and 2 videos

Do I need to stop doing cardio to build muscle?

Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated

The short answer

No. Nikkiey says you shouldn't cut cardio completely, because your heart is a muscle and needs it too. What works against muscle is too much cardio, especially when you aren't eating enough. Do more strength training than cardio, keep cardio sessions shorter and balanced, and eat enough protein and food to fuel both.

Hear Nikkiey answer it

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  1. Nikkiey on why too much cardio works against muscle, and why you still need some

    Plays from 22:40 · Ep. 52: Why Build Muscle After 40: Mistakes Women Should Avoid

  2. How to swap excessive cardio for shorter sessions, protein and rest days

    Plays from 5:50 · Video: Does Too Much Cardio Slow Your Metabolism?

  3. Why long cardio sessions can break down muscle and leave you skinny fat

    Plays from 0:32 · Video: Does Too Much Cardio Slow Your Metabolism?

  4. Balancing cardio and strength training for a toned look, plus progressive overload

    Plays from 3:52 · Video: Strength Training vs Cardio for Muscle Tone After 40

The full answer

The problem isn't cardio. It's how much of it you do and whether you fuel it. On Ep. 52, Nikkiey calls this the cardio machine mentality: cardio six or seven days a week for an hour, or running a lot of miles, without the nutrition to back it up. The WarriorBabe videos explain why that backfires. During long cardio sessions your body can start breaking down muscle tissue for fuel, which lowers muscle mass and metabolism, and your body may adapt to the constant demand so you burn fewer calories than you expect. Instead of looking toned, you end up skinny fat.

Cardio still earns its place. It supports heart and lung health and endurance, and it burns calories. But as the video on strength training vs cardio points out, it doesn't challenge your muscles the way resistance training does, so it won't build the muscle that creates definition. That toned look comes from muscle plus lower body fat.

Here's how the show suggests you balance it:

  • Do more strength training than cardio, and make it progressive by gradually increasing the weight or reps so your muscles keep being challenged.
  • Swap long, excessive cardio for shorter, more balanced sessions. HIIT can fit, but done right and not overdone.
  • Eat enough. Nikkiey explains that muscle is active tissue that gets its energy from food, and protein is essential for repair and growth.
  • Schedule rest days. You break down muscle in the gym and build it in the hours and days after, with nutrition, recovery and rest.

If you love to run, Nikkiey's take is that it's great. Just make sure you're feeding your body for both your strength training and your cardio. If hours of cardio haven't given you the body you want, that's not a failure of effort. The balance in the plan was off.

From Nikkiey Stott and WarriorBabe's coaching. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.

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