Body Builders Can Run And Still Maintain Muscle Mass
Many body builders are averse to running as part of their exercise program because they believe running will make them catabolic. Running burns fat but it does burn anything else the body can get its hands on to provide more energy. This means you will lose weight and supposedly that does include muscle mass.
Reconsider if you actually lose muscle mass engaging in a running program. Read on for explanations as to why you should incorporate running in your body building regime.
Now for the Plus Side of Running
Defending running, let us remember almost all of the classic body builders and many of today’s athletic celebrities include a running program in their workouts. They all use some type of steady state cardio such as running.
Running in smaller distances provides the stimulus you need to cut away the fat that will reveal more definition and striations in the muscles. This is how you become cut instead of looking overly bulky. Running will burn muscle, but it will look for fat first and burn it before it gets to the muscle. You do not have to be a marathon runner to benefit from running and burn fat. If you do run longer distances, you will evidently start burning muscle. Run distances that benefit you the most to achieve your goals.
If you are a body builder and are afraid of burning muscle by running, many body builders instead of running will take up power walking to burn fat. There is a far lesser chance of burning muscle by power walking than running.
One Benefit That Should Not Be Ignored If Contemplating a Running Program
When you run, it increases the size of your left ventricle in your heart. This part of the heart pumps oxygenated blood around the body and is mainly responsible for a bigger stroke volume. This causes a lower resting heart rate and produces less cortisone, less myostatin (responsible for muscle catabolisation) and produces more testosterone.
Running will burn fat and muscle but it wil also help make you more anabolic and allow for deeper and more restorative sleeps. For this reason alone, running should be considered in any training program. Lastly, running will make you fitter and allow you to work harder.
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