Too much running slowing muscle growth?

Question

Hey guys, I'm caught in somewhat of a dilemma over the topic of over-running while trying to gain muscle mass. I'm 17 years old and 5'11 and 135 pounds. I have a really quick metabolism and eat tons of food (mostly pretty healthy stuff). I'm currently on a running schedule of about 45 minutes of running per day, this includes hills and rough terrain, and I usually cover around 4 miles. On top of this I do weight lifting 3-4 times a week mixed with pushups, pullups, etc. I recently read that if you're trying to build muscle it's smart to limit your cardio to around 30 minutes of light jogging like 2-3 times a week. This seems awefully low to me, but at this point I'm willing to try it if it means gaining more muscle. Am I running so much that I'm losing muscle, or maybe simply impeding new muscle from forming? Any help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

I've always thought that too much cardio, while trying to gain muscle mass through weight-lifting, is going to hinder your results. The reason being that cardio burns a lot of calories and carbs, and if you don't eat enough carbs, you will start burning protein as your source of energy, which would have otherwise been used as a muscle repair/builder.

Eat a lot of carbs (some quick burning carbs like juice as well as complex ones from pastas and rice) before and after the cardio, and you should be fine.

Answer 2

It really depends on your ultimate goal. Running is a very good way at burning calories and building lean muscle.

Doing more weights and less cardio may mean that you bulk up but you may end up having to watch what you eat.

Answer 3

I've been running for years, and honestly I've noticed that by running about 1-1.5 hours a day (that's what I normally do, but you shouldn't do that if your body isn't ready for it), I really DO gain significant muscle.  I don't get bulky muscle like body builders (that would be gross, considering that I'm a 16 year old girl), but I do get very prominent leg muscles.  My legs are still thin, just because my natural body-type is like that, but the muscles on them are kind of astounding.  My quads are very powerful looking and my lower legs are thin, but with bulging calves.  I think that what you're doing sounds fine.  Probably the best way to build up your leg muscles so that they're more noticeable would be some hardcore hill work.  Find a steep hill that you can run on and do some sprints on it.  It'll do wonders for your legs.