We do aerobic exercise mainly to improve our cardiovascular health and burn calories. But, when we want to build beautiful muscles, we grab a pair of weights, right? As a general rule, resistance training is the path to stronger muscles and a more defined physique. It’s also true that to build muscle, you should devote a higher proportion of your training time to working your muscles against resistance rather than doing hours of cardio. However, the line between the two forms of exercise isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. In fact, according to some studies, exercise that we traditionally think of as cardio may actually boost muscle size. Still not convinced? Let’s see what science shows. Can You Build Muscle with Aerobic Exercise? We think of aerobic exercise, especially long periods of aerobic training, Visit Prime Boosts as catabolic. Catabolic activities, in contrast to anabolic, breaks down muscle tissue and thwart your efforts to build muscle. In contrast, resistance training is anabolic, meaning it creates conditions ripe for muscle hypertrophy.

This assumes, of course, that you train using enough resistance and gradually increase the challenge on your muscles over time by using progressive overload. It also assumes that you consume enough calories and protein to support muscle growth. But, could aerobic exercise also boost muscle size? A meta-analysis is a compilation of a number of studies. Researchers use meta-analyses to combine the results of several studies and form a more meaningful conclusion, as it’s hard to place a lot of faith in a single study. In one meta-analysis, Click here researchers looked at the impact aerobic exercise had on muscle size and made an interesting discovery. Participants who did aerobic exercise, in some studies, not only didn’t lose muscle size, they gained muscle mass. Most of the studies involved men and showed that, in some studies, guys who did 45 or more minutes of cardio 4 days a week boosted the size of their muscles without doing resistance training.

The increases, of course, were in their lower extremities since these are the muscles you work when you do cardiovascular exercise. So, can we conclude that taking brisk walks increases the size of our leg muscles? Not necessarily, especially if you’re doing it at a leisurely pace on flat ground. Exercise intensity appears to be a factor. The studies where participants made muscle gains were those in which they exercised at a higher intensity, 80% or more of their maximum calculated heart rate. Other research also shows that higher intensity aerobic exercise can modestly boost muscle size, mainly in untrained individuals. In fact, one study in untrained men and women found similar gains in muscle size after 12 printing, plyometric moves, or power movements that also get your heart rate up, you can boost muscle size while conditioning your heart at the same time. Remember, even moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise can indirectly benefit your resistance training workouts. Moderate-intensity cardio enhances the number and activity of mitochondria inside muscle cells and boosts capillary growth to muscles. This boosts the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and aids in the elimination of lactic acid. Also, your conditioning another important muscle, your heart. That’s a muscle we don’t want to ignore, not just for overall fitness, but for health.