Can Treadmill Workouts Build Muscle?

We all know that treadmill workouts are renowned for their ability to get the heart pumping and the lungs working harder, but are they able to increase muscle? Studies have shown mixed results when it comes to this question, with many concluding that muscle can be gained, and others even stating that muscle is eliminated during cardio exercise.

So which are we to believe? And if our objective in exercising is to build muscle, should we be giving even the slightest thought to cardio? We wanted to find out.

Cardio Typically Burns Muscle

Treadmill workouts are classified as cardiovascular exercises - i.e. they cause the lungs and heart to pump blood around the body via aerobic means.

Currently, the majority of research available shows us that when we participate in cardio, no matter what type, duration, or intensity, muscle is burnt from the body. Unfortunately, the reasons for this are as yet unknown - however this doesn't mean that we can't comment on it as a known feature of exercise.

Thankfully, research also suggests that there are a few things we can do to prevent the muscle wasting effect of cardio exercise. Take a look at these ideas:

• Eat a glucose rich meal before and after the exercise.
• Take a protein powder after exercise to reverse muscle burning.
• Limit exercise to short but intense sessions.

Each of these ideas allows you to reverse (or prevent) muscle wasting due to your cardio work.

Strategies for Endurance through Treadmill Workouts

We've already established that building muscle through treadmill workouts is probably not going to work. Therefore, we would recommend that you use treadmill workouts for a different purpose.

How about trying to build up your endurance on a treadmill, and leaving the muscle building side of things to muscle training? That way, you'll be able to directly measure how much muscle you are gaining from your weight lifting exercises, whilst measuring the additional endurance capabilities from the treadmill.

This way, you'll be able to directly see the results of your treadmill workouts, as a function of your lung capacity and heart rate.

Alternatively, a good idea is to get a personal trainer involved so that all of this monitoring and measuring can be done by a professional. That way, they can alter your exercise program to ensure the right amounts of muscle building and cardio are being done, so that you meet your goals as quickly as possible.