Will cardio limit gains?

[mcQ]

Hello all. Most of the posts I've read from members advocate little or no cardio when trying to gain strength, mass, etc. I'm currently lifting 5/6 days a week focused solely on getting bigger and stronger. Cardio is limited to playing raquetball 2 days a week, and the cardio is ancillary, I do that for fun, not exercise.
Question is, in the interest of peace on the homefront (those of you w/wives or girlfriends will understand) if I go for a light run several days a week and set it to where I'm doing the cardio in the early AM before work and my weightlifting in the mid evenings, will that give my body enough rest so as to not hamper the good effects I'm shooting for by weightlifing? My sig other has agreed that if running will screw up my strength/size gains, she'll back off on the cardio stuff.

Thanks.

 

[Biggs]

light run won't hurt IMO, especially if it's something you do with your lady, no need to disrupt that (no marathons, though). the cardiovascular benefits to the both of you as well as time spent together outweighs what little negative effect it might have on your strength/size gains (as long as you do keep it light)... BUT, make sure to compensate with your diet as necessary, and I don't see much of a problem.

 

[YellowJacket]

light run won't hurt IMO, especially if it's something you do with your lady, no need to disrupt that (no marathons, though). the cardiovascular benefits to the both of you as well as time spent together outweighs what little negative effect it might have on your strength/size gains (as long as you do keep it light)... BUT, make sure to compensate with your diet as necessary, and I don't see much of a problem.

I would tend to agree with this. It will burn calories, how much? that depends on your pace. If you're jogging a mile once or twice or even 3 times a week, you're fine. If you're out to set the world record and sprinting a good bit of it, you're burning a good amount of calories. I see nothing wrong with light cardio a couple days a week, your heart is the most important muscle in your body, no reason to neglect it. As Biggin said, compensate by eating an extra can of tuna a day or something of that nature....

 

[mcQ]

Thats about it, somewhere around a mile 3 or 4 days a week. The pace would be pretty casual, I don't believe the caloric impact will be all that large. Thank you both for your input. If I can keep the lady happier, she won't be so irritated about lots of time in the weight room.