running hurting my muscle gains?

[jjldm321]

I've been reading that long runs can hurt strength/muscle gains. The only thing is, how long is long? I currently work out 5 days a week (2 on, 1 off) and start each workout with a 1.5 mile run. My goal is to get up to 2 miles before each work out. Is that too much and will it hurt my gains in the weight room?

Also, I have a "skinny guy gut" that I'm trying to loose - which is part of the reason that I run. I've been eating much better and have started to see some results, but my muscles aren't getting big as quickly as I thought (been working out for two months).

So I guess I have 2 questions: Is my cardio hurting my gains in the weight room or not? Also, is proper diet & the 1.5 mile runs each workout the most effective way to banish my skinny guy pot belly?

 

[summer123]

The only reason your muscles would be adversly affected is if you were in a calorie deficit and your body was breaking down your muscles in order to obtain the energy for running. For muscle building you need to have extra calories, for weight/fat loss you need to be in a calorie deficit. When you lose weight, some of it will come from your body fat but some of it will also come from your muscles, the exact ratio is down to your own genetics.

You need to make a decision as to weather or not you want to lose the 'skinny gut' or build up your muscles. Its impossible to do both at the same time (for the reasons explained above) but you could work on a little of each (weight loss vs muscle build) per 6-8 weeks I guess and see if it works for you.