[smart (OP)]

Hi!

This morning I just did like 35-40 km of low-intensity endurance training by taking a walk outside. Is this type of cardiovascular exercise a reliable way to increase muscle mass while still burning some fat?

What do you think? 

tk

[RD]

This morning I just did like 35-40 km of low-intensity endurance training by taking a walk outside ...
What do you think? 

I think you may be overestimating the distance: it would take about six hours to walk 35 km.

[CliffordK]

Can't say if you will start speaking with a slur and looking like Sylvester Stallone.

However, the more you exercise, the stronger you will get.

However, you need to incorporate medium and high intensity exercise, including the muscle groups you are interested in.

[Colin2B]

You should be able to walk 3.5 to 4km within the hour even at a gentle pace. How long were you walking for?

Endurance exercise such as walking builds slow-twitch muscle fibres, these are not the ones that bodybuilders create for big muscles - they use progressive overloading by lifting heavy weights for only seconds at a time, to make their muscles grow. Aerobic exercise such as walking, running, and cycling builds slow-twitch muscle fibres and long, lean muscles.

Slow twitch are very vascular, meaning they have greater blood flow, which allows faster delivery of nutrients and removal of waste products and are excellent at using stored fat as fuel which means they can be very fatigue resistant.

[smart (OP)]

You should be able to walk 3.5 to 4km within the hour even at a gentle pace. How long were you walking for?

Endurance exercise such as walking builds slow-twitch muscle fibres, these are not the ones that bodybuilders create for big muscles - they use progressive overloading by lifting heavy weights for only seconds at a time, to make their muscles grow. Aerobic exercise such as walking, running, and cycling builds slow-twitch muscle fibres and long, lean muscles.

Slow twitch are very vascular, meaning they have greater blood flow, which allows faster delivery of nutrients and removal of waste products and are excellent at using stored fat as fuel which means they can be very fatigue resistant.

Thanks @Colin2B. That was a very informative comment. For the records, I split the whole exercice in smaller parts of 1-2 hours per run...

tk

[CliffordK]

I do a lot of cycling which is an aerobic exercise. 

Certainly one gets well formed leg muscles.  Bulk?  Hard to say. 

Perhaps the aerobic component is the key.  No sense in growing huge muscles when one can only provide oxygen to a small portion of the muscles. 

Thus, to some extent, one's aerobic muscular growth may be cardio-pulmonary limited. 

But, one may be able to improve one's cardio-pulmonary fitness with exercise.  Plus, the more time at one's aerobic threshold (or just beyond into anaerobic exercise), the more one would maximize the muscular response.

I'm not a fitness walker, but pushing that aerobic threshold may dictate what type of exercise one chooses.