You need to be doing some kind of cardio. It doesn’t matter what type, just find a way to add some in at least a few times a week.
It’s good for you overall health, and will lead to better long term gains as well.
Anyone that tells you not to do cardio is probably just lazy. You don’t need carry around much bf to gain lean muscle.
Really, cardio is just not ideal for bulking. It’s not even necessary for cutting! Maybe once a wk for health reasons if you feel you have to, but I think cardio 2-4x a wk while bulking is no good. By cardio I mean running.
[quote]behexen wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Anyone trying to make some statement about how much someone can gain PER WEEK is misguided because they are taking a generalization about muscle gained over extended periods of time and trying to come up with a daily schedule. Yeah, most people will be hard pressed to gain more than 5-10lbs of lean body mass past beginners gains in a year. But guess what? Your body isn’t that simple. You may end up with a NET of “10lbs” gained in a year past newbie gains, but the chance of you simply gaining ONLY lean body mass are pretty damn slim without both testosterone and GH use (this is assuming the goal is LARGE amounts of muscle gained and not “toning”).
That is why many people bulked up. That guy who does may gain MORE than 10lbs of muscle in a year even if he loses some in the process of losing body fat…but he has a way better chance of building anywhere near the most muscle he can in one year than the guy who thinks that he can hold back gains and ONLY gain muscle.
Right now, my waist is smaller than it was when I came into the military weighing about 225-230lbs…by more than an inch. Even if you work that out to “X” number of pounds of lean body mass over all of those years, you would be ignoring that if you really tracked progress like a line graph, you would see rises and falls and not just one linear movement in only one direction.
I am pretty positive that the guys expecting that line to move in only one direction with no fat gains will limit their gains overall in the long run…no matter how much someone else says they can gain per week.
[/quote]
I remember reading something on here awhile ago about never letting your waist to get passed 37 inches. If your waist surpassed that then you were doing things wrong and need to rethink your routine. Do you generally follow this guideline? Surely just telling a beginner to bulk and bulk can lead to confusion and lots of excess fat gain. Where do you recommend some damage control, i’d imagine this is unique to individuals but a general guideline might be good to throw out there.[/quote]
Prime example of how numbers get you in trouble. I seriously doubt jay Cutler’s waist is much smaller than 38". MAYBE he can hit 37. Someone with a wide build and large bone structure could be LEAN with a 37" waist or larger at average height.
Damage control is just a word I made up to describe losing body fat but not so drastically as to be like some competition ready diet which would cause most people to lose all of the muscle they gained. The last thing I would use to describe that line in the sand would be some arbitrary number for a waist measurement.
I was at my “limit” before last April even though I had been that weight before and a little leaner. In fact, I was past it.
[quote]-LL- wrote:
You need to be doing some kind of cardio. It doesn’t matter what type, just find a way to add some in at least a few times a week.
It’s good for you overall health, and will lead to better long term gains as well.
Anyone that tells you not to do cardio is probably just lazy. You don’t need carry around much bf to gain lean muscle.
[/quote]
Blanket statements. Never good when done like this.
NO, all people don’t need to be adding cardio into the mix when gaining. Everyone doesn’t have the same metabolism and telling the next 150lbs kid with a super fast metabolism that he needs to add more cardio on top of it when he already can’t gain weight easily is a mistake.
[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:
Really, cardio is just not ideal for bulking. It’s not even necessary for cutting! Maybe once a wk for health reasons if you feel you have to, but I think cardio 2-4x a wk while bulking is no good. By cardio I mean running.
[/quote]
Agreed. I dropped that initial 3" off my waist with NO cardio.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]behexen wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Anyone trying to make some statement about how much someone can gain PER WEEK is misguided because they are taking a generalization about muscle gained over extended periods of time and trying to come up with a daily schedule. Yeah, most people will be hard pressed to gain more than 5-10lbs of lean body mass past beginners gains in a year. But guess what? Your body isn’t that simple. You may end up with a NET of “10lbs” gained in a year past newbie gains, but the chance of you simply gaining ONLY lean body mass are pretty damn slim without both testosterone and GH use (this is assuming the goal is LARGE amounts of muscle gained and not “toning”).
That is why many people bulked up. That guy who does may gain MORE than 10lbs of muscle in a year even if he loses some in the process of losing body fat…but he has a way better chance of building anywhere near the most muscle he can in one year than the guy who thinks that he can hold back gains and ONLY gain muscle.
Right now, my waist is smaller than it was when I came into the military weighing about 225-230lbs…by more than an inch. Even if you work that out to “X” number of pounds of lean body mass over all of those years, you would be ignoring that if you really tracked progress like a line graph, you would see rises and falls and not just one linear movement in only one direction.
I am pretty positive that the guys expecting that line to move in only one direction with no fat gains will limit their gains overall in the long run…no matter how much someone else says they can gain per week.
[/quote]
I remember reading something on here awhile ago about never letting your waist to get passed 37 inches. If your waist surpassed that then you were doing things wrong and need to rethink your routine. Do you generally follow this guideline? Surely just telling a beginner to bulk and bulk can lead to confusion and lots of excess fat gain. Where do you recommend some damage control, i’d imagine this is unique to individuals but a general guideline might be good to throw out there.[/quote]
Prime example of how numbers get you in trouble. I seriously doubt jay Cutler’s waist is much smaller than 38". MAYBE he can hit 37. Someone with a wide build and large bone structure could be LEAN with a 37" waist or larger at average height.
Damage control is just a word I made up to describe losing body fat but not so drastically as to be like some competition ready diet which would cause most people to lose all of the muscle they gained. The last thing I would use to describe that line in the sand would be some arbitrary number for a waist measurement.
I was at my “limit” before last April even though I had been that weight before and a little leaner. In fact, I was past it.[/quote]
FWIW my waist (at the hips) measured at almost 37" (check my avatar to gauge my fatness)
I’m certainly NOT an EXPERT, in fact I’m still pretty newb’d, but here’s my thinking:
During a gaining phase, your body NEEEEEEEEDS a good freaking reason to do something it doesn’t want to do. No body WANTS to add stress to the joints and bones (I’m not a scientist). You lift the weights, and your body suffers to recover. Adding cardio to that will only hamper your recovery.
BUT, that being said, I think that people way overdo the whole ‘overtraining’ thing. Of course, if you were able to lift weights 4-5X a week, eat, sleep, nap, and lay around all day, you’d build more than a regular dude who has real shit going on. For instance, I’m walking around b/w classes, don’t get much sleep some nights, etc etc.
Now, like Prof X said, every single person is different. Some dudes need cardio to NOT turn into a balloon, while some don’t need to hit a treadmill even to get into contest shape. Genetic variation or whatever.
For ME, I actually ENJOY some cardio. I truly like getting on a treadmill or street and jogging 2-3 miles. But, if I do that too much I’ll make no progress. So I typically lift 4x per week, do HIIT once a week on a stationary bike (or some other similar GPP stuff), and if I have time/the motivation, I may go jog 5k or so.
But, the LEAST important thing is the cardio. The order of importance.
FWIW, I also jog to the gym sometimes (~1 mile) if I’m feeling well rested and up to it. But I do KNOW that cardio hampers strength shit. For instance, I NEVER jog on leg day, duh…
[quote]Tankman4411 wrote:
Don’t forget when u get caught up in putting on all the muscle don’t neglect the most important one your heart.[/quote]
This can’t be emphasized enough. There’s very little mention of the potentially negative health effects bulking (excessive or not) can have on your heart in previous bulking threads. I’m not saying that one should not increase calories to sufficiently aid their gym workouts in order to recover and grow. Granted some people have higher tolerance levels than others in regard to what physical capacities and demands ones cardiac system can handle.
At the end of the day, bodybuilding is a long term sport, passion, hobby, and we’re all in this for the long haul. Again some low intensity cardio 3 or 4 times a week 30-45 minutes can do nothing but good for overall conditioning and can benefit performance on lifting days, and most importantly your overall health.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
farmer’s walks, tire flips, sledge hammer work, prowler push/pulls, hill sprints.
do these things often. it will increase your awesomeness level. [/quote]
This. Cardio in the form of elliptical or treadmill is excruciatingly boring to me. I DO NOT want to get up early before eating and go to the gym for 35-50 minutes and do something that I hate. Having said that, I like to eat. I don’t like to gain much bodyfat. The cardio that I enjoy and have to be careful about not doing too much are the things that MM mentioned above. I love pushing/pulling the prowler. I love flipping the tire, complexes, etc. You can use these things while on a bulk to help keep bodyfat in check, it allows you to eat more (within kcal reason), it has health benefits, EPOC!!!, etc.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]-LL- wrote:
You need to be doing some kind of cardio. It doesn’t matter what type, just find a way to add some in at least a few times a week.
It’s good for you overall health, and will lead to better long term gains as well.
Anyone that tells you not to do cardio is probably just lazy. You don’t need carry around much bf to gain lean muscle.
[/quote]
Blanket statements. Never good when done like this.
NO, all people don’t need to be adding cardio into the mix when gaining. Everyone doesn’t have the same metabolism and telling the next 150lbs kid with a super fast metabolism that he needs to add more cardio on top of it when he already can’t gain weight easily is a mistake.[/quote]
You just look for reasons to disagree. “Some kind of cardio” doesn’t mean walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes.
Even the biggest ectos need to be doing sprints at least a couple times a week to maintain athleticism. It helps with appetite and injury prevention as well.
The only reason not to do “some form of cardio” is if you are lazy, and want to turn into a useless, injury prone tree stump.
[quote]-LL- wrote:
You just look for reasons to disagree.
[/quote]
I actually simply disagreed with you. Anyone who has a goal of really taking bodybuilding to any extreme degree is going to have stages of training where they simply work on size. This is what bodybuilding is about. Yes, if YOU alone want to add in “goals of being the best athlete” then you might also need to accept lesser overall progress in the long run in terms of muscle mass gained.
No one here is saying no one should EVER do cardio.
What is being said is that everyone does not need cardio in the routine at all times.
I want the HUGE guys who disagree with that to speak up.
[quote]-LL- wrote:
Even the biggest ectos need to be doing sprints at least a couple times a week to maintain athleticism. It helps with appetite and injury prevention as well.
[/quote]
Disagree.
Why does a bodybuilder need to ‘maintain athleticism’? What does that even mean in a bodybuilding context?
PL’ers, BB’er, Oly’ers: Stretching, active recovery, foam, warmups, maybe intermittent periods of smaller rests between sets or throwing in supersets.
Sprints? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video of top/competitive BB’ers “sprinting to maintain athleticism” (or sprinting at all). ESPECIALLY “when bulking” (as the thread title reads).
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Sprints? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video of top BB’ers sprinting. ESPECIALLY “when bulking” (as the thread title reads)
[/quote]
Kevin Levrone!!!
I actualy know quite a few jacked dudes that love sprinting.
Definitely don’t need cardio when bulking, but like I said before, it’s good for overall health. My blood pressure is perfect right now and it was borderline high a year ago when I was heavier and not doing cardio. I also feel like, as a guy who has an easy time gaining weight, that keeping my metabolism boosted through some HIIT 3-4 x week 15-20 minutes, eating big and lifting heavy, would produce the best results for me regarding LBM added without a lot of fat, it’s what’s going on right now.
Obviously someone who can’t put on weight shouldn’t be doing much cardio, or if they want to for the health benefits they just need to eat more.
Athleticism and bodybuilding IMO can go hand in hand. I am not saying that you should be some all-star sprinter, but when eating right and being physically active both with cardio and weight lifting my body just turns into a machine wanting to add muscle/strength and keep fat at bay. I am not saying I’ll gain as much weight as possible doing this, but it’s not just about overall weight when bulking, it’s about LBM gains and for me this yields the best results in that department.
Also the cardio and stretching keeps me limber. I feel like the increased circulation from a good cardiovascular system leads to better pumps, I’ve noticed since throwing in the cardio that I’ve honestly had better pumps at the gym, big time. It’s also nice not be winded all the time and being able to play 2-3 back to back pick up games of basketball at the gym and be able to go all out during that hour instead of 15 minutes and keeling over like I would out of shape. I’m not carrying as much weight as before which is helping, but I am also not a small player on the court weighing mid 220s at the moment still with abs, but not shredded.
Anyways that’s what works for me.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Kevin Levrone!!!
[/quote]
Old top placing Mr. Olympia Kevin Levrone, or “new does-weird-shit-sometimes-on-LevroneReport” Kevin Levrone? 
jacked <> “top bodybuilders”
But that’s the thread title and someone is claiming bb’ers “must sprint” during “bulking”.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Kevin Levrone!!!
[/quote]
Old top placing Mr. Olympia Kevin Levrone, or “new does-weird-shit-sometimes-on-LevroneReport” Kevin Levrone?
jacked <> “top bodybuilders”
But that’s the thread title and someone is claiming bb’ers “must sprint” during “bulking”.[/quote]
This Kevin Levrone.
Jacked is in dudes on this site like Ebomb and Josh86
And yeah, if you don’t want to do cardio definitely nothing wrong with that and you can have great results with or without. Just was stating that for me, I’ll have better LBM gains with cardio and I enjoy it.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
This Kevin Levrone.
[/quote]
See? I learned something today. Well, there’s “one”.
Those little skinny geeks? – Josh has come a long way in the past few years for sure.
On another note, you look like you’re coming right along. Keep working hard, dude.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
This Kevin Levrone.
[/quote]
See? I learned something today. Well, there’s “one”.
Those little skinny geeks? – Josh has come a long way in the past few years for sure.
On another note, you look like you’re coming right along. Keep working hard, dude.[/quote]
Thanks bro. We all have the same goals, become a house, get strong like ox. Keep up the hard work yourself.
My main point is that cardio can be a catalyst when it comes to putting on size.
A few things I notice when I am consistently adding in sprints, plyometrics, or another form of strength cardio are:
Increased appetite
Faster recovery
Better work capacity/More intense workouts
Better Mood
I seem to digest food better
Less soreness
I noticed these because I have gone through stages where I didnt’ want to do any extra work, out of the fear of not being able to grow. My results were not as good during these stages. Thankfully, I have been exposed to some very knowledgeable and experienced people over my training career who showed me a better way.
It’s amusing that people who have never competed in any level of bodybuilding competition are so outspoken on the subject.
[quote]-LL- wrote:
My main point is that cardio can be a catalyst when it comes to putting on size. [/quote]
It can also be an anticatalyst.
[quote]
A few things I notice when I am consistently adding in sprints, plyometrics, or another form of strength cardio are:
Increased appetite
Faster recovery
Better work capacity/More intense workouts
Better Mood
I seem to digest food better
Less soreness[/quote]
Great. Unless “20” biceps" is included in that I am not sure the bigger picture is in view.
I get greater work capacity as well when I do cardio…but I also understand there are stages that go into being really big.
[quote]
I noticed these because I have gone through stages where I didnt’ want to do any extra work, out of the fear of not being able to grow. My results were not as good during these stages. Thankfully, I have been exposed to some very knowledgeable and experienced people over my training career who showed me a better way. [/quote]
That’s great and I am glad you are seeing progress…but everyone isn’t made like you…therefore, everyone won’t find that their results aren’t as good when size is the main focus above all else.
? When did we discuss bodybuilding competitions?