I have always been very lean and have a fast metabolism, would doing 15 mins of cardio 3 times a week hinder my gains? Looking to do gain lean muscle
I wouldn’t just based on recent experience. I am trying to eat more now but will try to keep the volume high and the lower rest between sets to keep metabolism high.
I will do that over cardio from here on out until I simply need to do it.
I think you’ll have people who will say yes, and people who will say no. The reason being is their own experiences and metabolisms. I’ve heard of IFBB pros who feel the little bit of occasional cardio exercise will actually help in terms of your overall composition via nutrient delivery. I’ve also heard of IFBB pros who feel that any calorie wasted peddling an exercise bike could have been put to better use (muscle growth).
If your metabolism is indeed on the faster side, I wouldn’t suggest actual cardio workouts. However, 15 mins doesn’t really sound like much work unless you’re talking all out sprints, or even interval work. Small sessions of steady state, possibly done after your weight work doesn’t sound like it would really be enough to have a negative effect, BUT again, if your metabolism is the issue, expect to have to back off if it does prove to be the tipping point.
S
What stu said. If you need it, do it. If you can get away with not doing any, then I hate you.
Doing it in the morning will help with hunger, I would do it, at a low intensity, yes
[quote]zraw wrote:
Doing it in the morning will help with hunger, I would do it, at a low intensity, yes[/quote]
for myself thats the main reason I would do it, because when I bulk my apetite dies lol.
Myself i never really needed, might as well just eat 200 cals less a day then do SS cardio, is the way ive seen it.
Some guys really need it though, I have one friend in particular who needs to do it.
I think for bulking though HIIT makes the most sense because of the increased nutrient patritionning which would help out, when your training and eating for those nutrients to go to the right places.
Personally, I do 2 HIIT sessions/week when bulking and I believe it helps me maintain better condition. I also think HIIT is the most effective form of cardio for the offseason as I prefer to not do cardio often and with lower intensity work, for it to have much effect, you will need to be doing a good deal of it.
I have a pretty good metabolism and have never seen issues with doing HIIT and still gaining weight.
Ok thanks everyone
15 minutes is good, just do the minimum to keep yourself in good condition at all times. You don’t want to be the person who is completely out of breath the first 5 minutes of cardio after months of not doing it.
[quote]sufiandy wrote:
15 minutes is good, just do the minimum to keep yourself in good condition at all times. You don’t want to be the person who is completely out of breath the first 5 minutes of cardio after months of not doing it.[/quote]
after more than 6 months of bulking and no cardio whatsoever, I totally agree with this but only if your lack of conditioning is hindering your progress ie keeping you from putting more weight on the bar.
I’m at the point now where trying to get the last 1-2 reps up on certain exercises is hindered because I’m out of breath, not necessarily because my muscles are tired. I’m going to lower my rep target to 8 reps from 10 to see if it allows me to keep progressing while my conditioning catches up.
I’ve been doing no cardio for the past 4 months while bulking. I don’t know if it’s the 30lb weight gain or the lack of cardio, but I can’t even have sex for more than 5 minutes without having to stop to catch my breath. It’s kind of embarrassing, so I’m definitely starting some sort of cardio next week. I’m going to try a short 15-20 minute session on off days.
lol 15 minutes of running 
i think it really don’t matter at all.
[quote]ultralars wrote:
lol 15 minutes of running i think it really don’t matter at all.
[/quote]
for body comp? probably not.
for conditioning? probably yes.
You can actually get a lot done in 15 minutes, depending on what type of cardio you’re doing. But I’m sure most of you know that already.
[quote]335i wrote:
I’ve been doing no cardio for the past 4 months while bulking. I don’t know if it’s the 30lb weight gain or the lack of cardio, but I can’t even have sex for more than 5 minutes without having to stop to catch my breath. It’s kind of embarrassing, so I’m definitely starting some sort of cardio next week. I’m going to try a short 15-20 minute session on off days.[/quote]
you have sex for more than 5 min?
[quote]HolyMacaroni wrote:
[quote]335i wrote:
I’ve been doing no cardio for the past 4 months while bulking. I don’t know if it’s the 30lb weight gain or the lack of cardio, but I can’t even have sex for more than 5 minutes without having to stop to catch my breath. It’s kind of embarrassing, so I’m definitely starting some sort of cardio next week. I’m going to try a short 15-20 minute session on off days.[/quote]
you have sex for more than 5 min?[/quote]
lololol
15-20 minutes of HARD (hr between 170-180) tempo training definetely works in my experience. Great for conditioning and has definetely kept my bf% lower then when I didnt do any cardio. I try to get in 3 sessions a week. Also 400 m intervals up a steep hill when I feel up for it. These are brutal though. Ended up puking my guts out the last time I did em.
I think the most important thing with cardio as with weight training is intensity. Too many people just wanna walk on a treadmill and dont even work up a sweat. Go out and push yourself alittle. Its gonna suck in the beginning if your out of shape, but eventually it becomes fun when you notice your conditioning improves.