Gain Weight, and Endurance

hello, I need some help… I just joined the united states navy… and im doing testing to become an air rescue swimmer… currently my weight is around 135 and im trying to make gains
which I have, about 7 pounds in 2 months but I notice I gain more when I don’t do as much cardio (running,swimming) I need to start doing both more often and increase my speed in both…but I also want to keep gaining… any and all advice would be helpful!

Thanks!
P.S I did a bunch of searches already and nothing to helpful came up… last time I posted all I got was a rude message saying (USE THE SEARCH ENGINE!)

I think you’d be safe to try to do both, since you seem to have little choice.

Continue to try and gain weight, yet also do the cardio you need to. Though it does seem like, correct me if I’m wrong, that you want gains in weight more than you want or need gains in endurance.
The good thing is I don’t think you need to worry about losing ground in endurance, since there must be some guys heavier than you doing good runs and swims.
Me, I’m 250lbs now and did 45 minutes of running last Wednesday…maybe barely 5 miles though.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice my biggest problem is all the cardio while eating SO much per day than I’m used too
I’m currently following the scrawny to brawny diet and I feel like I’m going to burst everyday… But I am gaining weight so I don’t want to
Stop…

If you could, do your cardio first thing in the morning, then eat like a pig all day. It’s what I unfortunately do.

good advice man, I think ill do that… maybe I just need to get used too it, cause ill hit the weights and my legs and chest will be killing me for pushups, swimming etc…

stewsmith.com

a navy seal.

he has a great website that should help you reach your goals… search around on his site for what you’re after…

If your weight is is where you want it when you stop doing cardio then by all means "stop doing cardio. Assuming you already have a strong foundation for endurance? Gain the weight you want to gain, develop it and resume cardio afterward. Hope it helps…

Thanks for all the help guys, I just did my pst again today and I was definatly lacking on my running, I’m pretty sure the intense lifting needs too wait at least until I am very comfortable with my cardio…

Im in a similarsituation.Im skinny by nature, but managed to crawl my way up to a fairly lean 245. Im just beginning fire academy and doing tons of cardio that I wasnt doing before. As far as lifting hard with the addition of the cardio training, I like to lower the total lifting volume. At the moment I like to either do a low volume but very intense (heavy) session, or a circuity type session with lots of super sets, etc. Either way it takes meabout 30-40 mins and Im still reaqdy to give er shit on the runs etc.

As for making weight gains, unfortunately that comes down to calories in.

Same boat.
I just did weights and some light cardio right after (calesthetics /swimming).
Then some hardcore conditioning in the evening (mile runs with hill sprints, complex’s, hiit, alot of sex)
Eat alot and lift heavy and sleep.
Basically eat alot more than you are used to and work harder on your conditioning.

[quote]Drgreglove wrote:
good advice man, I think ill do that… maybe I just need to get used too it, cause ill hit the weights and my legs and chest will be killing me for pushups, swimming etc…[/quote]

true that. If you dont feel like its hard as shit for the first week or two then your not doing enough. Your body will adapt to it like no problem you jsut got to push through it bro. Keep on truckin

My suggestion, for what it’s worth, is to focus primarily on getting your PT scores where they need to be for your selection process. I don’t mean just the minimums either, but rather the top 10%. Stew Smith’s site mentioned above provides some good targets to shoot for. At 135 I an see why you want to put on some beef so keep on eating like crazy and get as much rest as possible. For lifting maybe consider a heavier, lower volume approach. A lot of guys on here really like the 2 day/week version of Wendler’s 5/3/1. For pure mass it’s probably not ideal but it lets you get in and out of the gym in a fairly short period of time without leaving you too waxed. I don’t know how much mandatory PT you’re subject to day to day, but I also suggest trying to incorporate interval/fartlek type training for your cardio work in place of long slow grinds whenever possible.

Here’s a link to th 5/3/1 article with the 2 day split:

Here’s another link to Alpha’s Warrior Athlete Blog. It’s not very beginner friendly but I find it super inspirational:

Good luck, man.

OP,

I’m a (surface) rescue swimmer in the Navy now, and can give you a couple of tips in regards to conditioning. I’m a relatively big guy (6’4", 195), but was 184 when I graduated Rescue Swimmer school. Your idea to gain weight is a good idea… all the super skinny guys suffered on both rescues and when subjected to the cold.

I followed a relatively simple training routine going in, with a 3 week strength-centric cycle, 4 week conditioning-centric cycle, and 3 week endurance centric cycle, and have the notes for each. I also successfully had a special programs contract going into the Navy.

Feel free to contact me if you want, just send a PM.

Thanks everyone for your help, I wish I didnt have to work full time while trying to train and im still in school so it’s really tough… but all the advice is wonderful I am most likely going to lift on 2 of my 5 training days…its so hard with my busy schudule to fit in 6-7 meals a day…whew this is a test of my determination