[quote]d21887 wrote:
what other forms of cardio are out there…sorry im a newb when it comes to the cardio side of f things…err i just chose hiit because i see alot of people mentioning it. ive tried a 5x5 before and for me the size gains werent really what i was looking for…but on the upside i did get alot stronger on the Deadlift and squat…i guess most 5x5s are mostly for strength and my body responds better to high reps for size [/quote]
Oh bro, in that case, stick to what works best for you. If a higher rep count works best, then stick to that. Despite the kool aid some of the posters here (and everywhere else) like to swallow, not everyone is built equally, not everyone wants the same, and not everyone trains the same for the same reasons.
jevohafitness does have a point in that if you are going low carbs you are shooting yourself in the foot. You need to eat adequate amounts of carbs, proteins and fats when bulking up. You can’t play the low-carb or low-fat card if you want to gain muscle.
As far as cardio is concerned, it all depends on how much mass you want to increase in a given amount of time.
If you are like “I want to continuously increase mass in the next 12 months while doing some cardio”, then doing moderate amounts of cardio should not be a problem.
But if you are like “I want to maximize my increase in mass within the next 3-6 months”, then you have to be careful on the amount of cardio as well as the scheduling of cardio with respect to your weight training.
“Gaining muscle mass” is a very general goal that encompasses a variety of training goals. You need to define yours.
I would say you need to be more specific, be more goal-oriented. For example, think like the three examples below (and for the retarded peanut gallery who wants to nick pick, I’m just picking up numbers at random to elaborate the point):
- I want my weight increase to be, on average, say, 2-4 lbs per month for the next 6 months without a major increase in my waist line (increasing your body weight while maintaining the same waist line is a strong indication your gains are mostly muscle and not fat.)
or
- I want to see consistent increments in gird in my biceps, chest and quads/hamstrings every month.
or.
- I want to increase my body weight by 20lbs within a year and at the same time increase the amount of weight I can bench press and squat.
Those are just three examples, not too detailed, span for 6 months to a year, and have a specific goal or goals. You need a goal that you can measure and detect if you are making progress.
Going back to cardio, there are different types. There is HIIT, there are tabata sets, what fall under the umbrella of anaerobic conditioning, things like sled dragging, or simple moderate cardio on a treadmill or stationary bike.
Specially with moderate cardio, you don’t have to go crazy. And, if you are eating right, you won’t disappear into thin air if you do it. It would not hurt you to do 5 minutes in a stationary bike at the end of your workout. Whatever you do, just keep it brief and to the point. Don’t go overboard and do 20-40 minutes of cardio. It makes no sense, and it will certainly shoot your goals of gaining muscle.