Question about cardio while bulking.

[DaveWalton]

I'm 6'3 and about 198 in the morning on an empty stomach. I've been lifting for almost 5 years now, but I would say I've only been lifting properly for the last year or so and have only recently got a decent grasp on nutrition (still learning of course).

I've tried German Volume Training with great success and am now trying Vince Gironda's 8x8 (which so far I love).

Today I made the decision to stick with a program and start eating right on a consistent basis. I decided to take a few pictures of myself so I could gauge my progress. To my disappointment, the pics from today look almost EXACTLY the same as my pictures from this APRIL. I no real visible progress, and if anything, my stomache seems bloated (granted I did just drink a big glass of milk).

Anyways, I will be sticking to Gironda's 8x8 done 4 workouts done once every 6 days but I'm wondering how often cardio should be done to burn fat while bulking? I hope to get to 210 by mid December.

I've read that for an ectomorph hardgainer (which I am) cardio should be limited to 2 times a week at no more than 20 minutes.

I would like to be able to do more than this, but not if it will have no benefit for me in terms of shedding fat while bulking.

Any suggestions on cardio MUCH appreciated.

Also...here are some pictures of my disappointing physique. The first is relaxed the second is flexed (pecs weren't equally flexed obviously lol).

[sportsfan4110]

Don't worry about shedding fat while bulking, its 99.9% impossible for someone to shed fat while bulking up because you are in a calorie surplus. Just bulk up cleanly and you won't have to worry about putting on to much fat. Fat gains are going to happen when you bulk up but you can control how much and how fast. After a clean and sucessful bulk, cut for a few weeks to shed the fat and then bulk up again. Its a vicious cycle.

[DaveWalton]

Thanks for the reply! In terms of cardio I was thinking high intensity jump rope for only 15-20 minutes 2-3 times a week (likely 3). Would that not help with fat shedding while building quality mass?

Other than that, cutting will be a new experience for me...never tried it before. I'll have to look into that a lot...will be nice though as I leave for Cuba January 3rd!

[David Dunn]

Continued moderate/extensive cardio will afford you the opportunity to consume a greater surplus of calories and deter the onset of excessive amounts of body fat.

Cardio is a very potent nutrient partioner - meaning in promotes the body to utilize nutrients to feed lbm rather than being stored as adipose.

If your recovery can can handle it there is nothing wrong or detrimental with doing 20 to 30 mins of low, medium or high intensity cardio post workout.

[DaveWalton]

Continued moderate/extensive cardio will afford you the opportunity to consume a greater surplus of calories and deter the onset of excessive amounts of body fat.

Cardio is a very potent nutrient partioner - meaning in promotes the body to utilize nutrients to feed lbm rather than being stored as adipose.

If your recovery can can handle it there is nothing wrong or detrimental with doing 20 to 30 mins of low, medium or high intensity cardio post workout.

Excellent post! I was thinking of alternating between jump rope and swimming but I'm a bit worried that swimming will over-work my shoulders and other upper-body areas that I want to grow.

For someone with my body type, how often would you recommend 20 minutes of intense cardio per week?

[David Dunn]

It depends on how much surplus you want to consume. Adjust your surplus and/or cardio to maintain/support the desired state of leanness. IOW - if you want to eat more then do more cardio and vice versa. There obviously will be a threshold but only you can tell where that is and what is an acceptable variance.

[Rodja]

Cardio should be done year round regardless of goals. The health benefits greatly outweigh any detriment it may cause to your LBM gain.

[DaveWalton]

It seems to me more and more that bodybuilding is an incredibly complex lifestyle that takes an incredible amount of dedication.

I think I will continue to focus on bulking with gironda's 8x8 until mid-late december where I will switch to a cut for a few weeks.

The biggest piece of the puzzle I'm missing is nutrition. From my understanding, a solid workout program combined with a solid proper diet = your desired body (supplements help too and of course proper rest).

I feel that I have my workout in order, I just need to focus on improving my diet. I do eat a lot, but I often miss meals and don't get enough protein. Also, a lot of my carbs come solely from pasta and fruit. I need more variety with my carbs and need more fats as well.

Any suggestions for good complex carbs? I tend to make 3-4 of the same meals to bring with me to school that I heat up in the microwave so it'd be nice if all the carbs were the same (e.g. whole wheat pasta).

Thanks!

P.S. I completely agree with what you are saying about cardio Rodja and b5150.

[Irish Cannon]

Cardio should be done year round regardless of goals. The health benefits greatly outweigh any detriment it may cause to your LBM gain.

It took me a while to find this out. Don't ever fall into that category of bodybuilders that don't do cardio because they don't want to burn up their bulking calories. It's a crock. You see these old guys walking around that still think they're in their prime and still avoid cardio like a plague, yet they're 50, washed up, and probably have horrible heart issues.

Stay healthy. Do cardio.

[JOHNJESSICA20]

Low impact cardio for 20min a couple times a week should work pretty well while bulking. As with anything practice make perfect so feel free to play with intensity and times till you find the correct formula that will work for you because everyones different. What works for me may not work for you, trial and error is how I've learned.

[Aggression]

Low intensity cardio works best for keeping fat low while trying to add mass to your frame.

As for choices of carbs, the best types of clean carbs for bulking include brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat pasta. All those foods are dense in good carbs. Of course, when trying to bulk up, throw a few heavy cheat meals in there occasionally.

[MagnumHD]

Low intensity cardio works best for keeping fat low while trying to add mass to your frame.

As for choices of carbs, the best types of clean carbs for bulking include brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat pasta. All those foods are dense in good carbs. Of course, when trying to bulk up, throw a few heavy cheat meals in there occasionally.

Agreed. It is best to keep the heart rate under 120 post workout so you dont impact the cal intake all that much. Hop on the treadmill, set the inline up the whole way and go at 2.5 mph. for 30-45 minutes. This will keep the heart rate up for that time frame but not overworking it. This method has worked for me and my workout partners but it may not work for you. My 2 cents worth

[Rodja]

I contend that cardio should be done for about 20 minutes at 65-75% of age-predicted MHR for nutrient repartitioning and health benefits. I find it very ironic that most people do not do cardio while using AAS since cardio is one of the best things for lipids.

[t-bone2]

In terms of cardio I was thinking high intensity jump rope for only 15-20 minutes 2-3 times a week (likely 3). Would that not help with fat shedding while building quality mass?

Bad choice. Jumping rope will not allow your legs to fully recover, especially if you are performing it 3x/week. You need low intensity, low impact cardio to allow for full recovery. For maximum lipid oxidation, cardio should be performed at a VO2 Max range of 50-60%, which translates to between 69-75% of your maximum heart rate. Jumping rope for the duration that you describe will most likely push you beyond that range. And as mentioned, the high impact nature will make it difficult for your legs to fully recover.

[Young Gotti]

While bulking I do cardio 3 times a week. I just cut the time down from 20 minutes 3 times a week to 10 minutes. But when i do cardio for 10 minutes I go as fast and intense as possible for the last 20 seconds of every minute. For example at 40 seconds- 1:00, 1:40-2:00 and so on throughout the whole 10 minutes and I do it after an intense weight workout of course. When not bulking or cutting I do 20 minutes and go intense at 4:40-5:00, then 9:40-10, 11:40-12:00 and then the last 20 seconds of every minute for the last 5 minutes.