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music_man185
05-23-10, 3:18 pm
i'm a hardgainer. i have a very fast metabolism and its somewhat difficult for me to gain weight and even harder to keep what weight i do gain. i lose weight extremely easy. i'm taking m-stak right now and have increased my protein and carbs. i do need to do some cardio though. my bodyfat percentage is fairly low, but i'm out of shape...BAD! lol. i haven't done any form of cardio in a about a year and now i get out of breath talking on the phone. lol. i would also like to be just a little bit leaner.

i'm afraid of doing cardio though. because in the past, when i do cardio, i lose too much muscle. what would be a good amount of cardio for me to do just to get a bit leaner and in better cardiovascular conditioning without losing too much muscle? and what kind of intensity? i've always preferred the treadmill to anything else and i usually just run a mile at a 6.0 rate (heavy jog). would walking or a slower jog for longer distance be better?

Toro
05-23-10, 3:34 pm
I find your thread to be a bit contradictory music man. As a hardgainer m-stack and upping your calories to gain weight is the right way to go and there is no problem to do small cardio sessions to keep cardiovascular health while bulking. However if you plan to shed fat doing what i just mentioned before makes no sense, since cutting is the exact opposite process to bulking. For instance, im not quite sure what your main goal is. If you can clarify this i would be able to give further advice.

music_man185
05-23-10, 3:39 pm
i'm not looking to "cut". more or less just keep fat gain to a minimum while taking in extra calories. and get in better cardiovascular health.

Legacy
05-23-10, 3:46 pm
You gotta do some type of aerobic exercise bro. I know what your saying, I use to be the same way that if I did cardio while bulking id be scared of losing weight. Some how incorporate it into your program 2-3 times per week. Mine is martial arts training that I do, and if I am not doing that I do high intensity low volume cardio so my heart gets pumping. Just up your calories on the day you do your cardio from carbs. But you gotta do it, heart is a muscle too.

music_man185
05-23-10, 3:52 pm
what exactly do you mean by high intensity low volume?

Toro
05-23-10, 3:55 pm
Ok thats much clearer lol.

For a better cardiovascular health try to spread 2-3 20 mins cardio sessions throughout the week. Walking slower over a longer distance would probably make the cardio session useless, since to actually be doing cardiovascular exercise your heart rate must be in the cardio zone for a certain amount of time. So if heavy jog works for you stick with it.

If you are bulking you have to take extra calories to promote muscle growth, which will always bring along some fat with it. To reduce that fat gain i cant help you much, you have to see how your own body works and what calories it needs to grow. Just try to eat more than your maintainance calories but dont go crazy with it so that you overbulk. Of course the calories you have to take is something you have to discover by your own expirience. Eat an amount of calories for a month and then check what changed: if you gained to much fat just eat less the next month and if you dont see any gains just eat more.

Good luck and keep it simple.

music_man185
05-23-10, 3:58 pm
would a protein shake or some sort of high carb meal be ideal around 30-60 minutes before a cardio session? i know to get the most of a cardio session, i've always read to do it on an empty stomach. but does that also apply for a hardgainer who loses weight easily?

Legacy
05-23-10, 4:05 pm
what exactly do you mean by high intensity low volume?

Well for my cardio I never sit in a gym on a bike or treadmill or any of that. I go outside on a football field and do my stuff cause I'd rather make my body move than sit above a belt. What I mean by high intensity cardio is training my body to go at an all out effort, such as doing sprints. Ill do 100 yard sprints for about 10-15 sets 2 times per week. I got all out on each set. And when that gets to easy, you start increasing the yardages to 150's or 200's. For a more aerobic type cardio, thats where my martial arts comes into play. I get 3 straight hours of work going non stop.

I do this as my cardio and usually lean out at the weight I am at. When I feel I am losing too much I just keep eating more. I also train this way because that is what my body is built for. I am going to be a police officer and I know (where I live) short distance helps because most foot pursuits are 100-300 yards. However my body is built to do some long distance stuff if I have.

So its all about finding out what works for your body and what your needs are. Like I said I do it like this cause its better for me. I hate doing cardio in the gym and I honestly think cardio done outside on the ground works your body a lot harder than sitting on a bike or a treadmill (however spinning bikes offer a great cardio benefit). Even if you use a bike, get a real one to use outside and travel around instead of being cooped up in the gym.

But thats it, 3 days a week for me for cardio and my weight usually stays the same with that routine. So it would look like this:

Mon: Sprints 15 x 100 yards
Tues: NO CARDIO
Wed: Martial Arts 3 hours of cardio
Thr: NO CARDIO
Friday: Springs 15 x 100 yards
Sat: NO CARDIO
Sun: NO CARDIO

MojoMike36
05-23-10, 4:06 pm
Eat like a insatiable freak and do your cardio...

Cellardweller
05-23-10, 4:40 pm
I have a related question. If you do your cardio following a weight lifting session, when do you drink your post workout shake? I'm useing Torrent for example. Would I take a break in between and have the shake, or just take it after the cardio? You want to get those proteins and carbs in in the golden 30 minute window after lifting, right? Here's another one, if you just have a cardio day would you follow up the cardio with Torrent too?

ontheEDGE
05-23-10, 5:40 pm
Im so glad this topic came up because I just finished using this type of training and it worked great. Any day you don't workout legs (3x per week max), do the following. On treadmill, eliptical or outside run is best, jog for 2 mins, then at the 2 min mark take off - fast as you can for 30 seconds. Now a 1:30 jog/recovery. So you would repeat the sprint every 1:30 which is the 2, 4, 6, 8 mark on your timer. Jog it out it out at the end to cool down n your done. You will be burnt out. In fact I would start with only 2-3 sprints and work up to 4-5. This is just high intensity training. It will help you burn fat, keep muscle and increase growth hormone.

Just don't over do it the first day and stay really hydrated. Listen to your body especially since it's been so long since you've done cardio.

ontheEDGE
05-23-10, 5:43 pm
I have a related question. If you do your cardio following a weight lifting session, when do you drink your post workout shake? I'm useing Torrent for example. Would I take a break in between and have the shake, or just take it after the cardio? You want to get those proteins and carbs in in the golden 30 minute window after lifting, right? Here's another one, if you just have a cardio day would you follow up the cardio with Torrent too?

I wouldn't drink a protein shake then do cardio. You can down a gaterade with some Animal Nitro though, that would work better in my opinion. Then have your shake after your done with the cardio.