Bulking Question

[MrPerfect]

This is sort of a 2 part question. First when bulking I believe I have read it is possible to adjust your fat/carb intake to avoid packing on as much weight and your gains will be more lean body mass. (I do realized some fat is inevitable on a bulking cycle, I just mean a large amount). And the second part is, if this is true, would light cardio also aid in fighting fat or would this simply result in wasting that sweet sweet juice? Hit me up with the facts guys..

MP

[Matt Foley]

im a firm believer in moderate cardio while bulking.to keep things simple,it supplies more oxygen to the muscle and lung.in turn allows for more growth.i do cardio twice/wk medium intensity for 30min.

[MrPerfect]

interesting, i thought i was going to get a whole bunch of replies saying that its rediculous ... did you still see the same kind of gains? or do you feel they are lessened by the cardio?

[painintheazz]

I Personally do light cardio when I am bulking too, I find that if I don't I gain a large proportion of body fat and I also don't seem to recover as quickly.

Pain

[MrPerfect]

That seems reasonable and i suppose if it is kept light it shouldn't effect gains too much.

[monstercojones]

even if it does affect gains, i think it would do more good than harm- cutting out the fat and water.

[MrPerfect]

I could see a negative side to losing the water..but why the fat?

[mmaximus25]

You should have people on both sides of the fence bro... So I'll be the guy on the other side of the fence. A few questions though... What is your target weight for bulking...??? When you say cardio (that’s a loose term) do mean keeping your heart rate at a consistent level for a period of time as in aerobic exercise?
Ok for me personally I don’t bulk really heavy any more (25-30lb increase) but even when gaining weight as I am right now... I stay away from aerobic exercise. One thing I should note is if you are bulking that heavy or what ever weight you’re bulking to... The main purpose for this is to let your body adjust to the added weight. If you're not at that weight long enough it’s harder to mature your lean mass gained. And once you have gained the desired lean mass; you must feed it until your body meets its comfort zone and realizes the extra mass isn't temporary, where upon muscle maturity is reached. People just don’t lose their gains from improper nutrition; well it's more of a combo effect. Your body isn't accustom to the weight gained and over a period of time go back to is comfort area. You must maintain the high calorie diet for much longer than just 6 weeks... A year would be beneficial and a good minimum...but I find it hard to stay that long with unwanted body fat also... The other way is to add muscle slowly but make dame sure you feed yourself, or just maintain your mass until your body is comfortable. It is alot easier with a little fat 10% BF... and even more so with a lot of fat, say 25% BF. Needing to diet down frequently will destroy much effort when it comes to muscle maturity.
I use my training with weights to keep my metabolic rate up and high. Ex. on my second leg day 600m of bodyweight lunges 100m sets will burn the calories needed. If you train hard enough you will get your heart rate up and burn the calories needed. The one thing to remember is... if bulking then you want to maintain a percentage of body fat and gain lean muscles mass... other wise you’re not exactly bulking... The only time I do aerobic training..., stair stepper, stationary bike, tread mill is when I will be decreasing my fat percentage. And too your question I try and manipulate my fat percentage through nutrients. If raising the poly and mono fats or saturated fats I will take some carbs away. If you have a good feel for what calories feel like (ex intaking 5000 calories isn't that easy, once you've done it for a while you know when your getting 4000 or 5000 cals) you can adjust during the day. Other wise you must plan your meals. Low fat for me is really low; I will only consume .25g x my body weight, meaning I will be eating a lot of carbs that day. High fat for me is 1g x body weight but I must stress this can through your body for a loop when its use to getting good carbs then you take a percent of that away and replace with fat... Anyway, I think I've written too much...(a novel yet again)
So in a nut shell I don’t do aerobic training while gaining lean body weight, I use my actual training to keep my metabolism going. I do use food as the manipulator as far as keeping my body fat where I want it... (Not always perfect but easier for me) And I utilize aerobic training only when shedding body fat… everyone is different and has different goals and preferences...

[MrPerfect]

thats a hell of a good answer Maximus, now you asked what weight was the target, and its not so much that I was thinking more along the lines of gaining quality over quantity and yes when i said cardio I meant aerobic excercise. And the only reason i ask is with summer coming up and i still wanted to do a bulking cycle now ... but i didn't wanna lose all hope of being cut for summer ... which i suppose is one of those things I really have to get over since you have to expect the unwanted kind of weight gain on cycle. Although i suppose i have a good chunk of time for cutting after cycle but before summer. Its just that i have read so many posts (they come up often) about adjusting what you eat and how much to adjust how fast and the quality of what you put on. So i just figured since excercise is the other variable which creates the final product how about altering that for different results. I guess i thought it might be possible to kill 2 bird with one stone in a way. Looking back on it maybe i was just getting greedy Although I would still think it could somehow provide you with something while on cycle. maybe?? Thanks for the great post bro.

MP

[mmaximus25]

I may have jumped over my technique too quickly. I was talking about bulking in two senses. I think you can kill two birds with one stone only it will take a longer period of time to putt on a large amount of mass. I'm @ 10% BF and intake a little over maintenance for calories. This way I stay some what lean and grow at the same time. Although, I won’t touch aerobic training until I want to cut more body fat. And, I won’t be winning any contests for the amount of mass gained. The mass that is gained is being feed and put on gradually. I personally don’t bulk heavy because; well you know… every one wants to look good...
My advice to you would be... Ex. If you are 25%-15% BF try skipping the cardio but reduce calorie intake and hit the weights with less rest in-between sets or try super setting or drop sets with the average amount of rest. Once you hit say 10% BF adjust your cals to be a little over maintaining. This is with out knowing how fast your metabolic rate is. I'm possibly the middle of the road in the speed of metabolism... I'm 223-225 10% BF and I maintain @ around 4000cals. I intake between 4500 and 5000 calories depending on the training day, legs and back/chest are the higher days. It’s not easy but what is... There is no magic pill... right? I at one time having a very slow metabolic rate and more of an endomorph have changed my metabolism by adding lean mass and appear more like a mesomorph. My metabolism is strong enough that when I reduce cal intake I begin burning fat. Another good sign to keep track of is if you continue to need a higher maintaining cal each year... Just my spit bro... I know everybody is different. But I truly believe if you putt maximum effort into your training you can do with out cardio until its time to cut body fat. Good luck bro…

[MrPerfect]

Once again a great post, this time I really see what you are saying. Thanks a lot bro, this will be a huge help in planning my upcoming cycle.