Changing up my workout??

[blacspydr0]

So I recently changed up my workout and diet based on a few threads i read on here. I switched to eating around 3,000 calories a day, working one or two muscle groups a day and minimum cardio in order to bulk up.

Before the switch I was eating enough calories to maintain my weight, working out every muscle group every other day and at least an hour of cardio daily. I told myself Id make this switch with an open mind but its making me feel like shit. I feel like I'm eating too much, not getting a good work out, and not being productive b/c of the lack of the cardio.

I guess my questions are:

Is working out my entire body every other day giving my muscles enough time to rest?

What the most cardio I can get away with without burning too many calories?

I would love to bulk up put on more muscle but ultimately the reason I started working out in the first place was because it made me feel good. It made me feel like I wasn't wasting my day. What are your thoughts on all this?

[blacspydr0]

anyone?

[jamminJohn]

I've been doing a similar routine to the one that you were doing, where I do full body circuit training workouts every other day and then 45 minutes of cardio on the other days. I'm using this routine to help lean out and drop alittle body fat. It's worked quite well for me. I've lost about 14 lbs in the past two months and feel great. However, I can't see doing this routine over a long period of time. I'm getting ready to go back to a more normal routine of hitting each body part only once a week and doing 2 or 3 days of cardio.

You are absolutely right about one thing. Working out should make you feel good. If it doesn't, then you are probably doing something wrong. Maybe instead of trying to follow somebody else's routine, you should just stick to what was working for you.

To specifically answer your questions:

Working out your entire body every other day is not going to give your body enough time to recuperate and to grow. It may be fine if you are doing very light, low intensity workouts, but you won't get much growth working out like this.

The amount of cardio that you can do, will depend on your metabolism, your caloric intake and your goals. I know a lot of people won't do any cardio at all when trying to put on muscle mass. I don't agree with that at all. I think you should always do at least some cardio. For me, the cardio is what seems to give me energy and help maintain my endurance.

If you really want to put on more mass, do it slowly. Increase you caloric intake by a few hundred calories a day and keep your diet clean. Do cardio a few days a week and lift weights a few days a week. But, you might be better off, splitting your body up into 3 seperate workouts and hitting each body part once a week. This will allow your body more time to recover and to grow.