Clean Bulk - Cardio?

JamesU2005

JamesU2005

JamesU2005

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On a clean bulk at the moment.

What would you recommend in terms if cardio on off days from lifting?

Was doing Low Intensity Steady State for 30 minutes on my keto-cut.

Stick to this?
 
Always good to keep the ticker in shape. To stop your recovery rate slipping.

Personally a mixture of some steady state like you are doing, some HIIT or Tabata should see you good. Depends how often you want to do it really.

Sitting on the bike for 30 minutes is pointless, if you're going to do some cardio do it well and get on the Rower or X-trainer. These would also be my preference for HIIT right now as weather doesn't make sprints outdoors favourable or safe.
 
Hi Benny,

Yes I've been doing LISS on the X-Trainer, twice a week for about 4 months.

How about this on the off days from lifting (Tuesday and Thursday):

Tuesday - Steady State, 30 Minutes, getting heart rate max to 150 (I'm 23 years old) - X-Trainer

Thursday - 15 Minutes of HIIT, 30 seconds on, 1 minute off - X-Trainer

Would this hinder my bulk?
 
I'd always do cardio - in fact I do cardio often. Pointless in having a good body with a poor CV system. HIIT and some sport is a good mix. Sport is more fun than cardio IMO.

Why do people think cardio hinders bulk? If you're eating right it won't make the blindest bit of difference.
 
JamesU2005 said:
Thanks for the advice.

Shall I make both days HIIT then? Duration ok?
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Those durations aren't okay.

Your time scale is fine though 15-20 minutes is perfect, or 4 minutes if you want to do Tabata 20 on 10 off x 8

30 seconds maximum effort with a minute recovery isn't quite intense enough. 20/40 works well for me.

You could do 2 weeks of intervals then a week of steady state or visa versa. Play it by ear see how you feel :)
 
I'd build up the HIIT routine - 10mins moving up to 20mins and see how you get on. I'd personally reduce the rest periods, but you need to gauge on how your body recovers from being at high intensity. After a month or so you'll find yourself recovering quicker, and able to sprint harder. The turning point is when your rest periods become shorter than your training intervals. :)

Obviously the key here is the high intensity bit. :)

I don't particularly like running, but I do do the 30s jog, 30s sprint split when I'm out. Amazing the distance you can cover.

Hill sprints are good too.

Start off at 30m, sprint up, walk down, wait for 45s, and repeat 12 times.

Then up it to 15x

Then increase the distance incrementally.

Hill sprints are very very good.
 
I do 30 minutes of interval training on a bike, as well as weightlifting involving supersets for 30 minutes before i go on the bike, works brilliantly, starting to get rather lean.

I do weights and cardio on the same day, and i workout twice a week.
 
Same, I do the bikes and weights in the same session 3/4 times a week and its working great for me, only problem I have is I cant afford all the new clothes I need!

I think I just dont understand all the terminolgy though such as SS and HIIT etc so apologies if I am taking it off topic a bit
 
With bulking as long as the diet has the extra cardio incorporated into it then its advised.

As said before, no good being big and lean if you have trouble climbing some stairs.
 
Settled then, twice a week...

HIIT - 15 minutes with 20 seconds on and 40 seconds off.

Then over time, moving up to 20 minutes and thereafter reducing rest period, but that's someway off yet.

Quick research suggests Heart rate for HIIT during "ON phase" looks around 170, does this look correct? I'm 23.

Thanks all.

:)
 
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Relentless81 said:
How come its pointless?

I sit on a bike for 30 mins 3/4 times a week, works for me, I dont like running
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It isn't 'pointless' as such but it's not the most efficient way of burning calories. The more the body is moving the more energy is used and thus the more calories are burned. Whilst the legs are big muscles you've not got the arms moving or core working at all.

However it isn't ineffective as it is still burning calories just there are better choices of CV equipment to use :)

I often see people sat on bikes reading or chatting. And ime as soon as I'm distracted my stride/speed slows and it's not uncommon for me to see people crawling along chatting or reading.

I'm not saying that anybody here does it just that I'm personally not a fan of the bike despite the fact I enjoy cycling.
 
BennyC said:
Always good to keep the ticker in shape. To stop your recovery rate slipping.

Personally a mixture of some steady state like you are doing, some HIIT or Tabata should see you good. Depends how often you want to do it really.

Sitting on the bike for 30 minutes is pointless, if you're going to do some cardio do it well and get on the Rower or X-trainer. These would also be my preference for HIIT right now as weather doesn't make sprints outdoors favourable or safe.
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100% agree

Freefaller said:
*snip*The turning point is when your rest periods become shorter than your training intervals. :)

Obviously the key here is the high intensity bit. :)

I don't particularly like running, but I do do the 30s jog, 30s sprint split when I'm out. Amazing the distance you can cover.

Hill sprints are good too.

Start off at 30m, sprint up, walk down, wait for 45s, and repeat 12 times.

Then up it to 15x

Then increase the distance incrementally.

Hill sprints are very very good.
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You really have to be super human to get your rest times to be less than your intense intervals :o That's like asking a 200m sprinter to run his race and then do another one after jogging for 15 seconds. And then another... Obviously a slightly silly example, but during the intense phase I really don't think you should dip below 80-85% (a sprint for me is 95+%), doing this will require rest times. Maybe it's just that I don't like "traditional" HIIT, but I feel that to go any lower would be missing a trick by not activating your fast twitch fibers fully, even if that means resting slightly longer. Obviously it would be silly and dangerous to try and start out that way, but IMO increasing intensity is the way you should aim to take your progression rather than just reducing rest times.

deus3x said:
With bulking as long as the diet has the extra cardio incorporated into it then its advised.

As said before, no good being big and lean if you have trouble climbing some stairs.
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Absolutely. I think the probelm arises when people do too much cardio (especially steady state) for their calorie intake. Obviously this becomes harder to balance as you start to really increase the cardio times.

JamesU2005 said:
Settled then, twice a week...

HIIT - 15 minutes with 20 seconds on and 40 seconds off.

Then over time, moving up to 20 minutes and thereafter reducing rest period, but that's someway off yet.

Quick research suggests Heart rate for HIIT during "ON phase" looks around 170, does this look correct? I'm 23.

Thanks all.

:)
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Looks good :)

Don't worry about heart rate, if you're hitting your intensity it will take care of itself.
 
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