Cardio if trying to gain weight

[Feifei1986]

Hi guys, my friend is 5'6' and he is 17 years old, he is trying to gain weight and especiallly get his arms bigger, he is quite skinny, currently i suggest that he take creatine, which he has started, but i'm wondering which is better, creatine or whey? Also should he do cardio during the workouts at all if he's trying to gain weight, or just lift and not do any cardio. THanks

 

[~SC~]

What is better, creatine or whey???

You can't compare them, they are two totally different products that serve totally diff. purposes.

Nix cardio if you are trying to gain weight now. Of course, mild cardio on non-training days for 30 mins can help to bring blood to areas of recovery and help you, but your diet must be spot on. I see no diet listed, so am unable to assure you that this would be applicable in your situation.

~SC~

 

[BOOEY]

I would do cardio 1-2 times a week for health reasons and to keep your stamina/endurance up. I once went an entire winter without cardio, and the following spring I was literally out of breath after only a few minutes of running .. sucks.

 

[the guy on the couch]

Creatine = a supplement designed to increase the amount of energy (ATP) in muscles, allowing you to work the muscles more. Calories: 0

Whey = a food supplement designed to supply your body with necessary protein building blocks so you can rebuild muscle stronger. Calories: 4cals/g of protein

They are not substitutes for one another. Creatine is useless if you're not eating enough to supply your muscles with energy.

I'd nix the cardio, or keep it to a minimum.

 

[bluetwistedsteel67]

My advice would be to focus on 2 areas. Diet and weight training. Eat clean but eat alot. I would say at that age and weight at LEAST 20x bodywieght in calories with at least 1.5 grams of protein per pound. Eat often and don't allow more than 3 hours go by without food. When I was trying to gain weight at about the same age I saw huge results when I began to get up halfway through my night sleep and slammed a protein shake. As far as training, focus on compound movements. You said your friend wanted to make his arms bigger, the mistake people make is they think if they want their arms to grow they need to do lots of curls or other bicep exercises. My advice would be to forget about those. Focus on making your shoulders bigger and your arms will typically follow. You've got to have well developed shoulders to have big arms that is just a fact. Have him start out doing only 3 exercises. Squats, bench and cleans. Have him do this for 3 months and train with intensity and focus. This will pack on the pounds and give him the core strength he need to progress. After the 3 months he can reevaluate and begin to add some isolation exercises but in the beginning this is what's going to give him the best results. Forget all the routines you read in muscle and fitness, he's not ready for any of that. Trust me, if he follows what I've outlined he can't help but grow. As far as cardio? If he wants to do it he should and he will benefit from it. But have him up his cals if he's going to.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

If money was an issue and I had to choose, it'd be whey, but as stated you cannot compared the two.

As for cardio, do it. Why would you want to do that to yourself? I don't understand the mentality of some people. Obviously don't go overboard with it, but keep it twice a week to help with general fitness and health. Even while bulking I run sprints 2x a week. I plan to throw in a third day with a small 20-30 minute jog.

Just make sure to add in a few hundred extra calories if you plan to do any cardio, to compensate for the loss. It's worth it in the long run, though.

 

[the guy on the couch]

i tried doing cardio while training, and it didn't work for me. it was too much for my body, and i wasn't seeing the gains i wanted. once i quit the cardio, my gains shot up.

keep in mind, however, that it is different for everyone. try a couple of months with cardio 2-3x a week. then try a couple of months without the cardio. keep track of your lifts in a journal and compare when you're done.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Maybe you weren't eating enough. As long as you're giving your body the fuel, you should be able to grow just fine while doing cardio even just twice a week. I'm talking a 20 minute jog, if anything. Eat a small shake afterwards and some carbs. Replenish whatever you may have lost and stay fit.

 

[~SC~]

Above all, if LEAN MASS PRESERVATION is what you are after, STOP RUNNING!

~SC~

 

[JKurz1]

I do it all year.......more for sanity purposes during bulking, and also because I sit in my office for a good portion of the day and need that morning "movement".....SC, what's your HR when doing cardio? Was it 65-75%? I forget who posted it, maybe onerepmax, said he goes at 40-50%.....thats insane IMO........I could probably hold my breath and get there....