Hypothetically speaking,...........

[JKurz1]

if you came off a huge cut, dropped a ton of weight anf lost quite a bit of strength, would you hold off on your next bulking cycle until you increased the cals for a few weeks and nixed the am cardio, or would you forge right into it? Given you've been clean for at least 18 months, but at a substantial caloric defic where youll need to increase the cals 2fold in order to make the cycle benefitial......

Also, can you get away with a solid bulking cycle by keeping cardio in the am at 5 minutes a day as long as you cals were adequate, or do you find it too draining?

Right now, I'm doing cardio daily first thing before my first meal pretty much daily then training or stretching/light cardio in the pm.......Come 7pm, Im completely drained.....I eat my last meal and crash immidiately, yes, Ive been known to pass out midmeal........so, maybe I do need the break?

 

[Apexx]

I wouldn't start another cycle no matter how long I was clean if my body wasn't prepared for increased calories I would need to take in. Ramp up your calories by 30% per week until you get where you want, then start. If you don't, there's a good chance that you will be putting a lot of stress on your digestive system.

Maybe I misread your 2nd paragraph there, but it looks like you are thinking about doing only 5 minutes of cardio at a time. That would pretty much be pointless. I don't know the exact number on this, but I believe you need to sustain an elevated heart rate for at least 20 minutes before you really start burning calories.

 

[sweed]

yes ramp the calorie very slowly , if u all of a sudden increase calories by like 2,000 a day, your body is going to go, what the fuck do i do with all this.. well i might as well store it as fat for future energy.. then u turn into a fatty. i say increase 2-300 per week untill u get to your goal caloric intake / day , then start a bulking cycle. ya the 5 minutes of cardio in the morning.. i dont think will do much

 

[Goldprospector]

I wouldn't start another cycle no matter how long I was clean if my body wasn't prepared for increased calories I would need to take in. Ramp up your calories by 30% per week until you get where you want, then start. If you don't, there's a good chance that you will be putting a lot of stress on your digestive system.

Agreed,


And also, I am not sure of your meaning of the 5 min. cardio...but I believe you can stull use cardio while bulking...but only if you are doing it for cardio health...explanation: If you burn more calories than you take in...you wil not gain weight, but if you are eating enough calories, and doing minimal cardio, then you can still gain weight, you may also keep fat gain to a minimum...but that would still be more dependant on your diet instead of the amount of cardio.

 

[JKurz1]

sorry..I meant 25 mins........elliptical HIIT

 

[slat1]

I am not a big fan of doing cardio... I like the benefits though. I would keep doing it in the AM just drop it at night. I agree with Apexx. Take your time ramping up the calories and go as far as you can natural. When you hit a plateau jump on and hold on... you will explode.
Good Luck.
*Let us know your decision and your progress. I would be very interested to see the results!!

 

[toxicsambo]

if you came off a huge cut, dropped a ton of weight anf lost quite a bit of strength, would you hold off on your next bulking cycle until you increased the cals for a few weeks and nixed the am cardio, or would you forge right into it? Given you've been clean for at least 18 months, but at a substantial caloric defic where youll need to increase the cals 2fold in order to make the cycle benefitial......

Also, can you get away with a solid bulking cycle by keeping cardio in the am at 5 minutes a day as long as you cals were adequate, or do you find it too draining?

Right now, I'm doing cardio daily first thing before my first meal pretty much daily then training or stretching/light cardio in the pm.......Come 7pm, Im completely drained.....I eat my last meal and crash immidiately, yes, Ive been known to pass out midmeal........so, maybe I do need the break?

HIIT will not diminish muscle growth. It's pure bullshit. I don't understand why this myth still exists. HIIT specifially burns fat. If your doing cardio for an hour a day, every day, on the same level, then you'll end up burning muscle. Which seems like the case. You're doing too much cardio. You're doing cardio TWICE a day, every day. So the old adage goes, "If you run alot, you'll look like a runner. If you lift weights, you'll look like a weightlifter." So the point is to make cardio complementary to lifting. Don't do so much. Try HIIT 3-4x a week along with the cycle. For us, burning fat is the goal without losing muscle.

I guess you're caloric intake will be around 3,000. HIIT will still target fat loss. And muscle is meat, so eat lots of it.

 

[JKurz1]

Who in the hell is a fan of cardio??????? lol...........I do it for health and sanity........havent missed a day in years, so maybe its an love/hate addiction.......he's my 2 BIGGEST problems...well, maybe 3............I'm having a hard time increasing my cals for fear of the enevitable........yes, I'm a headcase......

#2 I cant stop the cardio in the am, because I feel guilty for eat 2 minutes before bed (almost a cheat meal every night or frozen dry curd cottage cheese with sf sweetners, boatload of roaseted peanuts and a thick casein shake!)

#3 - I thought if I started my cyc., it would be 100x easier to eat cause I dont want to waste my $$ and it would also be easier to eat a lot late night and not feel guilty as I'd feel it was being put to good use...............god Im sick......

 

[toxicsambo]

#2 I cant stop the cardio in the am, because I feel guilty for eat 2 minutes before bed (almost a cheat meal every night or frozen dry curd cottage cheese with sf sweetners, boatload of roaseted peanuts and a thick casein shake!)

lol, I thought you would feel guilty over a large pizza, rocky road and a 2 liter of mountain dew. Not cottage cheese and peanuts.

 

[Judo Tom]

i really think all your problems revolve around your fear of you getting fat or fatter..

you know your stuff and if someone else asked this question you would give the right answer but you are gonna have problems adding meals and dropping some cardio..


i would start a log or journal or something and in it set goals.. and track your progress.. make sure your not doing your crazy cardio sessions every morning that will kill a lot of your muscle growth.. make sure you are adding meals.. make sure you are gaining some fat.. and just try to follow it as best as possible and start to train yourself to bulk up..

even if you gain 5lbs of at during this cycle you will drop it no time with your dedication but if you dont train and eat properly you wont get much out of the bulker..

good luck!!!

 

[slat1]

i really think all your problems revolve around your fear of you getting fat or fatter..

you know your stuff and if someone else asked this question you would give the right answer but you are gonna have problems adding meals and dropping some cardio..


i would start a log or journal or something and in it set goals.. and track your progress.. make sure your not doing your crazy cardio sessions every morning that will kill a lot of your muscle growth.. make sure you are adding meals.. make sure you are gaining some fat.. and just try to follow it as best as possible and start to train yourself to bulk up..

even if you gain 5lbs of at during this cycle you will drop it no time with your dedication but if you dont train and eat properly you wont get much out of the bulker..

good luck!!!

Great response as always... I think he hit it on the head!