Just to clarify here... bulking and cardio DO mix
Well I'm looking to compete in shows next year - hopefully.
I'm cutting right now, and I'm gonna do some serious bulking the winter to come, then shred it all back off for spring and summer then compete.
Hopefully, take it up pro. I love bodybuilding!
Nick, some nice stats! I'm bigger overall but you have more strength - easily lol.
I'm 6ft 3" and 190lbs.
Very hard. I am a pretty avid runner, 50-60 miles a week. I lift 2 - 3 times a week and eat a ton, but I can't seem to bulk up any. Looks like you are in the same boat I am in.
Bulking and cardio do not mix. One is counter productive to the other. Bulk or cut, then switch. Trying to do both will only give you mediocre results for either goal.
Good point there about the steroids and time. I've always read how Arnold was praised for his natural look, and we all know he was a juicer too.Awesome good for you! I hope to compete some day as well. I'm up to 170 now, so I'm about 10 lbs heavier than that. I'm taking it slow so I can take the time to put the muscle on in the right places.
1. Don't run that much
2. You don't eat as much as you think you do. I Used to think the same thing until I started eating even more and gaining some weight.
I disagree, I like to do some cardio after I lift just to keep up my endurance and stay fit so I can have better workouts. Read about any of the great bodybuilders and you will learn the same thing. (by great I mean the old school guys like arnold and frank zane)
All in all, i'm not sure why people worry so much about putting weight on as fast as they can. A lot of the people who use steroids and put weight on really fast look like shit because they didn't have enough time to decide where to put the weight on (proportion wise).
My Goal:
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Look around in your gym you'll see a ton of huge guys who think they are awesome, but they look goofy because they are so disproportionate (they didn't pay attention to how they put the weight on. They either don't know how, or don't care). Getting bigger doesn't take much skill and knowledge if that's all you want to do (just eat a lot and lift how ever you can). Getting bigger and looking really really good and proportionate is what's hard, and that's what bodybuilding is. It then becomes HOW you eat and HOW you lift that determines how good you are, rather than just eating and lifting however you want. It's truly is an art form.
I won't argue that Zane and Arnold weren't more proportionate than today's bodybuilders (though Zane did need to add some size to his legs), I too think they looked better and that their look is ideal. But realistically, I don't think that bulking without form is something that the general lifting population has to worry about. Getting any size anywhere would be an improvement for most guys. I look around at guys in the gym, running and trying to get really lean and I can't help but think "When the fuck did it become masculine for a guy to look like a chick?"
Seriously, if you are a man and are going to bother to go to the gym, why aspire to have a body slimmer than a chick's? Sad.
I disagree, I like to do some cardio after I lift just to keep up my endurance and stay fit so I can have better workouts. Read about any of the great bodybuilders and you will learn the same thing. (by great I mean the old school guys like arnold and frank zane)
Some cardio won't hurt but you also have to remember those guys take/took a lot of steroids. So their recovery times is a lot less them someone doing it naturally.
Frank Zane did quite a bit of cardio and never used steroids until his last few years. He definitely didn't abuse them in any way either.
It's not really how much cardio you do it's what kind you do in conjunction with how well you eat.