hey everyone, I've been going to the gym alot over the past few months. I went from 5'10 135 to 150. I eat a decent amount almost every day 3500ish calories. Pretty healthy diet compared to most 19 year olds. My question is will running 2-5 miles say 2-3 times a week effect my weight gaining? Also I eat more on the days I run. Thanks.
If you want to bulk up, I suggest only running like once or twice a week, just to keep your heart healthy . I only run once a week 3 to 4 miles. I've been lifting for almost a year now and have grown some bit 143 to 173 but cut down now to 163. Just lift hard, eat complex carbs, proteins and such and try to avoid simple sugars. Ganja is my perfect supplement when I want to reach the right caloric intake
short answer: yes long answer: too lazy you would be better off doing HIIT(high interval intense training). for example, you jog 1-2minutes then sprint at a 80-90% level for 30 seconds then go back to jogging and you would continue this 5 times. this workout is hard as shit but this is to help with fat, train abs, and increase metabolism so your body will burn more fat during rest. or if thats a little too intense at first, after sprints, you can walk for 30-45 seconds then jog again. HIIT workouts last from 10-20minutes. they are supposed to be short, but if done right, will burn just as much or even more calories as your 2-5 mile jogs. and...3500 cal..fuck man i try but i fail its too much food for my stomach. props.
I have been trying to bulk up too man, went from 6'2 145 to 179 in 5 months. The running will def hamper your progress. However if you love doing it then you gotta do what you enjoy. Try to limit it to 2 days of cardio max though.
So the guy doesn't have to ask why it's called HIIT? And he actually got it mixed up, it's High Intensity Interval Training.
If you do low-intensity cardio (walking uphill or on a steep incline at 4mph or less) you can do as much as you want without worrying much at all about it having a catabolic effect on your muscles. You can also, as suggested, do HIIT a couple times a week. The main thing is to not do traditional running (marathon-style) because not only is it going to increase the likelihood that you give yourself an ankle, knee or hip injury, but you're also going to send your body into catabolism and it's going to eat away at the muscles you're trying to build. Note that you will never see a ripped marathon runner, even though they often sport body-fat percentages as low as 2 or 3%. That should key you in to the catabolic effect that long-distance running has.
thanks for all the helpful responses guys. so hiit is a 5 step repeat of jog 2 mins sprint all out 30 seconds non stop? and it can cut down the extra fat brought on while eating alot?
It usually starts with a warmup walk of a minute or two, but then yeah, start with 2 minutes on the jog and 30 seconds on the sprint. As you get more used to it, you can increase the sprinting time and decrease the jog time.
thanks for the quick response man. How many times a week would you suggest doing this? and could I throw in a run a week no more than 4 miles?
Depends on the length. I would say you're good if you keep it under 2hrs total per week for HIIT, but that's a solid four days' worth of 30min sessions. If you really feel the need to run, you could certainly do so, but try and keep the intensity low. I guess the best thing to do is to see how your body responds to it.
Add in the running slowly. Increase caloric intake as you do so. As soon as your amount of sleep becomes the limiting factor to rate of gains it is time to quit adding additional running.
Everyone has their own body that they want to achieve so I don't want to offend anyone but this is my opinion. Personally I think not running everyday is kind of counter productive. If you want shear mass and size then yes run lightly on that 65% hr area to burn fat every once and awhile. Running increases effectiveness of your body. Therefore you can workout longer, harder and you lose fat easier which is important for definition. I run 20 minutes everyday and it's not hindering my muscle growth it's just more lean defined muscle.
To get bigger, bottom line: Energy Consumed > Energy Spent As long as you're consuming more calories than you are spending, you will grow. So no it will not make it harder. In my honest opinion it will make it easier because it will help improve your cardiovascular system and it will help send more nutrients throughout our body.
Be careful with the HIIT. In terms of CNS strain, HIIT (done properly) can be just about equal to a heavy lifting session. It's still a great thing to do, but just adjust your recovery times accordingly. Here's my personal favorite HIIT workout (Hill Mills): Turn on a treadmill and increase the incline as far as it will go. Take off the red safety stop magnetic thing. You know what I'm talking about. The machine should turn off and remain fixed in the inclined position. Now, put your hands against the front of the machine and run as fast as possible, pushing against the resistance of the motor. Keep your back flat and your head up. Use 10-20 second intervals and 30-60 seconds of rest. These will get you gassed really fast. I've never been able to do more than 8.
At first yes, at first you would lose a lot of your fat. Muscle weighs more than fat but it is also smaller, so you wouldnt appear to have gained weight. But strength wise it wont hurt at all.
Cardio is actually fairly benificial to gaining muscle, but its easy to overdo it. I'd say you run quite alot, quite often. So my guess is it will impair your bulking a little bit, but not too much. You will just stay a bit more diced, and a bit more lean.. Pure bulking is best done with 1 day of cardio a week, so I;ve heard.. and also expierenced myself.
I was 135 a few months before I started eating that much sitting around 150 now.. oh and i run like twice a week now, hitting the gym hard and seeing improvement. I feel like running is making me body as a whole stronger.