"Cardio kills your gains, bro!"
Like most people looking to build muscle and get stronger, you’ve probably asked yourself if you should do cardio while bulking. Are there benefits to doing so, or should you just stick to the weights?
A small disclaimer here. I am always going to be in the camp of balance and longevity when it comes to exercise choice. I encourage all of my personal training clients to have both strength training and cardio within their exercise routines. So in the name of balance, there are arguments on both sides of this topic, so let us dive in and break it all down.
For the longest time, dedicated gym bros avoided cardio because of its perceived negative effect on muscle growth and strength development.
Early research on the topic suggested that doing cardio alongside gym training limited people’s ability to make good progress in the weight room. So, prevailing wisdom suggested that:
Avoid cardio = build more muscle
Later research suggested that interval training like HIIT (high-intensity interval training) worked better alongside resistance training, so many trainees jumped on that bandwagon.
The idea made sense from a practical standpoint. After all, sprinters and other explosive athletes are typically far more muscular than purely endurance athletes.
Then, even more research came out, this time showing that cardio could impair muscle and strength gains but only under certain circumstances, like when trainees overdo it or engage in a more demanding activity like running.
So, these days, the consensus is that cardio (like training for a running event) doesn’t interfere with resistance training when done right. In fact, it could positively impact gym training by supporting muscle recovery and overall work capacity (your capacity to do, recover from, and adapt to physical training).
Direct benefits for your gym training would include:
Being able to handle high-rep sets better
Recovering quicker between sets and workouts
Not feeling as out of breath
Handling more training sets and recovering well
Plus, we can’t discount cardio's many health and wellness benefits. These include improvements in cardiovascular health, sleep, stress management, and blood sugar, all of which can contribute to more productive training and better long-term results.
So, Should You Do Cardio While Bulking?
I’d say yes for most people, though I recommend following some rules to minimise interference and achieve the best results from strength training. We’ll discuss these in the next section.
That said, while research generally finds cardio to be a good addition to a resistance training plan, it’s important to remember that the available studies are typically carried out on people with little to no experience with structured training.
4 Golden Rules For Doing Cardio While Bulking
1. Pick the Right Activity
One of the most important things to consider when doing cardio during a bulk is the specific activity. This is important because certain types of cardio are more physically and mentally taxing and may interfere with your performance in the weight room.
For example, running is a great cardio activity. However, if you're priority is building muscle in your legs, then regular long distance running may lead to greater leg fatigue, which could negatively impact your ability to really push yourself during your strength workouts.
High-intensity cardio activities can also be taxing. Despite taking less time, the goal is to push yourself hard, which can lead to recovery issues or even put you at great risk of injury (like a strained muscle) if you’re not used to that intensity.
Cardio activities could include:
Jogging
Stationary bike
Recumbent bike
Elliptical trainer
Swimming
Incline treadmill walking
Regular walking is also a good option and is one of the most underrated forms of cardio. Low intensity, faster recovery between sessions, great for your mental health. What's not to love?!
2. Be Careful With the Duration
In addition to choosing the right activity, avoid overdoing it. Even less strenuous forms of cardio, like stationary cycling, can cause plenty of fatigue if done for multiple hours every week.
The good thing is that you don’t need to do hours worth of cardio to reap the health benefits. As little as 60 to 90 minutes of low to moderate intensity activity a week can be enough to improve health markers.
For instance, you could do three 20- to 30-minute sessions. Do that for several weeks and monitor:
How you feel
How your weight sessions go
Whether you’re making strength progress
How sore you feel on average
If nagging aches due to cardio affect your weight lifting
What’s the best timing, though? Let’s discuss that next.
3. Consider the Timing
Even if you pick the right activity at the right intensity and do it for a reasonable time, poor timing can still cause some interference.
The research suggest that the ideal scenario is doing cardio on days off from strength training. For example:
Monday - Push
Tuesday - cardio
Wednesday - Pull
Thursday - cardio
Friday - Legs
Saturday - off
Sunday - off
This minimises interference and allows you to enjoy cardio while making good strength progress.
If that’s not possible, try to separate your cardio and weight training as much as possible––for example, do cardio in the morning and lift in the evening or vice versa.
Finally, if that’s also not an option, the last thing to do is lift weights first and do cardio second. There is a good rule to follow if needing to do two exercise styles in one workout. The form of exercise that you want to prioritise needs to go first. Building muscle is your priority? Do strength first. If building cardio output is the priority? Cardio goes first.
4. Make Sure You Are Eating Enough
I left the most important point until last: food. If you are under-fuelling (not eating enough food), then building muscle is always going to be a challenge. If you're asking whether you should do cardio whilst bulking, then my very simple answer would be "yes, but make sure you are eating enough".
If you want enough energy to push through your strength workouts to encourage muscle growth, and you want your body to recovery effectively following your workouts, your body needs a substantial amount of food. If you are under-eating, and then you are asking your body to perform cardio workouts, it will start eating into muscle tissue for energy and bulking will be tough. Make sure you are eating for your energy demands and make sure that you are eating enough protein to recover (you can find some high protein smoothie recipes here to help you out). Keeping a food diary is a quick and easy way to ensure you are matching your energy demands.
Conclusion
So, should you do cardio while bulking? That’s entirely up to you, but I’d say yes. Too many people obsess over what’s considered ‘optimal’ and completely overlook things that are just as important: sustainability and building a healthy lifestyle.
The consensus is that cardio doesn’t interfere with your bulking efforts if you plan it right. In fact, it will likely even bring some sleep, mood, and work capacity benefits. But even if you find there is some interference, you can make small changes as you go to find what works best for you.
Experiment with the activities, intensity, duration, and timing. Over time, you will learn a lot about your body and see what feels best.
If you enjoyed this 'should you do cardio while bulking' blog post, then you will love our high calorie smoothie recipes to help keep your energy intake high!
We always prioritise a sustainable balanced approach to exercise and nutrition. If you would like help with your exercise and nutrition goals, get in touch here to speak about online personal training.
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