New Guy with lots of questions

[littlebigboy]

Hi guys & gals

I'm at a cross road in my life, and I am not sure which way to go.

I've spent the last few years training and partaking mainly in running events, but lately I find myself looking over the fence to see what lies on the other side :wink:

I'm not sure if this body building lark is what I want to do, but I find myself reading more and more related stuff, even though I cant really imagine myself with muscles :wink:

I took out a 3 month gym membership a week ago to give some running niggles a rest, rebuild a bit of core strength and try something different for a change.

I applied my ‘give it guts attitude' to training, and have come down with an over training induced cold virus.

A great start I must admit :oops:

My first question is; what would the maximum time frame of cardio sessions be that a body builder should do, --- say 3 days a week ?

Would lots of cardio detract from muscle development ?

Bear in mind that in my other life (that I haven't left behind just yet ) I run around 6 days for 80 k a week, with my favourite run being a solid 2 hour session on Sundays.

Put simply, I'm addicted to the endorphins, and are fiercely competitive

Great for endurance; and I have gotten used to being called a skinny buggar, but now and then I visualise taking off my shirt in front of them and revealing a Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris like figure.

Wouldn't that be a jaw dropper for those name callers

By the way, this looks like a very interesting site

[Growth]

Welcome to the board mate.

There is no set time frame that a bodybuilder should do cardio, depending on your goals the amount of cardio will vary. Too much cardio indeed will detract from muscle gain. With the amount of running you do i doubt you should be doing any cardio inside the gym, strictly weights only....

[Pseudonym]

Hi there, and welcome. We'll do our best to convert you!

In your situation, the key is going to be eating enough. Skinny people often have lightning fast metabolisms that allow them to eat heaps without ever seemingly putting on weight. If you're adding huge amounts of cardio (read: fuel burning) to that, you need to increase the food intake even more.

You'll need to structure your diet around your exercise. Make sure you get huge amounts of carbs before, after, and during (if possible) your run. To build muscle, you need a constant supply of calories floating around your system, so you're trying to avoid creating an energy deficit when you run.

In fact, I would suspect that your caloric requirements will be so high, you'll also need to have a lot of fat just to meet demand! Post your diet, though, and we'll see.

With regards weight training, more is not always better. Although if you were running and doing weights AND not getting enough to eat, that could well be enough to induce the cold. (It is the season for it, anyway...)

You'll be hooked once you start making progress, I guarantee! Then you'll be dropping jaws in no time! :grin:

[jono]

welcome.

honeslty i would only do minimal cardio if you're trying to put on wt. eg just your sunday run.

but one thing i think really needs to be said is bodybuilding is individual, theres no set pattern to follow. what works for one might not for another.

what i would do is take all cardio out then start adding it back in to find out where it interfers with your gains. this way you will nkow how much you can and cant do.

[littlebigboy]

Thanks guys,

Growth --- Yes, that is my plan; gym = weights only one day, cardio the other.

In fact, I would suspect that your caloric requirements will be so high, you'll also need to have a lot of fat just to meet demand! Post your diet, though, and we'll see

Pseudonym --- I'm not really skinny from genetics; If I don't train I gain fat.

When I'm training I eat lots of rubbish, and burn it off; when I'm injured I restrict my food intake carefully.

My diet would be a body builders nightmare !

High carb, high fat, low protein

I Will get some more eggs, meat, fish, and cottage cheese in the fridge tomorrow :idea2:

jono ---Yes I have stopped the running at present for a while; currently doing some biking and rowing.

If I stick with the weights only in the gym and pursue body building then I can see the need for limiting cardio.

I was thinking 30 to 40 minutes cardio twice during the week, and just 1 hour on Sunday which will hopefully appease the top 2 inches :wink:

As you say experiment.

Thanks again for your opinions

[fatty]

Welcome :wink:

Sounds like you like to really get your hands dirty, as they say lol.

If you want bulk, make sure you don't overtrain with the weights. Just lift heavy, and do basic (compound) exercises. If you can do 6-8 reps comfortably, you should up the weight. There are variations on this of course (HIT for example only requires 1 or 2 reps), but for the most part if you are doing over 10 reps you won't get size gains too quickly.

Anyway, basic exercises and eating plenty. Failsafe recipe for bulk. Sounds like you are doing enough cardio to keep lean enough, and since you are going to up your protein intake, you should hold onto some of that hard earned muscle.

If you want that Bruce Lee look though, you can do all the high rep training you like while you let your diet sort out the abs and stuff

[Mercury]

Personally one of the 1st things I\'d do if I were you would be take at least 2 weeks off (min) from any kind of training whatsoever. Judging by how much running you say you did or do your body is probably crying out for rest and needs a well earned break.

If you are wanting to do some form of cardio with your training I would stick with what you are doing along the lines of stationary bike or rower. Don\'t run and save the stress on your legs for the more important mass building exercises like squats and leg presses.

What does your training routine look like at present? From what I can gather you haven\'t really trained with weights much, if at all seriously in the past. If this is so, you routine should be very basic, consisiting of such exercises as; Bench, Squats, Curls, Rows, Deadlifts and Presses.

Mon, Wed, Fri would be sufficient if your training hard. Don\'t try to get to fancy with 5 day spilt routines. They are not needed and by and large most people cannot tolerate them if they are truly training intensely and to failure.

[Spitterkat]

weights gives endorphins!

[littlebigboy]

Yeah fatty, sounds like good advice.

The Bruce Lee quip was a bit of a dream / joke, but I think I need a bit of bulk first, then decide which path to take.

Probably go with the 6 - 8 reps (with effort)

What does your training routine look like at present? From what I can gather you haven\'t really trained with weights much, if at all seriously in the past.

That's right Mercury; Over the last few years I've been on a diet of mega cardio including a few marathons.

I'm in a transit phase at the moment, where I'm getting keen on the idea of bodybuilding, but am a bit scared (if that's the right word to use) of leaving behind what I know so well.

You see they are 2 wildly different disciplines; For competitive running you are aiming for speed hence the need for a lighter body weight.

But hey, they say a change is as good as a rest

All good advice by the looks here; my cold is improving so I'll be weaning myself back on the weights a bit more conservatively tomorrow and when it clears I'll raise the bar again and implement all your advice.

But I couldn't handle 2 weeks off Mercury :shock:

[deegee]

Welcome, some good advice as usual here. i am sure you will see the light and drop the cardio back, thoug I do know bbers who do cardio 4 and 5 times a week but they adjust the diet, as said pleanty of carbs before and after so you dont eat into that muscle