Bulking with regular cardio, is it possible?

[Chillisauce]

Hello, i'm 165 pounds, 6'2 and hoping to become a strong don juan like many of the posters here. i'd like to be 20-25 pounds heavier in 2 years.

Heres my problem: My job as an assistant kyokoshinkai karate teacher and my regular (every 6 weeks or so) MMA matches force me to do at minimum 4 heavy workouts a week on the bags or in class. Most of the advice i see in regards to bulking for a person with a fast metabolism says to cut cardio completely and eat like a horse. If i am using so many of my calories on cardio each day, will this stop my body from putting on muscle?

Has anyone here managed to put on alot of weight while maintaining cardio? Any advice would be welcome, i'm willing to try any gym routine/diet necessary.

 

[A-Unit]

Re:

Cardio = MMA + Work.

Every person leads a different quality of life. Some guys are barely active, so their caloric requirements. And each guy, as you well know, is different, based on genetics, current body comp, activity level, type of body, etc. So while 1 guy might be an elite athlete able to do wind sprints and gain muscle, another guy might HAVE to do cardio to keep fat off.

Are there guys doing cardio but getting big?

Sure, but they consume around 5000 calories, and use cardio as a trimmer, just trying to keep their bodies SOMEWHAT appealing and thin.

I would say you're calorie requirements are around 3000-3500 and would reco at least 4000. I've calced my own, and I workout 3-4x a week with a nonactive workout. My range of calories is 2800, that's maintenace. 3400-3800 would be to gain more. and 2300 would be to lose. Again, ranges, but at least it helps you to portionalize your meals. Eating too much just ensures you of quality FAT gains.

So your calorie requirements are high? Just eat me. Loads of guys gain muscle while being active, they just eat MUCH, MUCH more than the average worker does. Simple, really.

It's a matter of IN versus OUT. Even if you're downing 200-400 g of protein, if you DO NOT SURPASS YOUR CALORIE REQUIREMENTS YOU WILL NOT GAIN A THING.

And you CAN gain 20lbs in 1 year, without juice. It should be simple being somewhat NEW and eating TONS of calories. The benefit here is, that you do cardio, so you'd need lots of carbs for all that burning.

A-Unit

 

[Hot Ice]

Yeah. You have to eat like two horses then.

 

[Warboss Alex]

You can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, let alone maintain fat and build muscle, regardless of metabolism.

So yes, it's very possible. For you the problem would be eating enough, you might need 3-4g of carbs per lb bodyweight as well as the standard 2g protein.

Start off eating 2g protein / 2g carbs per lb bodyweight and see how you go from there. If this isn't enough to get you through your day (i.e. you're feeling tired and sluggish all the time) increase carbs.

If your energy levels are fine but not gaining weight then increase fats in your diet.

ps - 20lbs in two years is very achievable, but I'd say you could there in six months if you worked hard enough (I've gained that much weight before in two or three months with minimal fat).

 

[Eko Steele]

simple truth, if you do too much cardio it will slow down the process of gaining muscle.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Originally posted by Eko Steele
simple truth, if you do too much cardio it will slow down the process of gaining muscle.

However, this is a worthwhile sacrifice if it means maintaining or even reducing your bodyfat % while getting bigger - plus it's much kinder on your system than bulk/cut cycles.

 

[OZ_Aaron]

i'm 6'2, i weigh 74kgs(163pounds) atm, 8kgs (17.5pounds) of which i put on in the last 3 months. while running 6kms (3.75miles) 2 times a week and doing karate once a week
before i put the weight on i was 6'2 and weighed 66kgs (145.5pounds) although now i seem to have hit a brick wall. havent put any weight on for a while probably need to eat mroe food

 

[Chillisauce]

Originally posted by OZ_Aaron
i'm 6'2, i weigh 74kgs(163pounds) atm, 8kgs (17.5pounds) of which i put on in the last 3 months. while running 6kms (3.75miles) 2 times a week and doing karate once a week
before i put the weight on i was 6'2 and weighed 66kgs (145.5pounds) although now i seem to have hit a brick wall. havent put any weight on for a while probably need to eat mroe food

Where do you do karate? You live in the same city as me . Same weight, same height, same city, do karate... you my long lost twin or something?

Thanks for all the advice guys, i'm going to give it my best shot an will start up my own journal thread to track my progress. This eatings going to take some getting used to though, it feels like i just finish one meal and its time to start on the next one.

Warboss Alex: I'm already eating alot of carbs, mainly in the form of pasta/rice/potatoes but i dont think i'm even at 1g protein/lbs yet. What would you recommend as a relatively cheap, easy to eat protein source? I'v got breakfast covered with 4 eggs and usually meat for dinner.. but that still leaves 4 meals. (has to be cheap because all my money is currently being used on college fee's.)

Thanks.

Chilli