Would jogging be counterproductive to working out?

[stronglifts]

If strength is directly related to muscle mass, then yes.

Just some updates:
I'm now eating 4 real meals a day, plus 2 shakes, 1 when I wake up, and one post-workout/before sleep (I still work out right before I go back home to sleep). Also cut down cardio to 2 days of the week, giving me 2 days to fully rest. I gained about 4 pounds since last time I was on this board, and am lifting about 18-20% heavier than I was before. Also started using exclusively weights and stopped using the machines. I'm not sure if I gained more muscle or more fat, but probably fat since it's only been 3 weeks.

Been learning about nutrition in my biochem class. So far my BMR (basal metabolic rate) is about 80kg * 1.0 * 24hr = 1920, +300 TE (assuming I have 3000 daily caloric intake) + 0.5*1920 (50% of BMR during heavy daily exercise) = 3180 calories total daily output. So that's a good thing, even with a 3000 calorie per day diet I should have no problem keeping fit at the same time.

Few questions. If I were to work to gain muscle mass, would I want to lift fast and explosively as you mentioned? What I've heard from most trainers is that I should lift slowly, keeping a good form instead, which is what I've been doing.

Also, I'm doing the cardio mostly to train my mind. I notice that I study much much better after doing cardio than weight training.

You also hinted that in order to gain muscle mass in the upper body (which is what most men aim for), I should also use sprints for the lower body? What is the logic behind that? Doing cardio or sprints using your legs and feet in theory shouldn't make any difference in your upper body does it?

BTW, I've been trying to copy your after-workout shake ( http://stronglifts.com/quick-easy-effective-post-workout-shakes/ ), but I replaced the instant oats with something called "Quaker oats beverage mix" (with main ingredient dextrose and oat flour). I couldn't find the instant oats you were talking about but will this thing work? It tastes pretty sweet... so I don't know if that's a good thing. I also added 2 spoons of whole milk powder to the shake. So in the end = 2 scoops of 100% whey protein (43g protein), 2 spoons of oat powder, and 2 scoops of milk powder, with no raisins and no bananas (too lazy to peel bananas and buy raisins). Overall it tastes pretty good, just started today though.

Strength depends on muscle mass, speed, power, intensity, ...

Low intensity cardio (marathon) builds endurance. High intensity cardio (sprints) is compatibel with strength goals.

Beginners can get away with low intensity cardio. The more advance you become, the more you need to make choices (law of specificity).

In my case: yes for sprints/HIIT. No to endurance.


Speed on the lifts
You should focus on form, always. Once you've got the form right, you need to go faster. This make you achieve more weight & is better for muscle recruitement. You'll feel the difference.

All sports need speed. All sports are done fast. Same with weight training. The only reason gym manager want you to lift slow, is so you don't break his machines. Another reason why you should train with barbells outside a smith rack.

Effective sprinters use their arms as much as their legs to sprint. Look at the biceps of elite sprinters. For upperbody developement I advise you however to use barbell training: Heavy Overhead Press, Heavy bench press, heavy squat.


Post workout shake
I don't know "quaker oats beverage mix" (don't have it in belgium). What you're doing will work. However you should consider that dextrose is pure sugar. Not very healthy. Pure oats also satiete longer, have more vitamins/minerals/... Finding quick oats shouldn't be difficult.

You should add some fruit too.


Nutrition has many goals: increased strength, building mass, losing fat, but also general health.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Jogging itself is moderate-intensity cardio and can interfere with muscular gains. However the right type/frequency/duration of cardio is essential to optimising your gains.

Diesel's bulking guide: "Absolutely no fvcking cardio". That's simply the worst advice you could give anyone trying to gain weight. Cardio does FAR more than just burn calories.

 

[Solarium]

How fast of sprints are you guys talking about. The treadmill has a top speed of 10mph, and in my jogging routine I jog 9mph the last 5 minutes. Would that be enough, or I need something like 3.5mph 5 min, 10mph 5 min, etc.

Also, for the speed of lifts, how fast is fast enough? I notice that doing it faster makes it a lot easier.

 

[stronglifts]

Solarium,

Sprints: as fast as you can
Speed of lifts: as fast as you can

That's right going faster makes the lift easier, which leads to more weight.

 

[Solarium]

Solarium,

Sprints: as fast as you can
Speed of lifts: as fast as you can

That's right going faster makes the lift easier, which leads to more weight.

I tried that for a week, so far I have a few questions:

If you lift as fast as you can, the momentum of the lift will make the ending parts easier and the beginning parts harder. How will you be able to counteract this?

Also, when you lift fast, your entire body moves with you, especially when using dumbells for biceps (I stand with 2 in my hands, as I lift one up I drop the other one down at the same speed). Again, how do I counteract this?

 

[Crazy Asian]

i think ur working out wayyyy too much. but jogging is fine as long as you don't do it too much like a cross country runner. and as for ur abs, working on them 2-3 times a week is plenty...

 

[Crazy Asian]

Solarium,

Sprints: as fast as you can
Speed of lifts: as fast as you can

That's right going faster makes the lift easier, which leads to more weight.

he doesn't mean lift so fast that ur whole body follows the weight but jsut fast. but making the lift easier and lifting more won't mean that ur getting stronger. i don't think what he's saying is true cause the slower u lift, the longer ur muscles are working and that's what gets you stronger.

 

[Solarium]

I tried my 1st interval sprint yesterday, and man it was hard, but it felt good. After the sprint, I get that feeling I used to get after an intensive work out that when I breathe in too much air, I feel like coughing.

Did 5 min warmup, then 2 min 7mph and 1 min 10mph for 25 more minutes, then 5 min cooldown. The purpose of the sprints is to build intensity right, so wouldn't it be better if I use 6.0mph cooldown's and maybe even higher sprints?