Too much running ?

[dennis]

I am on test,eq,stano cycle..wanted to add some size to the quads..am doing one very heavy leg day and 1 light leg day per week.I am also running to help lean up a bit.My legs are sore most of the week..when i am running I am thinking "how much running is too much ?"Remember..my goal is to add some size to the upper legs..thanks, dennis

 

[CamRock]

Dennis, I think if your running for 30 minutes or less a few times a week that you should be fine. Is running your only form of cardio or are you running in addition to another cardio workout?

 

[MaxRep]

I am on test,eq,stano cycle..wanted to add some size to the quads..am doing one very heavy leg day and 1 light leg day per week.I am also running to help lean up a bit.My legs are sore most of the week..when i am running I am thinking "how much running is too much ?"Remember..my goal is to add some size to the upper legs..thanks, dennis

You want to add quad size, you're doing 2 leg workouts/week and you're running?

Dennis, dennis, dennis, my friend. You don't run while you're trying to add mass to your quads.

If you want to lean out (which is hard to do and add quad mass), go for a 45 minute Walk, 3x/week.

Good luck buddy,
MaxRep

 

[MaxRep]

Dennis, I think if your running for 30 minutes or less a few times a week that you should be fine. Is running your only form of cardio or are you running in addition to another cardio workout?

Cam,
I'm going to give you a hard time here but truly in the spirit of a good heart.

What you're saying sounds like advice from someone who's not got a lot of size and/or someone who's not actually ever done this from any stage above beginner level.

Adding mass to the quads is basically just not going to happen (excluding the 1:10,000 genetic freak) if someone is training legs 2x/week and following a running program of running several times/week for 30 minutes each time. I should add I'm not talking about beginners because they should be able to add some mass no matter what.

Dennis has been training for quite a while (if I remember correctly) and him running at this stage is going to negate any additional size on his legs.

A brisk walk is one thing... running is something else.

Best to you!
MaxRep

 

[dennis]

You want to add quad size, you're doing 2 leg workouts/week and you're running?

Dennis, dennis, dennis, my friend. You don't run while you're trying to add mass to your quads.

If you want to lean out (which is hard to do and add quad mass), go for a 45 minute Walk, 3x/week.

Good luck buddy,
MaxRep

Max..I had a good feeling you would say that ! We do an extremely heavy leg day on sunday,on thursday I come back in for a very light 2nd leg work out,3 sets light leg extentions,3 sets light lunges,calves,light squats holding barbell in front on upper pecs...just enough to get the thighs pumped with blood.I am running 4-5 days per week 1.5 miles for cardio..Hoping to lower body fat % some.I hear what you are saying though..tough to cut and bulk at the same time...I must be doing something right though..I am on week 4 and my strength is unreal on all exercises and have only gained 3 pounds....1000 mgs test/600 mgs eq...just started 50 mgs stano ed.
I am wanting to look hard and lean with lower body fat % by november 4th but hate to give up size ! Yes..I have been training over 13 years now..the last 4 very strict.As a hard gainer i like the bulk style diet and cycle because i can see the scale go up.With this cycle the scale is barely moving but i am definately looking harder in the mirror..so with that said Max..I guess i should forget about the legs getting any larger for now and focus on my goal for november.Or just work the legs 1 time per week and brisk walk or bicycle for my cardio....

 

[MaxRep]

.I am running 4-5 days per week 1.5 miles for cardio..

Holy Cow! And you thought you would add quad mass while doing this? (Max walks away shaking head... )

I must be doing something right though..I am on week 4 and my strength is unreal on all exercises and have only gained 3 pounds....1000 mgs test/600 mgs eq...just started 50 mgs stano ed.

Well no kidding... put someone on 2 grams of anabolics/week and their strength had better be unreal... and they had better be looking harder...

.

Dennis, with what you're taking and your knowledge, you should be able to hold your muscle size and lean out considerably by November. Drop 10-15 pounds of primarily fat over the next 2 months and you'll "look" a lot bigger than you do now.

Best regards,
MaxRep

 

[dennis]

Dennis, with what you're taking and your knowledge, you should be able to hold your muscle size and lean out considerably by November. Drop 10-15 pounds of primarily fat over the next 2 months and you'll "look" a lot bigger than you do now.

Best regards,
MaxRep

Max..with me being a hard gainer ( hard gainer due to myself ) and an over trainer I put way too much emphasis on watching what the scale does.It kills me to see the scale move slowly up or stay the same on this amount of gear...it is a head game for me if you will.Gosh..if I lost 10 pounds you will hear me start crying ! If I ever cycle again I am going back to the good ole bulking ,eat giant program ! My mind is having a hard time wrapping around this whole cutting thing.

 

[Thickneck]

Imo when trying to gain mass and put on weight , aerobics should be kept to maybe walking on a treadmill 2 x's a week. I see alot of guys in the gym ( skinny guys ) doing aerobics and they wonder why they don't grow. I would quite all running if it were me. You are asking your legs to do 2 different things , try to get big, but also have endurance. It is just to much exercise . You need all that extra energy that you are burning off running for your heavy squat day. My 2 cents.

 

[CamRock]

Max, no hard feelings! I appreciate you straightening me out.....and calling me out! LOL
When I went back and re-read Dennis' initial post, I saw that he was working legs for two workouts a week and realized the error in the advice that I gave him.

 

[biggerbuds1000]

hi if im trying to bulk up and get bigger,is it not good to go swimming atall ?

 

[Inja]

Biggerbuddy:
swimming = burning lots of kcal that could have been spent sythesizing muscle.

Cardio is still important when staying healthy (especially after the amount of pot you've smoked) and you don't have the body type yet where you are going to lose a ton of muscle by doing excess cardio, so I would think that while you take up a new healthier lifestyle, you should still hit the pool a little bit every week. Just remember that with a goal of mass building you need to account for extra cardio with extra calories, and not overtrain your muscles with swimming and weight lifting (sore muscles are still healing and don't need to be worked).

When I was lighter I used to swim quite a bit and really enjoyed it. Competed a bit back in school as well actually.

P.S. In another thread I suggest posting your own Q's in your own threads to get more replies instead of highjacking somebody else's thread... Apologies to Dennis for using his thread.

 

[gasattack]

Dennis,
I have had excellent results the last 2 years from doing short explosive sprints. Once i started those my legs started growing considerably faster than with heavy leg days alone. I do sprints once a wk. just my .02.

 

[biggerbuds1000]

Biggerbuddy:
swimming = burning lots of kcal that could have been spent sythesizing muscle.

Cardio is still important when staying healthy (especially after the amount of pot you've smoked) and you don't have the body type yet where you are going to lose a ton of muscle by doing excess cardio, so I would think that while you take up a new healthier lifestyle, you should still hit the pool a little bit every week. Just remember that with a goal of mass building you need to account for extra cardio with extra calories, and not overtrain your muscles with swimming and weight lifting (sore muscles are still healing and don't need to be worked).

When I was lighter I used to swim quite a bit and really enjoyed it. Competed a bit back in school as well actually.

P.S. In another thread I suggest posting your own Q's in your own threads to get more replies instead of highjacking somebody else's thread... Apologies to Dennis for using his thread.

sorry dennis i have alot to learn

 

[dennis]

Dennis,
I have had excellent results the last 2 years from doing short explosive sprints. Once i started those my legs started growing considerably faster than with heavy leg days alone. I do sprints once a wk. just my .02.

Funny that you say that because the biggest mofo I know around my home town (manturnedmachine also on meso ) told me exactly the same thing a few days ago.If i do heavy legs on sunday and drop my second light leg day what days would be good for the fast explosive sprints?Also how many sprints and for what distance ?And what do the rest of you bb's and pl's think about this ??I am on 600 mgs eq and 1000 mgs test currently..

 

[Inja]

Don't know everything, but I'm willing to try everything once... Sounds like fun actually if you got somebody to sprint with.

 

[CamRock]

I've used sprints in the place of long cardio sessions and have gotten great results in terms of losing bodyfat. But these sprints ranged from 20 to 100 yards. I never noticed increased leg size as that wasn't my goal at the time.

I've also done plyometric workouts in which I have defenitley noticed some improved leg size. Nothing real dramatic, but I could tell my legs were getting thicker. So based on my own personal experiences, I would say that short, intense, explosive, sprints (20 to 50 yards) could possibly add to leg size as well. Especially if you had a little hill or incline to run up or a sled to pull. Just a beginner's hypothesis...

 

[hotdr]

As a former track guy I would recommend sprints as well. My experience is that even 30 minute runs can eat up muscle if your'e going intense, and if you are prone to over training you may also be prone to running too intensely. My favorite workout is 10 sprints of 40 yards. Try to start a sprint every 30 to 45 seconds. This workout is short so it shouldn't eat up muscle, but gives you're lungs some hard work. Make sure you warm-up and cool down well so you don't pull any muscles. I like to run on grass because it is low impact.

To give credit where credit is due, I stole this workout from the book "Sports Speed" by George B. Dintiman, Robert D. Ward, Tom Tellez. It is a good book for improving your playing speed in basketball, football, soccer, etc.

-hotdr

 

[FiberSynk]

Yeah and not to mention high intenstiy cardio has a longer lingering effect on the BMR then low intensity cardio for the same total kilocalorie loss during the exercise.
So you could do high intensity for shorter duration and not start converting fast twitch to slow twitch, which would be a bad thing for gaining mass/strength.

 

[jasthace]

Max..with me being a hard gainer ( hard gainer due to myself ) and an over trainer I put way too much emphasis on watching what the scale does.It kills me to see the scale move slowly up or stay the same on this amount of gear...it is a head game for me if you will.Gosh..if I lost 10 pounds you will hear me start crying ! If I ever cycle again I am going back to the good ole bulking ,eat giant program ! My mind is having a hard time wrapping around this whole cutting thing.

Go by what you see in the mirror.
Forget the scales,they will not help you look like a real bodybuilder.
Only getting lean and vascular will,then put on a bit more muscle.
Sounds like your training is going well Dennis.
I'd drop the running and get on a stepper or eliptical trainer 30 mins a day.
Running is to taxing,you just need to elevate the heart rate and body temp for half hour to burn a bit of fat.
Have you got some stims and a good diet.
Get lean and mean,dont worry and being a big water retention lard ass
You can't change a Bulldog into a Great Dane or a Hawk into an Eagle.
Just work on youself, forget about what other people look like.
Thats where I'm at at the moment and its going well.
I dont know why I spent all those years trying to get huge,when I alreally looked massive under my Fat[)]

 

[Bayou230]

Just work on youself, forget about what other people look like.
Thats where I'm at at the moment and its going well.
I dont know why I spent all those years trying to get huge,when I alreally looked massive under my Fat[)]

At one point I had to make a similar decision. If I wanted to be huge, I was looking at eating like a horse, training like a mad man, and maybe doing AAS. Problem is, as a former fat boy, eating like a horse freaks me out and doing AAS is not an option right now. (One of the wisest posts Ive read on this board went something like this: If you dont already look like youre on steroids, you probably have no business doing them.)

So I chose another goal: to be one cut up, hard as nails, MF. That involves lifting as hard as I can, eating clean and doing cardio. Every day, every time I go to gym I know I'm getting closer and closer to that goal. In the past, I've never liked to run because it felt like I was a flat-footed spastic. But recently I've taken it up and am learning to love it...a real bonus in my book.

I couldn't agree more Jasthace's advice. Forget what other people look like. Decide what YOU want to be, what youre willing to do to attain it and then go for it with a passion. It's the journey I've learned to love. Attaining the goal will simply be the reward.

Good luck; enjoy your self along the way!
B230