Cardio during bulking

When you’re cutting during a training phase it is pretty common knowledge that you throw in some heavy cardio routines during your weekly efforts in order to cut some extra fat and define the muscle groups.

When your bulking however there can be some confusion as to whether to include cardio in any form at all or just focus on a calorie surplus and lifting heavier with each session.

So where does cardio fit in with your training regime when you are undertaking a serious bulking phase? How can you best utilise it during this period? And what kind of effects can it have on your heavier lifting and your increased food intake? Here we take a look at how to incorporate some cardio within your training schedule and what the benefits are.

Involving cardio in your bulking phase in some form is absolutely key to simply maintaining some basic level of higher fitness. With your increased rep range and larger loads being lifted it will be become vitally important to have a basic cardio condition as you will be using your cardiovascular conditioning more so with the increased workload over the same time period whilst training.

Secondly when you have completed a bulk phase and you wish to begin a cut once more it will be a painful exercise to start doing cardio exercise three to four days a week if for three to four months you have done little or none at all as you have bulked. So keep an eye on overdoing your cardio training during a bulk but do not make the mistake of neglecting it completely as your lifestyle requires a certain cardiovascular base in order to carry out your training regime anyway.

Cardio can also help in bulking with fat minimisation as the calorie intake you are loading your system with will undoubtedly lead to extra levels of carbohydrates and fat levels within your body. Doing some cardio in a bulk phase will maintain these levels at a premium and also help toward your body to work the extra nutrients you are intaking and will disperse them into your system to quicker with cardio to help you recover better and you’ll generally feel better during this stressful training period.

Lastly performing some form of cardiovascular exercise during your training regime will help with your everyday health and can lead to a healthier heart, vital organs functionality and also keep your aerobic threshold high which can help with things as little as walking the stairs at work all the way up to performing your best during a season’s football game. These are obvious everyday health benefits and should not be overlooked when considering how to use cardio if you are bulking at the moment.

Bulking does mean packing on the size and the muscle as well as adding major strength to your physique but it doesn’t mean that you have to neglect your overall health and fitness. Focus on the fact that you will have to learn what your body responds to in terms of overdoing any cardio work and always have in the back of your mind what you’ll have to do once your bulking phase is over and you want to cut again. Going cold turkey with cardio during a bulk will be a good idea for pain and extra exertion when you want to slim down again for the summer months so do not in any way completely forget about your cardiovascular training during a bulk and learn the amount that your body needs to still be healthily functional whilst not beginning to burn your calorie intake and your extra dietary supplement. It’s all about staying healthy as possible whilst packing on the size and muscle and yes, this unfortunately (for some of you) means that you need to consider cardio as part of your training plan for the months ahead.