CALL LIBERTY MUTUAL!

don't forget to get a license for your guns

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Yes. Just don't go for more than 20 minutes or so. Also, try doing some interval running instead of just straight long distance.

i do about about 20 minutes of running non-stop with a full out sprint towards the end. then i take a 10 minute break and repeat the same on the way back. so about 40 minutes altogether. i do this 3 times a week. would you say that's acceptable for someone trying to gain muscle mass or is it counter-productive?

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Depends on how much you're eating and how hard you find it to gain muscle mass. It's usually recommended to "hard gainers" that you only do one session of cardio exercise a week. Either way it's going to burn up calories that will otherwise be used in repairing and growing muscle. If you're finding it hard to gain muscle I'd recommend not running more than once a week.

i do find it harder to build up muscle but at the same time when i dont do cardio and stick to strictly weight lifting i gain fat. im trying to balance out the two by gaining muscle and trying to look leaner. is that possible or do i have to focus on only one type of exercise?

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Originally posted by tubularbills don't forget to get a license for your guns

Quick, make with more "I'm muscular" jokes.

Somebody call the vet, cause these puppies are sick!

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Originally posted by RapidFire i do this 3 times a week. would you say that's acceptable for someone trying to gain muscle mass or is it counter-productive?

Quite possibly counterproductive, IMO.

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i do find it harder to build up muscle but at the same time when i dont do cardio and stick to strictly weight lifting i gain fat. im trying to balance out the two by gaining muscle and trying to look leaner. is that possible or do i have to focus on only one type of exercise?

The key to getting a "lean look" is maximal effort and exercise intensity combined with proper diet.

Ultimately it doesn't matter to "leaning up" whether you achieve that intensity through weights or running; it's all about charging up your metabolism by forcing your body to adapt to progressively more strenuous effort, not simply passive burning of calories like a casual jogger does. Of course, if you want to gain a large amount of muscle, you'll have to do some weight training.

It comes down to intensity. You generally won't get the "cut" look by simply piling on a bunch of moderate exercise, unless maybe you're pretty young or have an especially fast metabolism.

^ All this is my experience at least.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Quite possibly counterproductive, IMO. The key to getting a "lean look" is maximal effort and exercise intensity combined with proper diet. Ultimately it doesn't matter to "leaning up" whether you achieve that intensity through weights or running; it's all about charging up your metabolism by forcing your body to adapt to progressively more strenuous effort, not simply passive burning of calories like a casual jogger does. Of course, if you want to gain a large amount of muscle, you'll have to do some weight training. It comes down to intensity. You generally won't get the "cut" look by simply piling on a bunch of moderate exercise, unless maybe you're pretty young or have an especially fast metabolism. ^ All this is my experience at least.

thanks. it's always helpful to learn more about what works and what doesnt. ill cut down on the cardio and watch the diet.

If you want to do some cardio, I'd recommend some interval training. Like this:

Warmup: 10 x 100 meters, accelerating within each 100 meter run and also throughout the set, with twenty to thirty seconds rest between each one.

8 x 20 seconds max effort sprint, with ten seconds rest between each 20 second sprint.

You could also try doing max effort or near-max effort 200 meters or 400 meters with a short rest time between each rep.

In my experience this kind of exercise is utimately more effective for burning fat and will also let you get used to sustaining repeated, intense bursts of muscular effort, which to some degree will carry over to the kind of low-rep, near-max weightlifting that you said you were doing.

And it still gives your heart a heck of a workout, too.

Oh, and I wouldn't recommend doing that stuff if you're too stiff from weightlifting the day before or something. That would be an injury waiting to happen.

ill definetly give it a go

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Originally posted by RapidFire for anyone who is knowledgable about excersise/bodybuilding, i have a question; if im lifting to gain mass (low reps, higher weight) is it still alright to go on runs? not jogs, a little more sped up

First of all you have the intensity and the volume all wrong. If youre looking to gain mass then you should be lifting higher reps. Hypertrophy isnt experienced till 12-20 reps or more.

Second thing theres a big difference between body building and gaining mass. Body builders focus more of proper mechanics and technique to build definition and striations. Where if you were focusing strictly on mass then all that would matter is that you complete the movement any way possible even with cheating as long as you hit hypertrophy.

And yes running is also bad in your case. You will be burning way to many calories that should be used for muscle growth instead. If you have to run then id suggest consuming a high carb drink during the process.

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Originally posted by Direct First of all you have the intensity and the volume all wrong. If youre looking to gain mass then you should be lifting higher reps. Hypertrophy isnt experienced till 12-20 reps or more. Second thing theres a big difference between body building and gaining mass. Body builders focus more of proper mechanics and technique to build definition and striations. Where if you were focusing strictly on mass then all that would matter is that you complete the movement any way possible even with cheating as long as you hit hypertrophy.

ignore the "bodybuilding" part, i meant it in a general way. weight lifting would be the better term.

also, ive never heard of doing more reps for mass before. if thats the case than how does one achieve a leaner look?