Today a friend told me I should do cardio even when trying to gain mass. I have never tried it, mostly for fear of hindering my mass gains. I think I may give it a try. My question is how many times a week? and for how long?
for a mass gaining phase, 0 x per week would be optimal. Even a slight excess can potentially hinter strength/size gains. I’d stick with Poliquins advice, Dr. Serrano’s or DiPasquale’s (as well as many others) advice over your friends and skip the cardio.
John Berardi wrote about this before. He says that cardio after training increases the uptake time of nutrients after your workout. If you’re training for strength you probably wouldn’t want to do any, but for hypertrophy… I think he recommended 15 minutes of moderate cardio after training. Search for the article.
i agree with pete69 - if all you want is pure mass then don’t do cardio. however, i like to participate in other activities such as mountain biking, tennis, scuba diving, and powerlifting. i certain amount of conditioniong is required to participate in those activities so i do cardio a couple of times per week. my cardio may be sprints, dragging a sled, light walking or bike work. also, i think some cardio is good for your health.
yeah…no use in getting big if you get out of breath hauling all that mass up the stairs.