endurance training

Hey, I’m a 21 year old who has been training for about 6 months. I was wondering if someone who already does endurance trainging, could help me find a good program. What kind of cardio is good for this type of training? What type of lifting I should do. How many caleries should I have. Just some advice from people who have/are doing this type of training would be great thanx.

Hey Dave,

I have some comments here, but take a look at the thread on Distance Running and Maintaining Muscle that I started earlier this week. I’m not sure if you’re a racer or what type of “endurance” training you’re invovled with, but this stuff is relevant. The punchline, when you look at this thread, and search for articles on this and other sites, is that there is no single/well supported view on this topic. The scientific types (which I am one, actually, so at least I know what they are saying is actually true) will point out things about catabolism, etc. Others will just be blunt and say the mass you give up isn’t worth it. But after all of that washes by, I look at the so-called serious lifters in my gym, which is a pretty good one, and then I look at the cut-up guys I line up with in front of a serious 10K road race, and, well, let’s just say these guys in the race are much more muscularly impressive based on almost any standard other than mass! I think part of the problem is that when people think of runners or other endurance atheletes, they think of the clowns they see running after work each day, etc., which have basically no real commitment to weights OR running, but just to get them done. Finally (sorry to be so long on this), as one more punchline, I think it’s all a matter of your mix of training tools and dedication, and what net effect is produced. For example, recently on this site it was deemed appropriate to ding caffeine as part of a muscle building program on a physiologic basis. That’s great and the points were completely valid, but it’s largely meaningless. I would guess that 80% of us ingest caffeine, either in coffee (me) or in thermogenics (just look at the market size), and, well, there are tons of ripped guys out there, and tons who lift regularly but just aren’t getting there. The division must have to do with competing factors that overcome the “muscle-killing” effects of caffeine! Right? Any thoughts on all of this from your experience.