Endurance While I Want To Get Bigger

Off Topic
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Hello to everyone and a big Thank you in advance to those who will take the time and read this and give some advice.

Im following TNation for some years now and I believe if there’s anybody that can have an opinion on the matter I’m gonna discuss about & understand it, it’s the lifters.

So, Im a woman,27, lifting heavy for 5 years, implementing techniques from tnation, doesn’t afraid to add and add so with the right diet for my goals and focus on training, the result is, aside from the numbers, very big,massive and masculine legs,big glutes and ofc upper body and great development.
My only goal is to be as big as possible and i dont really care for the comments for my back,or hands etc i dont give a f.

BUT, as im not a fan of cardio, I’ve neglected it for these years till this day. So there’s some tests someone has to pass to be accepted on the police force in my country,and family is pushing me to do it for the stability in the matter of career, and i gave it some thought, and decided to try it cause i said, a little cardio and some other stuff, whats the big deal?
My current split is 5 days, lower,upper,lower,upper,lower.

Truth is for these testings, i managed to jump as high as they have the limit, and im a heavy one, i managed to throw the 7kg sphere (ridiculous but most women can’t), i ran fast with explosion with the other sport BUT in the f*cking endurance, 4 laps in 4’20" i suck.
I dont have the fitness level at all.
I dont run not fast not even in good pace.

So, what i want to ask is,
Is it possible for me to remain at least at my current weight while managing to be faster for the fucking endurance stuff? I dont want to lose any weight at all.

Which split and what exercises you recommend to maintain my legs,glutes?
With all these fucking running im not able to smash it in the gym, i cant continue to hit legs 3 times a week,as im running the days that is supposed to be off leg days and im feeling already beaten up.
Is it possible to keep the mass in legs,glutes with only just one lower day in the gym?
Because thats how many days i can manage with this running. The uppers i wanna keep.

Are there any supps apart from creatine,protein i can use to help my performance to run but maintain my muscle mass also?

How can i handle the depression coming from not being able to iron the way i want?

How you handle people that havent even lift one kg but because they are running they give you the look of sympathy just because they think they are “fit” and you’re not.
If someone can help, if someone had a similar experience and a program that helped him/her to maintain while getting better at running please send some help before i start punching the f out of some people… thank you again in advance.

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If you aren’t willing to do what needs done to meet the criteria for entry into program, then don’t go.

Its as simple as that. Do something else.

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FWIW, you can maintain muscle with a lot less volume than it took to build it. Just change your goals for a bit and then get back to what you love. If you aren’t prepared for that, then re-read the @SkyzykS post above.

Although, fucking cardio is fucking great for your fucking health and you should be fucking doing it anyway.

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Allot of " F" ing in this thread.

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Trying to match her energy.

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Oh its fucking Ok.

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So you believe that one leg day a week will at least maintain my gains so far? While im burning legs with all this running?

Hmmmm the comment you mention,ive heard this a lot from my family, its the comment i dont want to face here, here im looking for some suggestions to maintain, to reshape my program so as to be as effective and answers on the questions if with my weight i can actually manage to run this time, if someone has ever done something similar etc

For the f cardio, its a matter of taste, some people like it some others dont, i wont pretend to like it, im afraid of it killing my gains, if i want to raise my heart’s rate i simply lift less weight with more reps and having just some secs off between sets not everybody is supposed to like it.

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Actually running should be factored in as a training stress which should be accounted for .

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You can undo the caloric burn of 60 minutes of cardio with 30 seconds of eating: don’t sweat this.

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Ofc im not willing to do it, have you read that i need to cut my leg days to one, and they were three!! Would you be willing to step back from what you love for months?
Im up from 7 am ironing till 10 and then its all about resting and preparing for the next day battle and now im supposed to run?
Im not, i just need to try this cause its a permanent job which i want cause i cant continue to live on my parents money.
Do you have any answers to my questions?
Have you ever did something similar?

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I think of a lap as a quarter mile. So a 4-minute mile is kind of insane to expect. I’d say just ramp up, focus on passing the test, then go back to what you like to do.

I like you.

So on a serious note, when I ran track, the winning strategy was to train boring stuff for 3/4 or the race, then train sprints, but save it for the last 1/4. Too many people sprinted right out of the gate and blew their wad. If it helps, think about a run like building up to a max set. You can collapse at the end.

An author recommended doing cardio three times a week. 1 day of easy running for 60 minutes, 1 day of a hard run for distance, and 1 day of sprints.

That would line up with your 3 days per week. If you choose to do that, Id suggest doing them on leg days, but separate the lifting and cardio by at least 4 hours and 2 meals.

Edit - Fuck fuckitty fuck fuck.

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It is actually three to four days of crazy running( 4 laps, then explosive running then again running as they supposed to fix our endurance level) for 1-1:30 hours … also i need to become less stiff and faster (faster i am with explosion also) but i cant run with good form and be quick.

I tell you im backing of from 3 lower days to 1, one!! Do you think that just amping up my calories will save my lower body while making me able to meet the time they want?
Im just asking cause im desperate so excuse my tone i dont mean bad but im trying to find solutions on how to change my program.

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Gains are muscle. Muscle is a tissue in the body. Losing gains is losing muscle. Muscle is lost when we do not have adequate fuel for the body and it seeks to scavenge tissue for energy. The way we prevent that is by having adequate fuel available. In that regard, the way to not lose gains from cardio is to eat enough to replenish the energy expended from cardio.

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How old are you?

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IMO, if you really want this than put the effort into it that your putting into your lifting. Drop your gym volume a bit and work on the running. Once your testing is over go back to what you love. Whatever little bit of muscle you lose will come back very quickly.
Your still young. You need to consider your future. Do you really want to pass up a great career so you can maintain big legs that you can easily get back?

The only way to build up your endurance in running is to run. Like others mentioned, easy jogging 3/4 of the time with a little bit of sprint work will go a long way.

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Wow so you recommend when im training legs at the gym to go the same day and run did i catch this right?
But wouldn’t my legs be burnt from the session before? Or i could just do light training for maintenance right…
Its another view i havent thought of. I will try it so the day after will be a rest and upper day.

It is crazy right for the laps !! This is exactly what im thinking from the start!
I would do that( to focus on it) but this will take a lot of time,like months thats why i just cant leave it all behind and just do this…

You know why punching, because I’ve catch eyes looking at me like “ew,whats that”,sometimes you get what people wanna say,and its true when i say i dont care,i dont, but with these "fit"people its a lot, because as i wont judge you why judge me? Im trying to take the high road but they wont help a bit.

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Got it.
Something else that I’ve noticed is that when i train a part then it is swollen like crazy, but if its left for a little without training it goes back to normal, so what I want to ask is, when it happens it doesn’t mean its lost size right?

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27, dont lecture me for not having a job already.

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Cardio will not affect muscle building unless you’re doing something pretty extreme (e.g., long distance running (1/2 marathon +, trying to maximise race times)

It might actually help lifting by increasing ability to recover from workouts and recovering between sets → get more work done

There are a lot of low impact but effective cardio workouts. Incline walking on a treadmill, eliptical rope pull machine, stationary bike, intervals workouts with battle ropes or med ball slams

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Thank you!
I can’t argue with what you say,its right, so running but with a scent of lifting ofc…
Also i think that if it ever gets easier for me to run it will be easier to add some volume back too…
Thanks again!

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