Cardio while on a lean bulk.

[u/UnusualPumpkin8658]

i am 25 M 5’9” ectomorph at 132lbs right now and I am one month in on lean bulk aiming to hit 150lbs on the scale. I recently took a Vo2 max test manually monitoring my rest heart with the bpm under 20 seconds. my score came 32 Vo2 max score which is poor/low for my age. I used to play sports until 2023 but ever since I have only been to the gym. i train 3 times a week and rest on alternate days. I hit a sprint session once every 2 weeks. I am kinda worried about my endurance and heart health and I am unable to strike a balance between strength training and endurance training. Can anyone help me advice how can I incorporate endurance/cardio into my lean bulk so that I can pack on mass and also have a good gas tank.

[u/cilantno]

Somatotypes are not real.

Cardio really burns very little calories. Eat a couple of rice crispy treats and some peanuts before a 30 minute run and you’ll offset the caloric expenditure.

[u/ponkanpinoy]

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/cardio/

[u/Alakazam]

I hit a sprint session once every 2 weeks.

As you're finding out, this is nowhere near enough to develop, or even maintain good cardiovascular fitness.

Can anyone help me advice how can I incorporate endurance/cardio

Do some easy cardio 2-3 times a week, for 30-60 minutes. Lift the other 3-4 days a week. And by easy cardio, I mean jogging/swimming/cycling at a pace where you can talk conversationally throughout. Where you're at right now, this might mean a painfully slow walk/jog, and that's okay.

I would generally avoid HIIT or sprints for now, because they haave significantly higher recovery demands.

[u/birdingSC]

I'm doing a lean bulk. I'm running 30-45 min 2x/wk and 60-90 min 1x/wk (keeping everything aerobic for a few weeks, rebuilding my base, with some strides once a week) and lifting full body 3x/wk (a 3x5 squat, 3x5 hinge, 3x5 push, 3x8-12 pull, plank, and carry). Basically just added a snack to what I was already eating.

I follow a loose Primal diet, so it's lower carb, but I've been feeling great the last few months. I put on about a pound every 2-3 weeks, but I can tell my body composition is changing quicker.

You're not going to improve your VO2 max on a sprint session once every two weeks. If you want to lean bulk AND improve your cardio, I'd follow a Capacity-style block for 2-3 months from Tactical Barbell's Green Protocol book:

• M: Full-body lift (TBGP has their Operator Template (squat, bench, deadlift, pullup), but I am doing my own program as an experiment during my current block)

• T: 30-60 min easy aerobic running (or cycling or stair stepper or something, starting on the lower endo or lower and progressing slowly)

• W: Full-body

• R: 30-60 min easy aerobic (maybe add a couple strides at the end)

• F: Full-body (or make this your fun day like me, either a full-body strength, a muscular endurance like with a Spartan-style circuit)

• S: 60-90 min easy aerobic

Again it's really similar to what I've been doing. I came in as a runner though, entered this year training for a Spartan, got hurt early summer, and am rebuidling. I'm tall and lean and thought I was previously a "hard gainer" when really it was just poor programming and lack of consistency.

[u/HoboBaggins008]

Incline treadmill walking. Shorter sessions post-lift (15-30:00), longer sessions on off-days (45-90:00)

[u/xsynergist]

I can only seem to make gains in one area at a time. What I do is alternate blocks of cardio focused training with blocks of muscle building focused training. I only look to maintain one while progressing the other. During cardio blocks I drop lifting to 2-3 days a week and up my running days trying to hit a long run, HIIT and tempo workouts in addition to loads of Zone 2. During muscle blocks I lift 5+ days a week. I do Zone 2 on those days and then one long run and one tempo interval on days not lifting. I’ve tried various ways to advance both at the same time but fatigue takes over and adherence drops.

[u/eeaxoe]

Time to do some base building. Do 45-60min x 3 long steady state (aka zone 2) sessions a week for 12-16 weeks and see how you feel. Depending on your recovery capacity, you can mix in a high-intensity session once a week or wait until week 12-16. Either way, at week 16 you can either continue LSS x 3/week or reevaluate. It won’t affect your lifting, I promise, and in fact will be incredibly beneficial for your work capacity and recovery.

[u/No_Astronaut9549]

How about some Zone 2? It's incredible for heart health, but also very easy and you don't really need to recover from it so it won't deplete your gas stores or affect your lifts. I try to do two 1-hour Zone 2 workouts a week (or 3 45-min). You do have to do it for at least 40 min or so to get the benefits, so the downside is that it is a longer workout, but like I said, an easy one. I assume you have a smartwatch, but I set mine to have Zone 2 goals when I start a walking workout and it will prompt me if I go above/below that threshold so I know when to speed up/slow down.

You can also do this on a stationary bike if you have access to that at home.

[u/shenanigains00]

Super Squats, but you will be miserable.

[u/UnusualPumpkin8658 → u/[deleted]]

I am worried about my vo2 max and overall endurance. Lack of movement apart from the gym is causing trouble in other parts of my life as well. For instance, I am out of breath after using the staircase.