Q: Love Old Man, Young Muscle. It’s helped me get bigger with shorter workouts. My joint pain is almost gone too. In the ebook, you mention your runs. You’re doing four miles twice a week. Don’t you think that is detracting from your muscle-building endeavors? I’ve heard cardio makes it harder to put on mass.
A: I’ve seen studies that show cardio can make it harder to build muscle, and I’ve seen others that say just the opposite—with a boost in testosterone.
But the latest thing I read on the subject was from researcher Chris Beardsley—and I wasn’t happy about it…
Individuals with a high strength-training status will experience competing adaptations, which will lead to aerobic exercise having a negative impact on hypertrophy. Exercise that involves a high aerobic demand (like running) will produce a greater competing signaling effect compared to exercise that involves a more local muscular endurance requirement (like cycling), which will lead to it causing reductions in muscle-fiber size.
Dammit. I’ve always had a feeling this was the case. Plus, I turn 63 this month—July 30, same as Arnold; thinking about a housekeeper for my birthday. Being old no doubt has cardio producing an even more pronounced negativity on my mass building…
Even so, I always remind myself that I’m in this for my health, as I always have been—although looking awesome is important too.
And the health of it is why drugs have been off the table for me. By the way, NOT using drugs also significantly impacts mass-building endeavors.
At my age I need cardio for my heart, and runs are what I enjoy. I tried the exercise bike, which Beardsley says is less mass compromising, but it’s f-ing boring—and the one in this photo is a taint terrorizer…
Heck, I live in California, and one big reason is the weather. I like getting outside and can even run during the winter…
Why not a get a real bike? I thought about it—but again, I live in California. There are a lot of people here, and half of them seem to be on the path when I run. I can’t imagine trying to dodge them on a bike. Nudging them out of the way with my foot would no doubt get me in trouble or have me crashing into the weeds.
I have cut back on my runs a bit since I saw Beardsley’s take. My Apple Watch still shows my V02 max, a measure of cardio fitness, at 40, which is pretty good for an old guy. I also monitor my resting heart rate, which is 52, also good. I just hope the watch is accurate.
So it’s a tradeoff—I sacrifice being more massive, but I avoid a massive heart attack—I hope. I do look “muy guapo” in a bike helmet, however, so cycling isn’t completely off the table…
New: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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