Distance Running Training and Bulk

dpr73
dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
So I have decided to start with a slow lean bulk to last me through the whole year (gaining maybe 20lbs or so). I seem to be hitting the right surplus to fill my weight gain goal currently by eating 2600 and not counting as closely on weekends (so I can participate in social events).
However, I have a family member running a half marathon and I REALLY wanted to join because I’d never done that before. So over the next few months I’ll be training for a marathon as well, which requires more running. I will still be able to lift 4 days a week (with 3 running days). But my question is—how do I make sure that the increased cardio doesn’t stall me or (heaven forbid) even make me LOSE WEIGHT. I know that it’s all calories in and calories out, but should I increase calories now before the progressive cardio training takes full effect? Or should I increase as I go so that I don’t over estimate my burn m. My cardio program is progressive training so I will be running greater distances at the end compared to now...so obviously the calories burn will increase incrementally. I just don’t want to miss out on training for this but also really really want to make sure my weight doesn’t go down and I lose muscle.

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    As long as you can keep up wit your intake from the extra training/cardio, you should be able to gain. Keep track of your weight and intake and adjust as you go.

    That being said, marathon training and bulking will be very difficult at the same time and are not an optimal situation for muscle gain. You will likely compromise your lifting in some way which will lead to less muscle gain than if you weren't doing so much cardio. It is up to you, but maybe maintaining during this time might be a better plan for you.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    As long as you can keep up wit your intake from the extra training/cardio, you should be able to gain. Keep track of your weight and intake and adjust as you go.

    That being said, marathon training and bulking will be very difficult at the same time and are not an optimal situation for muscle gain. You will likely compromise your lifting in some way which will lead to less muscle gain than if you weren't doing so much cardio. It is up to you, but maybe maintaining during this time might be a better plan for you.

    Or, conversely, you'll likely compromise your running by resistance training. And the problem isn't just nutrition, it's recovery. Both activities require that you allow your body to adequately recover and that's tough when you're taking on so much (lifting and running).

    It's not impossible to take on both, but be aware that by doing so you're very likely limiting your potential in each of them. You won't be able to run as well as someone who focused on just training for the race, and you won't be able to gain as much strength or muscle mass as someone who focused just on resistance training.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    As long as you can keep up wit your intake from the extra training/cardio, you should be able to gain. Keep track of your weight and intake and adjust as you go.

    That being said, marathon training and bulking will be very difficult at the same time and are not an optimal situation for muscle gain. You will likely compromise your lifting in some way which will lead to less muscle gain than if you weren't doing so much cardio. It is up to you, but maybe maintaining during this time might be a better plan for you.

    Or, conversely, you'll likely compromise your running by resistance training. And the problem isn't just nutrition, it's recovery. Both activities require that you allow your body to adequately recover and that's tough when you're taking on so much (lifting and running).

    It's not impossible to take on both, but be aware that by doing so you're very likely limiting your potential in each of them. You won't be able to run as well as someone who focused on just training for the race, and you won't be able to gain as much strength or muscle mass as someone who focused just on resistance training.

    I agree with all that has been said. Also keep in mind that as you gain weight, running will be more difficult, as it takes more effort to move more mass. Couple that with the fact that you will be progressively adding mileage which will already stress your body to the point of fatigue, and you are likely to have a rough time in the later stages of your training.

    Also,just to clarify, are you training for a marathon or a half marathon? A half marathon won't be quite as difficult as a marathon, of course, but you should definitely consider what has been suggested regarding waiting until after your event to begin your bulk.
  • dpr73
    dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
    Thank you guys. I am going to prioritize muscle gain this year and await doing the marathon until next year
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »

    That being said, marathon training and bulking will be very difficult at the same time and are not an optimal situation for muscle gain. You will likely compromise your lifting in some way .

    Very much this.
    I marathon trained at the beginning of the year and bulked at the same time. I mostly bulked because it is far, far easier to recover from long runs in a surplus. (I'm a 5'1" 148lb female and was eating anything between 2500 and 3500 Calories a day and put on around 10lb in 4 months.

    Half marathon training is a lot easier on the body but once my long runs were over 15 miles I found something had to give and I had to reduce the weights for squats and deadlifts, I just wasnt recovering. I kept on with the upper body (and actually made some pretty good strength gains especially in bench) until the final month in training, when I really had to concentrate on recovering from the runs.

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