Cardio or Not? Debating Its Role in a Build Phase

Can cardio hinder your strength training results? Should you be doing cardio if you are in a calorie surplus?

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People usually have a love/hate relationship with cardio, and others just have a hate relationship with cardio. All jokes aside, cardio is excellent for your cardiovascular health. It is also commonly utilised in a fat loss phase to help drive fat loss further.

So if cardio is used in a fat loss phase, then that must mean we don’t do it when in a building phase? The answer to that question isn’t so simple. Cardio can still be done even if your goal is to build muscle and gain size.

Now, you may then be wondering if it is counterproductive to do cardio while trying to bulk? In some senses, the answer to that is yes. However, there are many reasons why keeping cardio in your training week is still important for your overall health goals. These reasons are focused on the benefits that cardio has on your cardiovascular system and general health.

Benefits of Cardio:

• Improves cardiovascular health

• Lowers blood pressure

• Regulates blood sugar

• Reduces your risk of disease

• Improves breathing

• Improves sleep

• Helps with weight management

• Strengthens the immune system

• Improves brain power

• Boosts mood

• Increases stamina and endurance

As you can see, cardio has a range of benefits for our general health, so why wouldn’t you want to add some cardio into your week if it provides so many benefits to your overall health?

Well, if your goal is to build muscle and you are entering or currently in a build phase, cardio can make this slightly harder in the sense of you will need to consume extra calories to make up for the increase in expenditure. So, if you are already struggling with a surplus to consume all your calories, adding in even a small amount of cardio may make hitting your new calorie/macro needs very challenging. However, utilising high-calorie and preferably nutrient-dense foods will help!

Making smarter choices surrounding food can help you hit your calorie needs in order to build muscle while still adding in some cardio for general health and well-being.

Many people do use the excuse of a build phase to stop doing cardio completely. But let’s be honest, no one wants to be struggling to breathe after walking a metre or two up their driveway… And you may think I’m being over dramatic but low levels of cardiovascular fitness will have you breathing heavily from simple tasks.

So, keeping a small amount of cardio in a build phase can just help you keep on top of your general fitness and health. But just remember, cardio is of course not necessary, so the decision to add some into your training week is always completely up to you.

Just to briefly touch on the topic of what cardio to do - Cardio comes in various forms and is essentially a type of exercise with the main objective of increasing the heart rate. So, it does not have to be running on the treadmill for hours on end, or jumping into a high-intensity cardio group fitness class. Just some low-intensity clients' cardio might be ideal for you and your current goals.

If you are with a coach, they will be able to advise you on the best approach to your main goals and also keep on top of your general fitness. This doesn’t always mean adding in cardio, it could simply be ensuring you have a step target to hit daily, as this can also be a great way to keep your fitness levels up.

I personally ensure all my client's programs are not only focused on their goals but also keep their overall health as a priority. Working on a balance that suits their lifestyle and needs is so important.

To summarise, adding cardio into your training week is a great idea to improve your cardiovascular fitness, increase stamina, and help improve training volume. It is not necessary but can provide you with a range of health benefits, so it is worth considering even if you are in a build phase. We all have different needs and goals, so find what works best for you!