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# Keep Doing Cardio While You're Bulking
- URL: https://theseguysknow.io/cardio-while-bulking/
- Published: 2026-10-18T11:26:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-18T11:26:41.000Z
- Description: “I'm bulking” is a convenient excuse to walk past the bikes. We agree with Sam Sulek about keeping cardio, and look at the evidence and the weekly amount.
- Author: Kendrick Hale
- Tags: Health & Fitness, #learn

You can be serious about getting bigger and still admit that you've been finding reasons to walk past the exercise bikes. “I'm bulking” is a particularly convenient one, because now avoiding cardio sounds like part of the plan.

We'd keep it in. A muscle-building phase should leave you stronger and better conditioned, and there is good evidence that you can train for both without sacrificing the muscle you went there to build.

## Quick Answer

Keep cardio in your bulk, alongside lifting and enough food. Moderate aerobic exercise generally fits with muscle growth, and adults should aim for 150–300 minutes a week, or the equivalent in vigorous activity. Cardio can help manage energy expenditure, but it won't make an excessive calorie surplus harmless.

## Sam Sulek Has a Point About Doing Your Cardio

Sam Sulek has been pushing this for years. In his [Winter Bulk Day 34 cardio video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ftfnVkqlQ&ref=theseguysknow.io), quoted in [Fitness Volt's December 2023 report](https://fitnessvolt.com/SAM-SULEK-DISCUSSES-BULKING-CARDIO/?ref=theseguysknow.io), he called for “30 minutes of cardio a day” and explained his preference for the seated bike. He also made room for other activities that kept the effort going; the bike itself wasn't the principle.

The hesitation shows up clearly in [a discussion on r/SamSulek](https://www.reddit.com/r/SamSulek/comments/1czprtz/sam%5Fsays%5Fits%5Fmandatory%5Fso%5Fi%5Fhave%5Fa%5Fquestion%5Fabout/?ref=theseguysknow.io), where a lifter asks whether cardio during a bulk will help or simply burn away the calories he's trying to eat. It's a reasonable concern if gaining weight is already difficult. What doesn't follow is that keeping your aerobic fitness should stop being a priority until the bulk ends.

## Getting Bigger Doesn't Cover Your Aerobic Fitness

Lifting is valuable for health, but being strong and being aerobically fit are different qualities. The [World Health Organization recommends both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening work](https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/physical-activity?ref=theseguysknow.io), rather than treating one as a complete substitute for the other.

The numbers behind aerobic fitness are substantial. A [2024 review covering 199 cohort studies](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38599681/?ref=theseguysknow.io) found that each extra MET of cardiorespiratory fitness, a unit used to compare aerobic capacity, was associated with an 11–17% lower relative risk of death from any cause. Those are observational associations, rather than a promise about what one particular bike routine will do for you, but they give us a much better reason to care about fitness than the calorie display does.

There is also the ordinary experience of using the body you're building. Walking uphill, cycling somewhere or joining a game of football shouldn't become activities you avoid because you've decided all your training belongs in the weights room. We'd want some aerobic work in the week even if it contributed nothing extra to the size of your arms.

Getting out of breath after a hard squat set is normal, and it doesn't by itself diagnose poor fitness. It also isn't the same as reaching the limit of the working muscle, as we explain in our [guide to recognising muscle failure](https://theseguysknow.io/do-you-have-to-train-to-failure/). Give your lifting proper rest, while treating aerobic conditioning as something worth developing in its own right.

## Moderate Cardio Doesn't Automatically Cost You Muscle

A [meta-analysis of 43 studies involving 1,090 participants](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01587-7?ref=theseguysknow.io) found no significant disadvantage for whole-muscle growth or maximal strength when aerobic and resistance training were combined, compared with lifting alone. The idea that adding a sensible amount of cardio automatically ruins your bulk has very little to stand on.

There was a trade-off for explosive strength, particularly when the two forms of training happened in the same session. That matters if rapid force and power are priorities, and it gives you a reason to separate demanding sessions. It doesn't turn a manageable bike ride into something your biceps need protection from.

We'd usually put the lifting first when muscle growth is the main goal, then do moderate cardio afterwards or at another time. Keep the effort appropriate to the rest of your programme. Adding several hard runs to demanding leg training is a much larger change than introducing regular cycling at a sustainable pace, and you should judge the extra workload accordingly.

## Cardio Won't Rescue an Excessive Surplus

This is where the case for cardio needs to stay honest. If it raises your energy expenditure while your food intake stays similar, it can reduce the surplus you're left with and help limit unnecessary fat gain. If you eat enough extra food to restore the same surplus, the bike hasn't somehow made those additional calories incapable of becoming fat.

The size of the surplus still matters. In an [eight-week study comparing maintenance calories with intended surpluses of 5% and 15%](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40798-023-00651-y?ref=theseguysknow.io), 21 trained lifters were enrolled and 17 completed the programme. Faster weight gain was more clearly associated with increased skinfold thickness than with extra muscle growth. Some individual outcomes differed, but the study gives us a useful warning against assuming that gaining weight faster means building muscle faster.

So we'd keep cardio and control the bulk, instead of using one to excuse the other. Follow your weight trend and how your training is progressing, and make food adjustments deliberately. Our [beginner muscle-building guide](https://theseguysknow.io/how-to-gain-muscle-for-beginners/) covers that larger relationship between training, food and recovery.

If you're already struggling to gain weight, account for the extra activity when planning your meals. Don't assume a cardio machine's calorie estimate is an exact amount you must eat back; use what happens over time to judge whether you're eating enough.

## How Much Cardio Should You Do While Bulking?

The WHO target for adults is 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity, or an equivalent mixture. Thirty moderate minutes on five days gives you 150; thirty every day gives you 210\. Sulek's familiar half-hour recommendation can fit that range, but seven separate gym appointments aren't a requirement.

Choose something you can repeat comfortably enough to keep doing. A stationary bike is practical, and brisk walking can work well, especially if it doubles as getting somewhere. If you prefer sport, use that. For moderate intensity, the [CDC's talk test](https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/measuring/index.html?ref=theseguysknow.io) is a useful guide: you can hold a conversation, but singing would be difficult.

Build towards the weekly amount gradually if you're starting from little aerobic activity. You don't have to make every session an event worthy of a training montage; a repeatable half-hour with something to watch is a perfectly respectable way to get it done.

As you add cardio, keep an eye on whether you're still recovering and progressing in the weights room. Our [guide to adding reps or weight](https://theseguysknow.io/more-weight-or-more-reps/) explains how to make that comparison without expecting a heavier dumbbell every week. If your weight stops rising when the goal is to gain, review your food intake. If your legs feel permanently exhausted, review the amount and intensity of the extra work.

We agree with Sulek's insistence on keeping the habit. Plan it into the week, make it manageable, and keep enough food and recovery behind the lifting. Waiting until you start cutting to care about cardio means spending the entire bulk neglecting a part of fitness that was worth keeping all along.

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#### Sources

****TGK**

- [The First Sign of Discomfort Is Not Muscle Failure](https://theseguysknow.io/do-you-have-to-train-to-failure/), 13 September 2026.
- [How to Gain Muscle for Beginners](https://theseguysknow.io/how-to-gain-muscle-for-beginners/), 30 July 2026.
- [When to Add More Weight or Reps at the Gym](https://theseguysknow.io/more-weight-or-more-reps/), 7 October 2026.

****Research and Public-Health Guidance**

- [Lang et al.: Cardiorespiratory fitness, morbidity and mortality](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38599681/?ref=theseguysknow.io), British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2024\. Overview of 26 systematic reviews with meta-analysis, representing 199 unique cohort studies.
- [Schumann et al.: Compatibility of concurrent aerobic and strength training](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01587-7?ref=theseguysknow.io), Sports Medicine, 2022; published online 10 November 2021.
- [Helms et al.: Small and large energy surpluses in resistance-trained individuals](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40798-023-00651-y?ref=theseguysknow.io), Sports Medicine – Open, 2023.
- [WHO Europe: Physical activity recommendations](https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/physical-activity?ref=theseguysknow.io), 1 September 2021, checked against current WHO guidance on 16 October 2026.
- [CDC: How to measure physical activity intensity](https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/measuring/index.html?ref=theseguysknow.io), 4 December 2025.

****Sam Sulek and Community Discussion**

- [Sam Sulek: Winter Bulk Day 34 – Cardio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ftfnVkqlQ&ref=theseguysknow.io), original video.
- [Fitness Volt: Sam Sulek discusses bulking and cardio](https://fitnessvolt.com/SAM-SULEK-DISCUSSES-BULKING-CARDIO/?ref=theseguysknow.io), 2 December 2023\. Source for the reported wording and routine.
- [r/SamSulek: Doing cardio during a bulk](https://www.reddit.com/r/SamSulek/comments/1czprtz/sam%5Fsays%5Fits%5Fmandatory%5Fso%5Fi%5Fhave%5Fa%5Fquestion%5Fabout/?ref=theseguysknow.io), accessed 16 October 2026.

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