Post: #1

So here's my situation. I may be starting a two-month job that has a popular bike trail pretty much door-to-door from my apartment to the job site with minimal on-road riding.

I used to be an avid cyclist but I got hit by a truck six years ago... not as bad as it sounds, it barely clipped my rear wheel and I was ok, I was knocked off my bike but landed on my feet with only a small cut on my thumb, but was spooked enough to stop cycling altogether.

All the on-road riding for this is low-traffic cul-de-sac type streets. I think a leisurely ride in to work on low-traffic streets and a nice bike trail close to nature instead of the typical car slog through DC traffic would be good for my soul. This commute is safe and relaxing enough so I am actually thinking of dusting off the two-wheeler again despite swearing up and down never to do so.

The thing is, this time around, I am also a weightlifter training for size and hypertrophy and I do not want to lose muscle mass from all of the extra cardio.

The ride is about 8.4 miles one-way which would make for a 16.8 mile round trip. The last time I bicycled 15+ miles a day regularly was before I started lifting, and I got super-skinny with no muscle as a result of cycling 15+ miles a day and not lifting. This is obviously NOT the type of physique I want now.

I would wait until I am done with RFL and have moved to maintenance before doing this of course, I am not suicidal. My post-RFL move to maintenance is about two weeks into this job, and I would drive in until I have moved to maintenance for at least 5 days. Once in maintenance, I would eat mostly clean food at maintenance calories or possibly a surplus to offset the extra cardio. I would do a three-day push-pull-leg split, mostly compounds with some isolations at 8-10 reps for my lifting routine, and would eat 1g per pound of bodyweight in protein. As for the cycling, I would ride at a fairly moderate pace rather than hammering like a Tour De France rider like I used to in my days as a hardcore cyclist.

I am even contemplating only cycling 2-3 days a week as a sanity break from driving and driving the other 2 days. Maybe drive on gym days? I would have to drive on push day as my push workouts involve weighted pushups and I'm not carrying a weight vest on a bike.

I do not want to lose muscle mass.

Does anyone else do anything like this without losing gainz? Could I even pull this off without losing gainz?

(Of course this is all speculative as I don't have the job yet)

Post: #2

It will have some effect, the question is how much. Factors will be your age, tolerance for exercise volume, intensity of the cycling and your ability to eat enough quality food to keep up with your regimen.
You say it will be a leisurely paced ride and if that's the case, I think it could work, assuming everything else is in line.

Post: #3

Will be 34 by the time I start doing this, used to high exercise volume (though have been doing much lower volume lately because RFL), and will be eating enough quality food to maintain weight, possibly a moderate surplus, and will be eating most of my carbs around rides per advice on Bodybuilding.com on the subject.

Ride intensity will be leisurely to moderate, not planning to hammer.

Post: #4

If you can eat an extra, I dont know, maybe 1500 calories a day this wouldnt be a bad idea. In my opinion, I think anyone who lifts should do cardio for the health benefits. Obviously, 17 miles per day is quite a bit, and I too would be concerned about losing gains. But I think you should be fine if you eat more

Post: #5

Plug your calories into a calculator to figure out how much you burn on that kind of a bike ride and then go from there.

"Theoretically" if you're sleeping and eating enough, it shouldn't matter much.
It might even allow you to put on muscle while staying a bit leaner.

Lamar Gant used to bike 30 miles a day to get to work. He also pulled 5 times his bodyweight in the deadlift and he had scoliosis.

Post: #6

Your body is not as much of a muscle-eater as mainstream fitness wants you to believe it is (so they can sell you supplements).

I do cardio, stretching and weightlifting almost daily (6 to 7 days a week) & I feel & look fucking great. 31 years old and not on gear.

Foods that you should strive to eat DAILY (as in every single day of the week) for maximum Testosterone levels (this will spare you any muscle loss)

Pineapple, Apples, Red Grapes, Watermelon, Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Pecans, Almonds and ALL Green Vegetables - go crazy on eating Green Vegetables.

Supplements you should strive to take DAILY (again every single day of the week, be consistent)
Fish Oil and Vitamin D3, I also take Ginseng (optional - great for Libido/Testosterone)

You should 100% do the Bicycling Commute.
This can only benefit you mentally and physically.

Post: #7

Are you trying to get any bigger?

Post: #8

Right now my goal is fat loss, until at least June or whenever I am 10-15% bodyfat, whichever comes first. I am going to start bulking again after that, then once I can't see abs anymore, run RFL again, rinse and repeat.

All the foods Scrapper mentioned are off limits on RFL except green vegetables, but I will be eating them again when off RFL.

Post: #9

(03-21-2016 09:55 AM)eatthishomie Wrote:  Right now my goal is fat loss, until at least June or whenever I am 10-15% bodyfat, whichever comes first. I am going to start bulking again after that, then once I can't see abs anymore, run RFL again, rinse and repeat.

All the foods Scrapper mentioned are off limits on RFL except green vegetables, but I will be eating them again when off RFL.

What is RFL?

I can't imagine a diet for men that doesn't include at least some fruits & nuts.
These foods are like gifts from God for your Testicles.

Try to atleast pound some Eggs & Bacon daily and Oysters weekly - if you can't eat fruit & nuts.

Post: #10

If you are already achieving a daily caloric deficit, obviously this will have an impact.

By reading your info so far, I'd say increase your calorie intake on days you ride, maybe start with 150 calories after each trip and see what happens. Add more as necessary.

You said you don't plan on hammering, so a 15mph spin for 8mi shouldn't be too strenuous. If there are a lot of climbs/ headwind, maybe that changes things a bit as well but I'd say go for it, just use a cyclometer to keep track of your stats in case you are seeing any negative impacts.

Safe travels.

Post: #11

RFL is Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss diet. A detailed write-up can be found here.

It is a low calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein short term diet. I am running it for six weeks per Lyle's recommendation and am in week 3 now. It is meant to only be run anywhere from 11 days to 12 weeks depending on your diet category, figured out by a calculator. I am a category 2 RFL dieter which means I run the diet for 4-6 weeks and then take a break where I eat normally. You are right that if it is done long term it will pwn your hormones and have other negative health effects. It's basically a temporary crash diet meant to drop fat quickly and not to be run long-term. When eating normally, I eat the above foods regularly.

There are a few climbs on this ride. The ride in will be mostly uphill. That might change things a bit. If wind direction on my past rides when I was a hardcore cyclist are any indication, I'll probably have a headwind on the way in too.

Post: #12

(03-21-2016 11:50 AM)eatthishomie Wrote:  RFL is Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss diet. A detailed write-up can be found here.

It is a low calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein short term diet. I am running it for six weeks per Lyle's recommendation and am in week 3 now. It is meant to only be run anywhere from 11 days to 12 weeks depending on your diet category, figured out by a calculator. I am a category 2 RFL dieter which means I run the diet for 4-6 weeks and then take a break where I eat normally. You are right that if it is done long term it will pwn your hormones and have other negative health effects. It's basically a temporary crash diet meant to drop fat quickly and not to be run long-term. When eating normally, I eat the above foods regularly.

There are a few climbs on this ride. The ride in will be mostly uphill. That might change things a bit. If wind direction on my past rides when I was a hardcore cyclist are any indication, I'll probably have a headwind on the way in too.

Lyle McDonald is a brilliant genius and I have followed a lot of his advice in the past.
Mainly when he use to trade ideas with Caleb Stone (AKA Par Deus) on the old Avant Labs/Mind and Muscle Forums.

If you are desperate to lose weight & your bodyfat is really high, then by all means give the RFL a shot.

My advice (and feel free to tell me to F off) once you have this RFL behind you, never get out of shape again.
There is no benefit to being fat or out of shape and there are no excuses that are good enough to rationalize it.

Post: #13

100% agreed. I'm in week 3 of RFL and it's working better for me so far than anything I've ever tried for cutting.

I will never get fat or be out of shape again. I will bulk again, but it will be a slow, clean bulk (lean fish and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, etc) with a modest calorie surplus. At my age, and especially having been fat before, dirty bulking is no longer an option.

Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

Post: #14

(03-21-2016 12:10 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  100% agreed. I'm in week 3 of RFL and it's working better for me so far than anything I've ever tried for cutting.

I will never get fat or be out of shape again. I will bulk again, but it will be a slow, clean bulk (lean fish and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, etc) with a modest calorie surplus. At my age, and especially having been fat before, dirty bulking is no longer an option.

Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

That is a unique and sensible take on Bulking & Cutting. I like it!

Personally I prefer to neither bulk nor cut.
Basically just maintain a specific bodyfat % then try my damnedest to gain muscle while sticking to that bodyfat %.
Downside: It is a really slow grueling process (but very rewarding)

Please keep me updated on your progress, I am rooting for you bro!

ALSO check out a supplement called Cardarine (Technical Name: GW-501516)
It activates the PPAR Receptor which will:
Increase Fat Burning, Increase Endurance and Aid in preserving Lean Mass.
No side effects, however can be a little spendy.
Cardarine is a non-hormonal kind of pseudo SARM (will not suppress your testosterone)

Post: #15

That is probably the approach I will take when I am close to where I want to be in terms of size, muscle mass, and low bodyfat. For now, bulking and cutting is the way to get there.

I will look into Cardarine. Thanks man!

Post: #16

(03-21-2016 12:10 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

That is exactly what I've been doing and what I plan on doing for the next couple years until I get to where I want to be, then it will be long term strength/mass maintenance mode and a "balanced" lifestyle.

The possibility of getting fat when I'm older doesn't scare me anymore.

RFL takes very little time to prepare, the workouts are fairly short, and keeping protein high with shakes takes as much preparation as a thermos full of coffee.

It is by far the fastest possible way to get down to 15% bodyfat from any level of fatness. I recommend it to my fat friends all the time but the mere thought scares them.

"You can't even eat carrots? But - but carrots are healthy!"

Post: #17

I do miss carrots, I must say. Carrot juice usually figures into my refeeds in some capacity.

A little sacrifice to attain a goal is ok though. I plan to eat carrots everyday when in maintenance or bulking.

Post: #18

(03-21-2016 12:17 PM)ScrapperTL Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:10 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  100% agreed. I'm in week 3 of RFL and it's working better for me so far than anything I've ever tried for cutting.

I will never get fat or be out of shape again. I will bulk again, but it will be a slow, clean bulk (lean fish and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, etc) with a modest calorie surplus. At my age, and especially having been fat before, dirty bulking is no longer an option.

Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

ALSO check out a supplement called Cardarine (Technical Name: GW-501516)
It activates the PPAR Receptor which will:
Increase Fat Burning, Increase Endurance and Aid in preserving Lean Mass.
No side effects, however can be a little spendy.
Cardarine is a non-hormonal kind of pseudo SARM (will not suppress your testosterone)

GW501516 is a complete and utter waste of time. I've reviewed it for a number of companies at their expense, the results are underwhelming at best. There is some cardio capacity uptick but the fat burning increase and lean muscle preservation is just non existant. Please save yourselves the money and go with an ec stack if you want an edge in regards to fat burning. There are peptides/sarms/grey area products worth using this one just isn't it.

Post: #19

(03-21-2016 12:48 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:17 PM)ScrapperTL Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:10 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  100% agreed. I'm in week 3 of RFL and it's working better for me so far than anything I've ever tried for cutting.

I will never get fat or be out of shape again. I will bulk again, but it will be a slow, clean bulk (lean fish and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, etc) with a modest calorie surplus. At my age, and especially having been fat before, dirty bulking is no longer an option.

Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

ALSO check out a supplement called Cardarine (Technical Name: GW-501516)
It activates the PPAR Receptor which will:
Increase Fat Burning, Increase Endurance and Aid in preserving Lean Mass.
No side effects, however can be a little spendy.
Cardarine is a non-hormonal kind of pseudo SARM (will not suppress your testosterone)

GW501516 is a complete and utter waste of time. I've reviewed it for a number of companies at their expense, the results are underwhelming at best. There is some cardio capacity uptick but the fat burning increase and lean muscle preservation is just non existant. Please save yourselves the money and go with an ec stack if you want an edge in regards to fat burning. There are peptides/sarms/grey area products worth using this one just isn't it.

That is interesting that it didn't work for you and on multiple occasions.
I really appreciate the increased endurance and "on paper" it is suppose to increase fat burning/muscle preservation, although I have never been meticulous enough to verify this.

Can you link to some of your reviews, would like to read about your experience.

Post: #20

(03-21-2016 01:17 PM)ScrapperTL Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:48 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:17 PM)ScrapperTL Wrote:  

(03-21-2016 12:10 PM)eatthishomie Wrote:  100% agreed. I'm in week 3 of RFL and it's working better for me so far than anything I've ever tried for cutting.

I will never get fat or be out of shape again. I will bulk again, but it will be a slow, clean bulk (lean fish and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, etc) with a modest calorie surplus. At my age, and especially having been fat before, dirty bulking is no longer an option.

Slow clean bulk for 3 months until I can't see abs anymore, run RFL for a month (or 11 days if I'm category 1 at any point), rinse and repeat, will be my plan for the foreseeable future.

ALSO check out a supplement called Cardarine (Technical Name: GW-501516)
It activates the PPAR Receptor which will:
Increase Fat Burning, Increase Endurance and Aid in preserving Lean Mass.
No side effects, however can be a little spendy.
Cardarine is a non-hormonal kind of pseudo SARM (will not suppress your testosterone)

GW501516 is a complete and utter waste of time. I've reviewed it for a number of companies at their expense, the results are underwhelming at best. There is some cardio capacity uptick but the fat burning increase and lean muscle preservation is just non existant. Please save yourselves the money and go with an ec stack if you want an edge in regards to fat burning. There are peptides/sarms/grey area products worth using this one just isn't it.

That is interesting that it didn't work for you and on multiple occasions.
I really appreciate the increased endurance and "on paper" it is suppose to increase fat burning/muscle preservation, although I have never been meticulous enough to verify this.

Can you link to some of your reviews, would like to read about your experience.

We're all different it's entirely possible the increased endurance was more beneficial to you than it was for my needs, for me and my half hour of cardio it made it a little easier but was I inclined to do more or did I enjoy it more, No. So to that end I deemed it rather a pointless product, now for someone who needs the endurance entirely different animal but for bodybuilders it was a waste. I do know my body very well and how little changes affect me after years of being anal about prep for stage comp so if there was a fat burning component of any benefit I would notice and dexa would confirm but despite the hype it did not deliver on that. I did find an unexpected benefit of it improving my lipids slightly but I didn't need it for that purpose. I ran each on trt so I'm muscle sparing at the best of times so for this one I can only provide anecdotal evidence and not 1st hand. I gave it to 2 natty competitors during their preps as they were prepping together neithers dexa scan results showed any benefit in that regard, both lost in the same range of muscle they had on previous preps. 3 of my runs were test runs for supplement companies who were going to bring it to market and passed, sticking with more traditional sarms so there are no online reviews for those as it was favors for industry friends. 1 run I did for a friends peptide company online, that I wrote the review for but it links to me personally and with the heat on this board I'd prefer to keep my real identity off here. If you have any specific questions as to experiences feel free to ask and I will be happy to answer. I was disappointed cause I really had high hopes based its potential and my hatred of cardio so my negative recommendation is done with a heavy heart lol