Cardio, Abs, and Year Round Conditioning

Why is it that all of these guys seem to have this mind frame that they are going to train abs and cardio for the summer, then let everything go during the fall/winter, or whenever? I just don't understand this shit. I got into bodybuilding to be able to take my shirt off and look jacked!

I'm not sure about you, but my goal was to never have to stay covered up because I accepted a gut in order to gain some strength. There is no reason you can't be strong and defined. This flip-flopping between a low body fat and walking around like a fat-ass for half of the year is just retarded logic! And what most guys don't realize is that doing cardio can actually make you grow larger!

Cardio helps your muscles utilize more oxygen and therefore you can push the weight and reps even further.

Ab training

Ab training? Your abs are a muscle group aren't they? Then train the damn things as such! You should not neglect training your abdominals just because you are “bulking” or its winter time, or all of a sudden you're a “powerlifter.” That is just dumb.

You don't need to be killing your abs every day, but I think you should at least be hitting them twice a week minimum. I have a general rule I abide by, if doing sets of 25 on decline sit-ups or leg raises becomes more difficult, I'm putting too much on my midsection and I either need to A) adjust the diet or B) start back training my abs a little more regularly.


If you're going to do cardio then God Damnit break a sweat! I'd much rather see someone hit a good 20-30 minutes of hard cardio than walk at a snails pace on the treadmill for 2 hours.

Some bodybuilders just crack me up, its always the same thing with some of these guys. They get all covered up in a hoodie like they think they are Rocky Balboa or Kai Green, and they just walk forever on a treadmill slower than fucking molasses. What a waste of time that is. You don't need to be hitting it so hard you cannot breathe or say 2 words, but for God's sake at least break a sweat.

Don't be afraid of jogging either. For some reason a lot of bodybuilders just don't suggest jogging. I do not understand why? Jogging does what it should do, it raises the heart rate, you sweat, it releases endorphins that make you feel good, it increases your lung capacity, it burns fat!

For every guy out there who says jogging is bad, go look up Kevin Levrone or Cedric McMillan. Levrone always jogged, and Cedric has to jog with his job in the Army. Does it look like jogging ever hurt Levrone or Cedric? I think not, Levrone was a straight bad ass and Cedric is a monster! Try jogging, ignore the common trend bullshit. Aside from jogging, the Stairmaster or walking or running stairs is also great cardio!

A brisk walk on the treadmill is good too, now let me tell you how to make it better. Try this your next cardio session, elevate the treadmill to a steep incline, set your speed at 2.8 mph, no more than 2.8 mph. Now you walk, and DO NOT HOLD THE HANDLES! You won't believe me until you try this, but 2.8 mph will light your ass up if you quit holding those damn handles!

So that's it, keep these things in practice year round! Is it really worth being able to bench press or squat another 30-40 lbs (in most cases the extra strength from having more body fat is very little and hardly worth it) if you feel insecure when you take your shirt off or are wearing a tank top?

How about that new girl you meet and try to bag? Do you think she is going to be saying “Damn you're a fat ass but you're such a man being able to bench press 500 lbs”? FUCK NO! She is going to be thinking “So how fast will he run out of breath, here is for hoping anyways” and you don't want that shit!

Keep it lean and mean. Take the gains where you can get em' but stay conditioned 24/7

Be sure to check out: 10 tips to look great year round


8 thoughts on “Cardio, Abs, and Year Round Conditioning”

  1. Hi John
    Good read man. I don’t disagree with you about running or jogging other than I hate it.. Did too much of it in the military. What do you think of kettlebell swings in place of ? I do about 200 swings in 10 sets daily using a 44 lb bell.

  2. I don’t do cardio at all because I do short workouts with supersets only, I always sweat doing those but for the rest of the day, I usually sit.

    I am still lean but I got a slight belly, Guess I have to implement cardio.


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