Diet for increasing cardiovascular fitness

Question

I have recently bulked up to prepare for the upcoming rugby season. I put on roughly 9 kilos. However, I need to get fit again and have decided to do some runs and sprint training. Having just started running again for the first time after the bulk I felt very heavy and I was very unfit.

My question is should I continue to eat plenty of food and calories so that my muscles, lungs (or whatever it may be) can repair and grow after these runs/sprints or should I return to eating more like a normal person (3x a day) to focus more on losing the excess puppy fat from the bulk?

Any other tips for someone in this situation would be very welcome.

Answer 1

I think it depends a lot on your goals, and rugby position.

I was a football player myself (American football), and it's very easy to get carried away during the bulking phase so i know this feeling of being unfit.

It seems you do not want to get any bulkier at this point, so i would recommend you get enough calories just to be in a "maintenance". Or just slightly above maintenance to take into account for the cardio training you are now incorportating into your training regiment. That way you will be either in a maintenance, or low deficit in terms of calories which will not change your weight very much but shouldn't put you in too much trouble in term of energy level.