I'm currently in the middle of a bulking program and have a few questions regarding cardio. I am currently doing a fasted twenty mins on an exercise bike three times a week before work.

1) I started doing 5k runs (on a treadmill) but I was told I wouldn't see large gains if this was the case as it burns considerably more fat and will then start to burn off muscle. Is this true?

2) Is twenty minutes enough on an exercise bike?

3) In no way related to the above - whats the difference between rolled oats and steel cut oats?

Any help much appreciated.

1) I started doing 5k runs (on a treadmill) but I was told I wouldn't see large gains if this was the case as it burns considerably more fat and will then start to burn off muscle. Is this true?

2) Is twenty minutes enough on an exercise bike?

1) Probably not true.

2) Depends on what you are doing on that bike. If it's LISS, then 20 minutes is not really that effective for anything.

3) In no way related to the above - whats the difference between rolled oats and steel cut oats?

I'll take the easy question :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel-cut_oats

Steel-cut oats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat) are whole grain groats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groats) (the inner portion of the oat kernel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel)) which have been cut into only two or three pieces. They are golden in colour and resemble small rice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice) pieces.
Steel-cut oats are also known as coarse-cut oats, pinhead oats, Scotch oats, or Irish oats.
In comparison, the other main variety, rolled oats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolled_oats), are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted.
Because the steel-cut oats are more "natural" with less pre-processing, they may be more nutritious than the more popular rolled oats.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)] Steel-cut oats are also nuttier and retain a chewier texture than rolled oats.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)] Like most whole grains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_grains), steel-cut oats take much longer to cook than pre-processed oats.
Many people feel that steel-cut oats provide better flavour than rolled oats due to the lack of preprocessing.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)] Usually steel-cut oats are not preprocessed then dried. They are often packaged in a vacuum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum) tight container (like a coffee can) to preserve freshness.

Doing some cardio won't keep you from making gains if your diet and lifting are well-planned.

I think doing fasted cardio is kinda counter-intuitive for a bulk, but that's just me...