How to fit cardio in alongside heavy lifting

Wheelhouse15

reisbaron wrote: »

If your cardio sessions are going to be that short, the most bang for your buck is HIIT (High-Intensity-Interval-Training)...basically sprint bursts with "rest" periods at a normal, steady pace. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 10 minutes is far more effective for maximum cardio benefit in short time periods vs. steady pace throughout. So increasing duration may not be as important as what you're doing with your time.

The most popular HIIT training method is the "Tabata" protocol, 4 minutes total, 20 seconds full blast sprint, 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds. Try it and you'll be shocked at what a 4-minute workout can do to you. You can do this with anything you choose...running, stepper, elliptical, rowing, air squats, box jumps...the exercise is not necessarily as important as the intensity of the sprint periods. As far as developing glutes, that's what squats and deadlifts are for. Don't worry about building strength with cardio. You'll likely just be spinning your wheels (pun intended).

Actually, the true Tabata is not a rest but a low intensity interval mixed with max intensity and is best suited to wind sprints and biking. Of course, even elite endurance athletes tend to throw up after this type of training so the rest version is probably best lol.

pondee629

rainbowbow wrote: »

StealthHealth wrote: »

pondee629 wrote: »

Between lifting sets, do some cardio work, jumping jacks (various varieties), burpees, jumping rope, mountain climbers, rapid high knees, anything to elevate your heart rate and keep it there.

If you put sufficient effort into the lifts then your "rest time" is going to have to be just that: rest. Otherwise, your next lift is going to be hopeless.

In my experience, mixing cardio and weights in this manner is a great way to do a poor job at both.

To be fair, you can superset with an activity using the same muscle group after lifting. EX. Bench press and inbetween sets performing a stability ball pushup or decline push up. Or performing squats, then performing box jumps.

BUT, there still needs to be a rest period in there (30-60 seconds) and this would be training specifically for muscular endurance/stabilization/neuromuscular efficiency, NOT hypertrophy, maximal strength, power, etc. You most definitely wont be lifting in the same weight range you would if you were just doing the typical lift>long rest>lift again.

It can be beneficial for those just beginning to lift who wish to burn more calories during their work out, and who need extra endurance/stability work before moving on to hypertrophy training. It's especially beneficial for those who have a weak core.

Yeah a rest period (30 -60 seconds) between your lifting set, and your cardio interval. Lifting, rest, cardio, rest, lifting, rest...

blues4miles

sijomial wrote: »

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

rybo wrote: »

Cardio negatively affecting strength gains in highly overblown. With a properly structured program there's plenty of room for both.

Totally agree!
Any interference is much more likely to come from an impact on recovery or gym performance from extreme / prolonged cardio or rather than the nonsensical idea some poeple have that cardio is going to feed off your muscles.

My preference is to keep strength and cardio work on separate days to focus on training quality but my cardio goals are more extreme (100+ mile cycle rides) than the OP's wish to improve general fitness.

Saw this article recently which may be of interest - there's some research links at the bottom of it....

http://www.theproteinworks.com/thelockerroom/article/tpw-spartan/how-cardio-affects-muscle

Cardio doesn't "eat" your muscle but the body does perference endurance training over strength training when you look at conversion of muscle fibre so when a muscle fibre is capable of converting between slow and fast twich it will prefernce slow. However, for most casual lifters there should be minimal effect.

Yep.
Unfortunately a lot of casual/recreational exercisers take out of context what the elite athlete (whether strength or cardio) has to do in terms of eliminating all compromise to get to the pinacle of their chosen sport.
Compromise is actually fine for the vast majority of people. I could be a slightly better cyclist if I dropped strength training, I could be marginally stronger if I dropped cycling. But overall I would lose more than I gained, the 80/20 rule if you like.

I concur with this.

drachfit

10 minutes is a great cooldown for lifting but not going to get your CV system very fit. true cardiovascular benefits only come from sustaining your heartrate beyond the 20-30 minute mark.

a mix of intervals (tabata, HIIT, whatever you want to call it) AND long, slow distance is necessary for maintaining well-rounded fitness in every energy system of the human body. usually a 1:3 ratio is best (1 interval workout for every 2-3 long distance workouts)

keep in mind intervals tax the same recovery systems as lifting, so space your interval work as far as possible from lifting.

i like doing cardio in the mornings and lift in the evenings. higher intensity cardio on my "rest" days from lifting. long/slow distance on the lifting days. i get some carbs and protein soon after cardio to replenish my system so i am at full capacity for lifting later in the day.