This is one of those subjects I am embarrassed to say that I felt differently about when I first started training. I had a bad uninformed opinion that if I did cardio I would lose weight (and at that time I wanted to gain weight).
And I wanted to gain weight that I avoided cardio at all costs.
Well, safe to say I was very, very wrong.
In reality, If I added some cardio into my routine results would have been accelerated by a significant amount.
Whether the goal is to look better at the beach, be healthier, lose weight, or gain weight, working on your cardiovascular health will have a positive impact. And these benefits are not just due to the calorie burn.
Most of the benefits will be tied into your heart health, recovery, overall health of your body, and the ability for your body to handle more stress.
So yes, long story short, you should do cardio.
What Types Of Cardio Should You Do?
#1 LISS Cardio
The main form of cardio that I like to follow is LISS cardio, or low intensity steady state cardio. This can be something that is done on a daily basis such as a walk or hike.
Something where you are sticking to a certain pace, not over pushing yourself, and adding some movement into your day.
With LISS, I like to add it in 5-7 days per week for 30-60 minutes. It is very easy to perform for two reasons
- No equipment required
- No technical skill required
Just get up and move
Forms of LISS cardio:
- Walking
- Hiking
- Biking
- Swimming
- Kayaking
- Jogging (if you are a proficient runner)
#2 Conditioning Work
Now I am lumping a lot of things into only two categories because I want to keep these ideas actionable. If we have too many ideas and options It becomes overwhelming and nothing gets done.
So think of the conditioning work as a higher intensity compared to the lower intensity steady state cardio. LISS is done 5-7 days per week, your higher intensity conditioning work is done 1-2 days per week.
These sessions will last 20-45 minutes and can be done on their own or in conjunction with a strength training session. For most of my clients we will add a 15-20 minute session to the end one of their strength workouts and then have a 30-45 minute conditioning session later in the week.
This type of work will have your heart rate varying up and down throughout, so rest will play a role here.
The way I like to plan most of these sessions is with 4-5 exercises. Those exercises are at your discretion. Many templates I lay out for this type of work will be a full body style with the addition of a piece of “cardio equipment” (air bike, rower, ski-erg, jacob’s ladder)
Example:
1a. Airdyne
1b. Farmers walk
1c. Med ball chest pass
1d. Isometric ring row
Now with these exercises we can get creative with the work/rest ratios.
We might have a set time for work and rest, 30 seconds on 15 seconds off. Or maybe having a time limit and seeing how many rounds we can finish in that time. We also use EMOMs to keep a set duration until the next exercise.
Whatever the case may be for that session, we want the heart rate to rise and fall under control.
Here are a few other examples that I like to use for these sessions:
Sled Complex:
80’ sled push
80’ sled pull
80’ sled drag
5-8 rounds, :30 rest between each
Barbell Complex:
Front squat x2
Push press x2
Clean and press x2
10 rounds, 1:00 rest between each round
Power Combo:
Box jump x4
Underhand med ball toss x4
8-10 rounds, :45 rest between exercises
Full Body:
Goblet squat x10
Inverted row x10
Push-up x10-20
Farmers carry 100’
30-45 minutes, 2:00 rest after each round
Get creative with your conditioning work, you shouldn’t be dreading these sessions.
Find a schedule where you can add these things every week.
If you are doing 3-workouts per week. You could have two strength focused workouts and one session dedicated to conditioning. Or have two sessions split with strength and conditioning and one session a full strength day.
Now if you are following a 4-day per week plan, I like having one session split with conditioning and strength, one day dedicated to conditioning, and two other strength focused sessions.
With that, we don’t skip our LISS cardio!
Get your cardio in each week, see how your results begin to change (hopefully for the better)
In good health,
Jeff
