Introduction
Strength Training is predominantly based around increasing the 1RM of a select few lifts: usually the squat, bench and deadlift. The 1RM typically takes no more than 10 seconds to perform, and most training programs are specifically tailored to this 1RM goal. However, adding in conditioning may be very useful (or not, as I’ll discuss in the next section), and may help with strength gains or improve your general health.
Cardio and Strength Training: Do you need cardio?
There are a number of pros and cons to adding cardio to a strength training workout. Most of them are, however, pretty common-sense:
Pros:
- Improved cardiovascular health: Adding conditioning to your routine can lower your resting heart rate, and improve your body’s ability to transport oxygen and nutrients to working muscles.
- Enhanced recovery: Incorporating conditioning can increase blood flow to your muscles and help them recover faster between training sessions.
- Better endurance: Building your aerobic capacity through conditioning can help you perform better during high-rep sets, longer training sessions and recover between sets.
- Variety: Adding conditioning workouts can help to break up the monotony of a strictly strength-focused training program and keep you motivated.
Cons:
- Risk of overtraining: If you’re not careful, adding too much conditioning to your routine can lead to overtraining and negatively impact your strength gains.
- Potential for muscle loss: If you’re not careful, excessive cardio can lead to muscle loss, which can be detrimental for lifters who rely on muscle mass to lift heavy weights.
- Time constraints: Adding conditioning to your routine can add extra time to your workouts, which may not be feasible for everyone.
I’d usually recommend adding conditioning to some extent for most people, if only because of the general health improvements and increased recovery between sets, especially as the “Cons” can be managed.
Some expectation management though: no amount of conditioning will get you a 600lb deadlift – only a lot of strength training will. Conditioning should be done in addition to strength training, but whilst I recommend it, it is not necessary.
The different cardio options
There are numerous types of options for getting in cardio. Cardio can include high intense sprints or similar (such as 30 seconds ‘sprint’ on a rowing machine), to sled dragging, to doing a bodyweight conditioning circuit.
The main aim for adding cardio to strength training is to get your heart rate up and keep it there. For this reason, I am going to give you a number of different options you can try, and I recommend choosing the one which sounds most appealing to you, as they will all be effective in achieving the desired goal.
Bodyweight Circuits
Bodyweight circuits are an efficient and convenient way to incorporate cardio and strength training into your workout routine. With minimal equipment needed, bodyweight circuits can be customized to fit your fitness level and goals. To create a conditioning routine, choose two or more bodyweight exercises and perform them consecutively with little or no rest in between. You can structure your workout by time or reps and perform several rounds to create a set.
I like to categorise bodyweight circuits into two different types: “general conditioning” and “benchmarking conditioning.” General conditioning circuits are designed for overall fitness and involve performing a specific bodyweight circuit and set number of times for a specific length of time. Benchmarking conditioning circuits are used to track progress and to determine how many rounds you can complete within a given time. Examples of benchmarking circuits include doing as many rounds of 100 step-ups, 20 push-ups, and 10 burpees within 15 minutes. A simple general conditioning circuit may be to perform 5 two minute rounds consisting of 30 seconds of burpees alternating with 30 seconds of shadow-boxing. For benchmarking conditioning you are doing as much as you can (essentially an AMRAP), for general conditioning you are performing a specific number of sets.
Exercise choices should be based on your fitness goals, and you should select exercises that do not interfere with your strength training. You can also add some strength-based exercises for neglected muscle groups, such as pull-ups or kettlebell swings. All exercises can be modified to be more cardio-focused, such as performing push-ups from the knees or assisted pull-ups.
Here are some exercises to choose from for creating bodyweight circuits:
Cardio-focused exercises:
Burpees
Mountain Climbers
Squat Thrusts
Lunges
Shadow-boxing
Jogging on the spot with high knees
Step-ups
Squat Jumps
Jumping Jacks
Plank Jacks
Stair runs (run up and down the stairs in your house!)
Medicine Ball Slams
Strength focus exercises:
Squats
Push-ups
Plank variants (elbows to knees; shoulder taps)
Pull-ups/Chin-ups
Dumbbell / Kettlebell Swings
Dumbbell / Kettlebell Cleans
Turkish-get-ups with Dumbbell/Kettlebell
Sit-ups
Planks
All exercises can be adjusted to become cardio-focused. For example, burpees can be completed without the push-up or jump at the end to remove the impact on your knees. Push-ups can be done from the knees, and pull-ups can be assisted with your feet to keep the emphasis on cardio rather than strength and minimize interference.
Some example circuits you can try:
General conditioning circuits:
Example 1
Burpee x 30 seconds
Mountain Climber x 30 seconds
Jumping Jacks x 30 seconds
Burpee x 30 seconds
Mountain Climber x 30 seconds
Jumping Jacks x 30 seconds
Repeat 4 times with 1 minute rest.
Example 2
Step-ups x 30 seconds
Plank Jacks x 30 seconds
Push-ups x 30 seconds
Burpees x 30 seconds
Repeat 6 times with 30-60 second rest
Example 3
Burpee x 30 seconds
Shadow-box x 30 seconds
Burpee x 30 seconds
Shadow-box x 30 seconds
Repeat 5 times with 30-60 second rest
Example 4
5 Burpees
Push-ups x 30 seconds
Squat x 30 seconds
5 Burpees
Repeat 8 times with 1 minute rest.
Benchmarking conditioning circuits:
Example 1
50 step-ups
20 push-ups
10 Burpees
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes
Example 2
Burpee x 10
Run up/down stairs x 4
Shadow-box x 30 seconds
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes
Example 3
Burpee x 5
Push-ups x 10
Squat x 15
Pull-ups x 5
Perform 8 rounds as fast as possible
Example 4
Dumbbell Swing x 5 per arm
Dumbbell Clean x 5 per arm
Run up/down a stairs x 5
Burpee x 5
Repeat 6 times as fast as possible.
Barbell Complexes
An alternative option you can do instead of bodyweight circuits can include barbell complexes. Here you would get 1-2 barbells loaded up with a light weight and do some light barbell exercises turning them into a circuit. The emphasis here needs to be “light”, you are usually not adding in strength training here, you are adding in conditioning.
You’d set this up similar to bodyweight circuits, choosing some barbell exercises and creating a circuit of them. Generally, you’ll want to start with bigger full-body movements, such as cleans, front squats or lunges to tire you out, and then add in extra.
These could be any barbell exercise, but I’d suggest avoiding the competition lifts for now. A few exercise ideas:
Power Cleans (and variants)
Snatches (and variants)
Front squats
Push Presses
Lunges
Military Presses
You can add these into a single circuit, such as below:
Power-clean x 5
Front Squat x 5
Push-Press x 5
Lunge x 5
Military Press x 5
Rest 60 seconds and repeat (or do an AMRAP in 10 minutes).
Alternatively, you could combine all those into one big exercise so you will power clean the bar, do a front squat with it, the push press it, then lunge with it, followed by a military press, before lowering the bar to the floor, and that will be one rep. Do a set amount of reps before stopping.
This can also be combined nicely with bodyweight exercises:
Power-clean x 5
Front Squat x 5
Press x 5
Burpee x 5
Sit-up x 5
Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes
Another option may be:
Burpee x 30 seconds
Power-clean into front-squat into press into lunge – repeat for 1 minute.
Burpees x 30 seconds
Pull-ups x 30 seconds
Rest 1 minute. Repeat for 5 rounds.
I have read on some online forums of another interesting way to construct this – choose a few exercises in advance (such as power-cleans, pull-ups, burpees, sit-ups and push-ups) and then you construct the circuit as you are training. So you may start with power-cleans and then do burpees, at which point you get out of breath so you start doing some pull-ups followed by sit-ups, as you catch your breath and you may then add in more power-cleans and burpees to keep your heart-rate up and your breathing fast.
HIIT and LISS
We have two energy systems: Anaerobic and aerobic. The anaerobic energy system is the body’s way of producing energy quickly without oxygen. It uses stored energy sources like creatine phosphate and glycogen to fuel high-intensity activities that last for short periods, such as weightlifting or sprinting. The aerobic energy system, on the other hand, uses oxygen to convert carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy over a longer period of time. It powers moderate-intensity activities that can be sustained for longer periods, such as jogging, cycling, or swimming at an easy pace.
LISS (low-intensity steady-state) training primarily targets the aerobic energy system. It involves performing low-intensity activities, such as jogging or cycling, for an extended period of time, which allows the body to burn stored fats and carbohydrates for energy. LISS improves endurance, cardiovascular health, and helps reduce body fat. It might typically be completed at 65-80% of your max heart rate (zone 2), or where you are able to speak in short sentences.
HIIT (high-intensity interval training) targets both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. It involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by periods of rest or low-intensity exercise. This causes the body to use both energy systems, which results in increased endurance, improved cardiovascular health, increased metabolism, and reduced body fat. It will typically be completed at 85+ plus of your max heart rate, or where you can only speak singular words or struggle to speak at all.
The bodyweight circuits and barbell complexes above tend to focus on the aerobic system, although there will be some degree of cross over to the anaerobic system. It can be beneficial to do training that specifically targets one of these energy systems, for example you may do one session of LISS per week and one session of HIIT per week.
LISS is quite easy to program. You can simply hop on an exercise machine for 20-30 minutes training an intensity where you can speak in short sentences. Alternatively you could create a bodyweight circuit or barbell complex with easier exercise variations allowing you to keep going at a steady and constant pace for 20-30 minutes. Personally, I am quite fond of rucking – load up a weighted back-pack with about 10% of bodyweight, and go for a fast paced walk over hilly terrain.
HIIT can also be quite easy to program if you have an exercise machine. An example HIIT workout would be:
20 seconds full-out sprint (this could be running, biking, rowing etc.,).
Rest 110 seconds
Repeat 5-10 times
The sprint would generally be 20-30 seconds, and the rest 90-120 seconds. Note that the sprint is meant to be HARD and a real serious effort.
I’d generally suggest doing these for time, usually 30 seconds, but aiming for a rep target is viable as well.
If you don’t then have an exercise machine a few examples of the sprints could include:
Continuous all out effort on a punch bag
Burpees as fast as possible
Tuck jumps as fast as possible
Jumping over a loaded barbell as fast as possible.
If you don’t have a cardio machine and don’t want to go running, then some bodyweight movements can be tricky to get intense enough to get you into the zone 5 (90%+) heart rate usually associated with challenging HIIT. This is still fine though! You can train at a slightly lower intensity (still going as hard and fast as possible) for slightly longer, so doing 30-60 second bursts instead of 20-30 seconds. This will still train your anaerobic system.
Using Sleds
Another option for combining cardio and strength training is the use of sleds. Sled-dragging or sled-pulling is a popular conditioning tool used by athletes, and is a traditional method of conditioning within some powerlifting circuits (such as westside). The sled can be loaded with weights and pulled or pushed along the ground, making it a versatile training tool that can be used for various types of workouts.
As well as improving cardiovascular fitness due to requiring a sustained effort and increased heart rate, Sled-dragging also improves lower-body strength and power. It works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, helping to increase muscle mass and improve explosive power. However, this does increase the amount of work performed by the lower-body, so excessive use may impact your strength training.
There are several ways to perform sled-dragging workouts. A simple sled-dragging workout could involve attaching a sled to a harness around the waist and walking forward while dragging it behind you for a specified amount of time. This type of workout can be used as a warm-up or a low-intensity conditioning exercise.
Another sled-dragging workout is the backwards sled drag, which involves attaching the sled to a harness around the waist and walking backwards while dragging it. This tends to target the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.
For a more intense sled-dragging workout, the sled can be loaded with heavier weights and pushed or pulled at a faster pace. One example is the prowler push, which involves pushing the sled along the ground for a set distance or time. Another example is the sled pull, which involves pulling the sled behind you using a rope or handle.
When performing sled-dragging workouts, it’s important to consider the speed and load of the sled. For beginners or those looking for low-intensity conditioning, a slower pace and lighter weight may be appropriate. However, for more advanced athletes, heavier loads and faster speeds can be used to increase the challenge and intensity of the workout.
Fun Alternatives
Finally, adding cardio and strength training together does not need to be monotonous or boring. The basic aim of cardio is to raise your heart rate and keep it there for a period of time. This can be done by specifically targeting an energy system (e.g. HIIT or LISS), or can be more simply achieve by doing circuits essentially as cardio. However, another fun and easy way to perform conditioning is to simply find some cardio videos on youtube and watch them. Searching “20 minute low-impact bodyweight cardio” in youtube brings up loads of results. Get creative in what you are searching for, and feel free to cut short some videos or perform easier exercises as needed.
You can look for basic cardio focused videos, or videos that focus on specific sports/skills, such as boxing (shout out to precisionstriking.com for his shadow-boxing videos), or even videos that focus on neglected muscle groups (such as videos that do circuits focusing on abs).
Alternatives could be basic cardio classes at gyms, such as spin classes, or things like “ab blasters” or “boxercise” style classes. You may want to check these out before you sign up to several though – they can be very long and tough, so may need careful programming.
Adding Optional Strength Work
Whilst I am writing about how to combine cardio and strength training, with an emphasis on cardio examples, it may be useful to perform some additional strength work just before your cardio workouts. For example, if you have a typical 3-day powerlifting split and are doing conditioning on a rest day, performing some extra work for your lats, arms and core and then doing some conditioning may be a viable option. A few examples of programming these are below:
Option #1
Perform a fixed number of sets for a fixed number of reps
Option #2
You can have a slightly lighter weight (e.g 70% of 1RM) and perform several sets, potentially at varying rep schemes.
For example, you could do a pyramid scheme using a weight at 70% for barbell curls:
4 reps
5 reps
6 reps
7 reps
6 reps
5 reps
4 reps
Options #3
Another option that I’ve seen Sheiko utilise is a “ragged pyramid” scheme:
4 reps
7 reps
5 reps
6 reps
4 reps
6 reps
5 reps
This is the same number of sets and reps as Option #2, but is often easier to perform.
Option #4
Another option is to choose a weight you can do for 10 reps, and perform as many reps as possible within a specific timeframe (I’d recommend 5-8 minutes).
Option #5
Specific bodyweight progressions. You can set an aim to achieve a specific bodyweight exercises and program for this. For example, you can do gradually more difficult pull-up variations aiming for a one-arm pull-up, or a dragon flag etc. I’d suggest checking out this reddit post for potential progressions.
Try to keep the exercise choices from impacting on the normal routine, so use things like pull-ups, lat pull-downs or cable rows, but not heavy Pendlay Rows.
An example of this programming could include:
Bicep cable curl – Max reps in 5 minutes
Triceps cable curl – Max Reps in 5 minutes
Lat Pull-Down – Ragged pyramid Scheme
Dragon Flag – bodyweight progression
Conditioning – bodyweight circuit.
To save time you can always include some strength exercises in the bodyweight circuit: for example you can add an emphasis of pull-ups to the bodyweight circuit and remove the upper-back exercise slot. Alternatively, you could superset of biceps and triceps to save more time.
Programming
As I’ve mentioned before, conditioning should be a supplement to strength training, meaning that the goal of programming conditioning should be fatigue management. The aim is to incorporate conditioning without increasing fatigue to a point where it affects your regular strength training.
Feel free to modify the conditioning workouts you’ve programmed based on how you feel. If you’re feeling particularly worn out, make the conditioning as easy as necessary. It is not recommended to entirely skip conditioning (except during competition periods), but rather reduce the intensity or frequency of the workouts.
During competition periods, you’ll want to decrease conditioning. You can reduce the intensity, frequency, or duration of conditioning during a competition block. For example, if you have a four-week competition block with two conditioning sessions per week, one option is to perform only one conditioning session for weeks one to two and eliminate it entirely for the final two weeks.
Here are a few ideas on how to fit conditioning into weekly microcycles:
3-day split example 1
Monday – Workout
Tuesday – LISS
Wednesday – Workout
Thursday – Rest
Friday – Workout
Saturday – HIIT
Sunday – Rest
3-day split (HLM Set-up) example 2
Monday – Workout – heavy day
Tuesday – rest
Wednesday – Workout (light day) + Cardio-focused bodyweight circuit for rounds
Thursday – Rest
Friday – Workout
Saturday – Barbell complexes, or circuit for time
Sunday – Rest
4-day split example 1
Monday – Workout
Tuesday – Workout + cardio-focused bodyweight circuit (General conditioning)
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Workout
Friday – Workout
Saturday – Sled pushing/pulling
Sunday – Rest
4-day split example 2
Monday – Workout
Tuesday – Workout
Wednesday – Cardio-focused bodyweight circuit for rounds
Thursday – Workout
Friday – Workout
Saturday – Sled workout
Sunday – Rest
Hopefully after seeing the above you’ll see how to combine cardio and strength training. Generally they’ll be performed on a rest day or just after a lighter day.
Programming for beginners to conditioning
If you’re new to conditioning, it’s recommended to start slowly. You may not be as fit as you think you are!
I suggest incorporating conditioning and GPP (general physical preparedness) work in three phases:
Phase 1: Add one conditioning session per week with a focus on lower intensity.
Phase 2: Add extra strength exercises (e.g., back/arm/ab work) to that conditioning day and include a second low-intensity conditioning day per week.
Phase 3: Change one of the conditioning sessions to higher intensity and add strength exercises to the extra conditioning day.
Each phase should last 2-3 weeks.