There is a BIG misconception that has been floating around for a long time in the lifting world that doing long bouts of cardio will kill your #GAINZ . Funny thing is that doing cardio when programmed correctly can actually HELP you in your lifting and performance in the gym. I always want you to understand the reason behind everything that I inform you about because knowledge is important! So in order to understand the value of steady-state cardio for lifters, we first need to understand what fuels our body. ATP is the most basic form of energy.
We have three main energy systems we rely on to produce ATP:
- ATP-PCr system: You can perform work for six to ten seconds at a time. It’s the fastest at producing energy, but requires more time to recover. Think SPRINT !
- Glycolytic: This system is the intermediate one. It can hit hard and fast like the ATP-PCr system, but can’t sustain that for more than about 120 seconds of true work. More like a 800 Meter Run for time !
- Aerobic: This bad boy is awesome when it gets going. It takes longer to get up and running, but it’s incredibly efficient, and you can count on it for hours at a time. Long distance cardio counts in this spot.
Now if your programming is done correctly for CrossFit, you notice that it varies in time lengths from QUICK wods like Fran to longer Chippers or Hero WOD’s like Murph. So by looking at how much workouts can vary in time and endurance, you can start to understand the value in working in all three of the energy systems. There is always that one workout that you see on the whiteboard and it “looks” easy but then all of a sudden your gassed out in the first round. It’s not the weights that make it hard but it’s your endurance !
A well-developed aerobic system makes for a better-conditioned athlete for two reasons:
- It is superior at cranking out ATP, which makes it excellent at fueling long bouts of exercise.
- It is superior at clearing metabolites and waste products which means faster recovery!
When it comes to serious lifting, the quality of our recovery can have big implications on our results. One major benefit during exercise is the increased blood flow which means there is an increased nutrient and oxygen delivery to the muscles. This also means a lower resting heart rate during periods of no exercise. If your heart can deliver more blood with less work, your performance and recovery will benefit.
It’s important to incorporate aerobic (LONG DURATION) training and here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:
- Don’t let your heart rate get above 85% of your max and work to stay within a 60-85% range. This can ensure that your not overly taxing your body in an anaerobic state.
- You don’t need to spend hours to get the necessary aerobic adaptions. Three or four thirty-minute sessions per week are plenty to achieve results.
- Get cardio in on your off days or as far away from strength training as possible. If hypertrophy is your main goal, it’s wise to perform cardio on non-lifting days in order to spare as much muscle tissue as possible. If you absolutely must perform cardio on lifting days, look to keep the two sessions as far apart as possible. If you lift in the mornings, perform cardio in the evenings or vice versa.
So next time you fear doing longer cardio conditioning sessions, just remember that last time you were trying to catch your breath in a workout that was longer than 10 minutes and you will be reminded of how this is going to IMPROVE all areas of your performance in the gym !
Reference
http://www.strongfitnessmag.com/training/
http://breakingmuscle.com/hypertrophy/cardio-doesnt-kill-gains-and-you-should-be-doing-it