Strength AND Conditioning

You’ve heard of Strength & Conditioning and have likely done some form of it. But, how many of us tend to focus only on the strength part? Hands up, come on, I know you have!

Strength training tends to be more enjoyable for MOST of us, but we do need the conditioning aspect too, for our health! So let’s talk about the often overlooked Conditioning side of Strength & Conditioning.

An in-depth understanding of conditioning methods and the science behind building elite conditioning will help you get better results in your workouts! Here are 4 methods to utilize for the conditioning side of your workouts:

Cardiac Power Intervals

If you’re looking to improve oxygen delivery at higher intensities and contractility of the cardiac muscle, cardiac power intervals can help you do both; here’s how to use them:

➡️Effort: 60-120 seconds

➡️Intensity: Hard

➡️Rest: 2-5 minutes or HR recovery to 120-130

➡️Volume: 4-12 efforts/rounds per session

An example here might be Spin Bike 1:30 on, 3:30 off, x6 efforts/rounds

Threshold Training

If you’re looking to increase your lactate threshold, threshold training can help you do just that; here’s how to use it:

➡️Effort: 3-10 minutes

➡️Intensity: Anaerobic threshold +/- 5 beats per minute

➡️Rest: 1-3 minutes

➡️Volume: 2-5 efforts/rounds per session

An example here might be Running 8:00 on, 2:00 off, x4 efforts/rounds