Marty Gallagher
As it turns out, strength training, done right, is all you need. Two-for-one deal: sustained strength, i.e., strength endurance, does double duty as cardiovascular exercise.
For decades I have been convinced that cardiovascular training is the necessary yin to strength training’s yang. I still do. Resistance training and aerobic training, to me, are two sides of the same fitness coin, i.e., resistance training builds and strengthens the external musculature while cardiovascular builds and strengthens the internal organs. Effective aerobic exercise jacks up the heart rate and sends torrents of blood coursing thru the body, strengthening and improving heart and lung function as surely as curls build and strengthen biceps.
You don’t optimize potential just being strong or just being fit, you need to be fit and strong. Optimally, to attain physiological gains on a regular and reoccurring basis, to improve both physique and performance, a cardiovascular training template and a resistance training template both need to be included, implemented, and executed in a balanced, evenhanded fashion. Both training types are needed to attain the radical physical transformation we all seek in return for our diligent fitness efforts.
A fundamental contention of transformational fitness is that cardio exercise needs to compliment weight training. The two training types need be inexorably intertwined: not one, not the other, both. Underpin serious cardio and serious resistance training with a well-thought-out, synchronized nutritional game plan. Set everything in motion using periodization and get plenty of restorative sleep to optimize recovery. We lift, we do cardio, we pay attention to what we eat, we don’t neglect the art and science of recovery.
My favored cardio mode is interval style cardio, i.e., burst maximally, recover, burst again, repeat for the duration of the session. I like to go all out, 100%, in various drills. I burst until oxygen debt and lactic acid burn shutdown the effort. I rest and repeat. Burst cardio modes vary: push-pull bike, running, torrid racquetball games, boxing drills, sprint swimming, jujitsu or wrestling, basketball, strongman drills, i.e., tire flips, fireman walks – all are valid examples of interval cardio. Burst cardio demands extreme muscular effort. Go until failure, rest, repeat.
Below are recent posts about strategies that can be used to amp up the heart rate.
My revelation came when it occurred to me that “burst” cardio and “sustained strength” are one in the same, identical. Any mode or method that qualifies as interval-style cardio also fits the exact definition of sustained strength. Ergo, there is no longer a need to profess that our strategy is to compliment strength training with cardiovascular training – henceforth, conceptualize the approach as 100% strength training. Engage in the three strength types – absolute, explosive, sustained – support and amplify with precision nutrition and deep rest.
Classically, cardiovascular exercise falls into two categories: steady-state or interval (burst) cardio. Steady state, as the name implies, is a protocol wherein the athlete begins the session and gradually warms to the task. Once core temperature is elevated, a steady pace is attained and then maintained for the duration of the session. Over time and with repetition, the pace of the pace is incrementally increased. By attaining a steady state, muscular contractions are minimized, optimizing oxygen usage. The goal of steady state is to glide.
Absolute Strength
Maximum payloads moved for short distances using low repetitions. Creates maximum muscle mass and brute power. Torque as opposed to horsepower.
Explosive Strength
Moderate payloads moved with maximum velocity for longer distances. Low repetitions for maximum CNS activation. Horsepower as opposed to torque.
Sustained Strength
Purposefully inject intense muscular contractions into an extended cardio format. MMA fighters call this type training, “building a bigger gas tank.” Burst, recover, repeat for extended durations.
By adhering to the characteristics and protocols that define each strength type, drills, tools, and modes can vary.
Redefining the template: Emphasis is shifted from championing the melding of cardio with strength training to championing the idea that strength training is all you need: sustained strength is identical to burst cardio. Apportion a proportional chunk of available training time to each of the three definable strength types. We are strength trainers that underpin the intense training with studied nutrition. Recovery acceleration techniques (hydrotherapies/massage) further amplify progress by quickening recovery, session to session.
Accused of bodybuilding: Superficially speaking, the strategy of combining weight training with cardiovascular training and supporting the training with a disciplined diet conforms to the bodybuilding template. Factually, while the overarching template is the same (weight train, regular cardio, precision nutrition) the particulars for each category differ dramatically and illustrate a radical difference between bodybuilding protocols and transformative strength training protocols. The generalized category heading might be the same, however the category specifics differ in every way.
Bodybuilding is divorced from performance:
The goal of bodybuilding is to enlarge muscle size while decreasing body fat. Any strength increases are purely coincidental. On the day of the bodybuilding competition, when the bodybuilder looks his best, he is drained, depleted, and unable to run 50 yards without toppling over. His artificially low body fat is unsustainable and weakening.
Strength athlete's sole goal is increased performance:
The goal of strength training is to peak strength and power and do so at a particular point in time (periodization.) Strength training improves performance, regardless the sport or format. Any increase in lean muscle mass is purely coincidental. On the appointed day, the strength athlete is at his peak, leaner, stronger, better able to perform all tasks.
Bodybuilding cardio:
Fasted cardio is bodybuilding SOP and quite effective. By engaging in a pre-breakfast cardio session, glycogen is exhausted, and body is then forced to oxidize body fat. The overriding goal of bodybuilding cardio (in close coordination with diet) is to burn off body fat, any improvement in fitness, health or athletic performance is purely coincidental.
Sustained strength cardio:
Sustained strength’s goal is to improve cardiovascular conditioning, and thus improve athletic performance. Any loss in body fat is purely coincidental. Fat loss is not the goal of sustained strength training; the goal is to increase and improve the ability to exert at an elevated level for extended periods without going into oxygen debt. Build a bigger gas tank – gas out later.
Bodybuilding nutrition:
The classical bodybuilding diet plan breaks the days calories into 5-8 equal amounts that are consumed at equidistant intervals throughout the day. No real attention is paid to the quality of the food-fuel. Bodybuilders weigh foods to determine exact portion sizes and micronutrients. Predetermined daily targets in protein/fat/fiber/starch/overall calories are established and adhered to.
Strength training nutrition:
Strength training nutrition is determined by the goal: need more brute power and lean muscle mass? That requires a specific nutritional strategy. Seeking to improve body composition, vis a vis reducing body fat while retaining muscle? That requires a completely different nutritional strategy. Regardless the direction, the strength athlete prizes food quality, organic proteins and produce.
The amalgamated strength training template: Bodybuilding’s high-volume muscle-pumping resistance training tactics are all about muscle inflation. Strength trainers seek power and strength from their resistance training, size increases are coincidental. Fasted cardio is an excellent tactic. Engage in sustained strength drills that do double duty as cardio. Bodybuilding nutrition is awash in exactitude yet turns a blind eye towards the quality, i.e., the purity of the foods eaten, and the drinks drank. The power training strength athletes consumes near unlimited amounts of quality foodstuffs, locally sourced, seasonally appropriate proteins and produce.
Balanced application: Pay homage to all three strength types each week. Underpin high-intensity strength training with a coordinated and appropriate nutritional diet plan. When seeking to add lean mass, increase the quantity of quality foods consumed; when seeking to lean out, reduce the quantity of quality foods consumed. Underpin the training and dietary effort with lots of regenerative sleep, deep REM rest, optimally augmented with periodic power naps. The growth cycle: blast the muscles, stress the cardiopulmonary internals past capacity, eat copious amounts of wholesome natural foods, sleep deep long and often. Do so on a regular and repeated basis and dramatic progress is a forgone conclusion.
To read more about our transformative philosophy check out the posts below.
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