Hello all,
I would like tips, or to be pointed to good resources, on programming for conditioning. The two main forms of conditioning I have available to me are pushing my car up and down an asphalt playfield, and running a substantial set of outdoor stairs--which at my present level of conditioning means running them one step at a time or walking them two steps at a time. (Of course plain old walking is another option, or jogging if I bought shoes, or air squats, etc.) Pushing the car the length of the field, or climbing the whole flight of stairs, probably takes one minute and leaves me winded enough I take several minutes or rest--or more--between sets. I'm 49, 6'6", about 255 with a bit of a gut. I'd like to get in good enough condition to play pickup basketball without getting gassed.
I found that SS's approach to strength training yields excellent gains, and I am wondering if there is a similarly efficient approach to conditioning. What's the best way to apply the SRA cycle to conditioning? E.g., assuming pretty intense intervals like I've been doing is the best approach, how many days a week is best? Should I try to do more sets, longer sets, do the sets faster, or do them with less rest--what's the best way to incrementally increase the stress to drive adaptation?
I am interested the best conditioning approach when concurrent barbell strength training is not in the picture.
Thanks.
Tom
Yes, I have read that piece and I accept that it is true. However, my question is, assuming that strength training is not in the picture, what is the most efficient approach to conditioning?
The piece Rip linked to says "Conditioning, on the other hand, develops very quickly and goes away just as fast... A young, healthy guy can get in pretty good shape to run in about 2 weeks." Ok. Let's assume our trainee is already srong, but now has an endurance task coming up soon and wants to go through that very quick process of developing conditioning. Maybe our trainee isn't so young. What's the most efficient and effective program for quickly developing that conditioning?
I am asking this question here because I've been so impressed by how effective SS protocols are for building strength--you know, all those people who get build more strength in 2-3 months of NLP than they did in years of dinking around with dumb bells. I am wondering if there are similarly effective protocols for conditioning. If there aren't, there aren't.
The two adaptation processes are fundamentally different.
The program will depend somewhat on the specific endurance task as you will need to have some specificity to that event in your training, but as Rip said, this type of training will work against your strength adaptations, so you should seek to get the biggest bang for your buck while doing the least damage to your strength. Along these lines, focus on high intensity interval training with exercises that don't have a ton of loaded eccentrics (e.g., prowler, rower, etc.).
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The first time or two that I ran stairs instead of pushing my car I got quite sore, whereas pushing the car didn't make me sore even the first time. I think the difference is that running back down the stairs is an eccentric movement.
Yes, thanks. I understand that conditioning/endurance adaptations are different from and opposed to strength adaptations, and that HIIT training is best, that specificity to the event being trained for matters, and that avoiding eccentric movements is a good way to get the training in without unproductive soreness and fatigue. That's all good stuff.
But beyond that, any advice on how best to structure and incrementally increase the stimulus for conditioning? For strength, we know that for a novice, one should do three sets across for most exercises, adding weight each session (rather than, say, adding reps, or sets), ncreasing the rest period when necessary to permit further increases in weight, training 3X week, eating a lot to fuel growth.
What would be the corresponding parameters for conditioning using HIIT? More sets, more distance, completing the same distance faster, less rest? How many days/week for the best work/reward tradeoff? Does eating a lot help fuel growth and recovery for conditioning?
Thanks.
Tom
There will be more customization here depending on the specific event/sport and the time duration of that activity, so I can't give universal specifics like we have for SS NLP. However, generally speaking you are going to increase volume over time (shorter workouts and then adding more of these over time) and decrease rest time over time. So, you could start with 1:3 work rest intervals and progress to 3:1 over time. You could also begin with just 2 of those intervals in a workout and then progress to 5. Depending on the specific activity you are training for work/rest times and training volume can be tweaked much more precisely.
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