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Thread: Your opinon on Low Intensity Cardio

  1. #1
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    Default Your opinon on Low Intensity Cardio

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    Hi Coach,

    I am simply wondering your opinion on low intensity cardio, specifically an incline walk on a treadmill or outdoors a few times per week, keeping your heart rate in the 130 or so range for 20 to 30 minutes. Do you think this would be detrimental in any way to gains made on the Starting Strength Diet/Training program? What are the benefits in your opinion?

    Thank you very much for your time

    Brute

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    How are you a Senior Member on this board without knowing this?

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    Didn't mean to ask the obvious, Coach, I was just looking for a short simple response to clear up an argument.

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    What's the argument?

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    Whether low intensity cardio 3 times per week would be any hindrance whatsoever to strength/weight gains in the SS program? Do you believe that it allows for a greater recovery capacity and overall recovery ability during and after workouts?

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    I can't believe someone asked that. My natural reaction was to duck as soon as I read it...........

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    It's been discussed a thousand times. Recovery capacity is finite, the adaptations are at opposite ends of the metabolic spectrum, weight must be gained, etc. How could it possibly improve recovery?

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    Probably the same way that light/"GPP" or "feeder" workouts are known to enhance recovery, if I had to guess: by getting the muscles in question working, getting blood flowing through them, and doing it w/o impacting recovery.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    It's been discussed a thousand times. Recovery capacity is finite, the adaptations are at opposite ends of the metabolic spectrum, weight must be gained, etc. How could it possibly improve recovery?
    There is another thread raging on this forum that is, in your vernacular, silly. I said that I was considering doing some form of cardio. I did not say that you think cardio improves recovery. I did state a hazy recollection that you said, "cardio two or three times a week is fine; your heart is a muscle too" (paraphrasing). I later searched the forum and SS2E and couldn't find it, but from the search results I did find, it is clear that IF you said this, you were probably advocating metcons.

    I am out of breath and my heart is pumping fast after a heavy squat set. To the point where I think it might be contributing to why I'm stuck. I'm considering an additional metcon or even sneaking in 20-30 minutes on a treadmill in the morning might be useful. Not because it improves recovery, but because it might help me get through heavy sets. I already do CF Football, so I do get a decent, strength-biased metcon in on most days. But it doesn't seem my heart is keeping up.

  10. #10
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    Hey Mark,

    I'm pretty new to weight training. I've been at it for barely more than a half year and I've probably averaged 2x/wk in the gym. I'm not your typical athlete (I'm more like your typical computer engineer). I find that an easy-paced 3k really helps my muscles relax the day after a new PR day at the gym (which is every gym day on linear progression). I don't push myself to exhaustion so I think this just helps my untrained crappy muscles to get some blood flow and stop cramping up. I find it helps me get back to the gym sooner ready to push harder.

    I'm not doing it to lose weight and I'm surely pounding back more calories than i'm using before and after that short run.

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