Approaching end of LP, wanting to add swings as cardio where should i place them?

[James72090]

5'9" M 24 218lbs at 28% bf

S 295 3x5
B 210 x5
P 1.0 115 3x5
DL 295 x5

I have PP3 i'm convinced i will move on towards Texas Method once i milk as much as possible out of my LP, right now i'm doing advanced novice in all my lifts except my DL. As outlined i am doing a new PR of 1x5 followed by a 2x5 at reduced weight and increasing time between my sets to 8 minutes. I've yet to decrease frequency to lifting every two days and decreasing volume to 3x3.

Starting a week ago i really been hammering my diet down as i was 224 and just by cutting out shit i've gone down to 218. I'm planning on a slow loss of 1lb a week until i'm near 190/185. I want to add cardio as i've been getting winded during latter sets of squats and around the 3rd rep of my deadlift. Typically in the past i would hike multiple times a week, but with a new job i can't take the time to hike 3+ miles with schedule.

This has lead me back to kettlebells (I have 2 adjustable up to 50lbs each) for cardio as swings are done relatively quickly and require staying tight and breath control. The only down side is that they hit my hamstrings hard giving my DOMS because my body is not adapted to them anymore.

So my question is how should i program swings so i adapt to them so they do not detract from my LP or should i wait until i'm doing TM for a few months and go from there?

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

You would just do them immediately after your weight training session. Don't do them on a rest day

[James72090]

okay thank you very much, for cardio purposes which variable should i change first: time between sets, increase in weight or duration?

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Any and all of those things

[millsy]

You would just do them immediately after your weight training session. Don't do them on a rest day

Andy, if you don't mind me asking what's the reasoning behind this? You read so many different opinions, Jim Wendler seems to advocate getting conditioning in whenever you can, Jordan seems to (iirc) recommend conditioning on 'rest' days (non-lifting days) depending on your goals, you are saying here not to do them on rest days. Is it just something that needs to be worked out based on goals/personal preference i.e one size does not fit all? Maybe I've just answered my own question.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Depends on the type of conditioning being done. High volume KB swings create a lot of soreness and fatigue in the back and hips. Do you wanna do that the day before you DL and/or squat heavy?

[RodChandler]

Andy,

What would you consider high volume on swings? I ask, because I too like using that as part of my conditioning tools and I know that for me personally it feels ( I know, I can *feel* like the moon is made of blue cheese, but that doesn't necessarily make it so) like the swings I do loosen me up and make my hamstrings and lower back feel better when I do them on the days I'm not lifting. I typically do 5 rounds of 30 seconds work followed by 90 seconds rest, so I'd say on average about 5 sets of around 25 swings give or take.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

If you do them on off days and there is no negative carryover, then I have no problem with you continuing to do that. High Volume in this instance is relative to the individual. It also depends on the weight of the kettlebell. I'm not really the expert Kettlebell guy. I use them on occasion at the gym with clients, and usually we build them up to between 100-200 swings per workout, generally as part of a circuit with other things.

[millsy]

Depends on the type of conditioning being done. High volume KB swings create a lot of soreness and fatigue in the back and hips. Do you wanna do that the day before you DL and/or squat heavy?

A very fair point. Makes perfect sense. Apologies for the textbook novice question!