HIIT is helping my lifts im sure of it

[danlightbulb]

Hello.

I recently started doing HIIT on the C2 rower twice a week, as I had got a bit podgy around the middle and been feeling very sluggish since gaining weight. Only been doing this about 2 weeks. Since Ive been doing it, my lifts have been feeling more and more powerful. Ive been able to power through my squats better and hold my back tighter on the deadlift. I also don't run out of energy so quickly which is especially noticeable on the deads.

I had done a deload due to illness, so thats obviously a factor too, but I'm really hoping to be able to power past my previous maxes.

Why is this not in the standard program, in fact, why is cardio actually seen to be frowned upon? Is it because that Rip assumed most people in the target age group would be doing some cardio anyway and therefore be better conditioned anyway? Like the high school football player type?

Thanks

[Karl Schudt]

For novices, the 3x5 squats will provide conditioning enough, in most cases. Cardio in general is frowned upon because it interferes with strength gains. HIIT does not, and so, if you are going to do something, do it.

[Tennisgolfboll]

Interesting.

Report back if you crush your old PRs.

[John Hanley]

Just a quick sidenote: "Death by Prowler" is one of the best intructional pieces I've ever read regarding conditioning. I certainly don't think conditioning is frowned upon by the Aasgaard peeps.

[Cody]

If you lack sufficient conditioning to make it through your work set and adequately recover before your next begins, it would intuit that improving that ability would be beneficial. In this case, you lacked the afore mentioned base of conditioning, so doing a bit of HIIT has improved your inter- and intra-set recovery to a sufficient level to make it through your training session.

Any conditioning above and beyond that basic level draws upon your finite recovery capacities and interferes with your ability to maximize your strength training. Most active adults already possess the minimum conditioning required, and it improves as you train in proportion to the necessary level by necessity. That's why it's not included in the novice progression, and there is plenty of time to add it in once you have reached the intermediate level of training advancement.

[danlightbulb]

If you lack sufficient conditioning to make it through your work set and adequately recover before your next begins, it would intuit that improving that ability would be beneficial. In this case, you lacked the afore mentioned base of conditioning, so doing a bit of HIIT has improved your inter- and intra-set recovery to a sufficient level to make it through your training session.

Any conditioning above and beyond that basic level draws upon your finite recovery capacities and interferes with your ability to maximize your strength training. Most active adults already possess the minimum conditioning required, and it improves as you train in proportion to the necessary level by necessity. That's why it's not included in the novice progression, and there is plenty of time to add it in once you have reached the intermediate level of training advancement.

When I started lifting I came from mountain biking, which is a little bit like HIIT, in that you have spurts of power (for short steep hills and fast descents) and its total body (manhandling the bike around with your bodyweight at speed). But I stopped all this when I began novice progression 9 months ago. I also gained 30lb. I think I needed the HIIT now, it was my time.

Nailed it. Better inter-set recovery.

Yeah thats certainly how it feels, so the HIIT was definately worth doing for me. I think I might drop it to once a week though, because I can feel my belt getting a little looser already, don't want to use up too many calories that I need for the lifting.

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

For novices, the 3x5 squats will provide conditioning enough, in most cases. Cardio in general is frowned upon because it interferes with strength gains. HIIT does not, and so, if you are going to do something, do it.

This depends on modality

Anecdote: I do sprints immediatly after 2 of my 3 workout days: I sprint across the 3 basketball courts at gym in the Y and then stop, turn around and sprint back. Each back and forth cycle takes 21 - 26 seconds, and I start a new cycle at 0, 2,4,6,8 and 10 minutes on the timer. These most defiantly can interfere with my leg strength recovery. In fact about half of the time, I am taking 3 days recovery instead of 2 in order to keep gaining strength. I love running, so this is a tradeoff I am willing to take until the weather gets better and I can return to hill sprints and start prowler work.
On a positive note, I am no longer winded when walking quickly, jetting up a few flights of stairs or playing tag around the house with my daughter's ferrit. It only took a few weeks of HIIT to notice a HUGE difference in conditioning.

43 Years old, 5-10, 200 pounds and intermediate level on the barbell.

[Karl Schudt]

Yeah. Running is hard on recovery because of the eccentric loading.

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

ya, and I get a double dose, as each sprint consists of an up and a back. Oh well, I take 3 days sometines instead of 2 for recovery to compensate, but I love running. Once the weather breaks, I will go back to my hill sprints and start to use my prowler.