Conditioning

[Reefboy1980]

What is conditioning & how do i incorperate that into my routine?

I'm currently cutting & doing the SL 5x5 programme but because of the calorie deficit my muscles aren't recoved by the next time i hit the gym. I'm thinking of just doing the SL 5x5 to twice a week & doing some kind of conditioning workout in between once i figure out what it is.

Can anyone recommed a conditioning workout to benerfit my SL programme?

[SecondsOut]

welcome to the forum!

first, watch this video by Bearded Beast of Duloc/BendtheBar (he owns Muscle & Brawn) about programs. you really need to listen to him before you start making changes:



if you want to speak directly to him, here's his Q&A thread: Q&A with BBOD
i'm not sure how advanced you are. are you sure that you should be cutting? BBoD/BtB also has plenty to say about that:



second, there are some members here who are currently incorporating conditioning work into their programs. you might want to check them out.

jdmalm123: Spam pictures of my biceps. Whatever.
dossas: My First Training/Diet Log
Cintron: My Training Log to Dytmatize 100K Challenge (especially check out the vids on his 1st page)

[Reefboy1980]

I've seen this video & it's one of the reasons i came to this forum.

I'm happy with the programme & it's not failing in fact quite the opposite, whilst cutting i'm still getting stronger. My issue really is my muscles just aren't recovering as quickly as they would be if i was on a calorie surplus.
I'm thinking i would be better only training twice a week & doing some conditioning / cardio in between the workouts to give my muscles more time to recover.
Once i've finished with the cut i'll be going back to doing the SL 5x5 3 times a week

[Off Road]

If you haven't done too much conditioning work, I'd start with brisk walking for a half hour to an hour.

After that you can walk for a bit to warm up and then run some short sprints. Start out with 20 yard sprint, maybe 10 of them. Your rest period between sprints will be the walk back to the starting line. Work up slowly to 40 yard sprints. So maybe the next time out you run (9) 20 yards and (1) 30 yards. Next time (8) 20 yards and (2) 30 yards. Once you've hit all at 30 yards, then do (9) 30 yards and (1) 40 yards.

After that you can run those sprints on an incline (hill sprints) or add in more conditioning starters; like performing 10 mountain climbers and immediately get up and sprint 40 yards. One of my favorites is to start with a few burpies and immediately run 40 yards. These are butt-kickers.

My absolute favorite conditioning tool is the Prowler. It's an evil torture device but it's really fun to use. My kids love it too and it's their favorite part of their workouts. I throw on 90 lbs and push it 20-30 yards , twice. Then throw on another 90 lbs (total 180) and repeat. Then another 90 lbs (total 270) and repeat. Then I strip off 90 lbs and repeat. Then strip another 90 lbs and do the last two pushes.

You can get creative with all this conditioning stuff and make it fun. You can use jump ropes, barbell complexes, or even calisthenics. You can mix it up too, do relays with a Prowler, Farmers Walk, and Tire flipping. Load 45 lb plates into the back of a truck, hit a sledgehammer against a tire, and run some hills. Do Power Cleans and then hit a heavy bag for 3 minutes. The possibilities are endless, find something you enjoy and sucks the energy out of you

[Soldier]

Hill sprints. Find the steepest, longest hill you can, warm up plenty, then sprint up the hill like your life depends on it. do that 5-20 times and you'll get plenty of conditioning. This is as good as it gets if you don't have a prowler or sled to pull.

[SecondsOut]

Originally Posted by Reefboy1980

I'm happy with the programme & it's not failing in fact quite the opposite, whilst cutting i'm still getting stronger. My issue really is my muscles just aren't recovering as quickly as they would be if i was on a calorie surplus.

sorry, but that doesn't make sense. how are you getting stronger but not recovering? i posted 2 videos, not 1. you should watch the 2nd one. also, i posted a link to BBoD's thread...i will say that i don't see how you think conditioning will help you make more gains when you're not eating enough food. how is more exercise the answer to the fact that you're not eating enough food? lol...

I'm thinking i would be better only training twice a week & doing some conditioning / cardio in between the workouts to give my muscles more time to recover.
Once i've finished with the cut i'll be going back to doing the SL 5x5 3 times a week

i dunno, man. it's up to you; you need to do what feels right to you. but when you talk about messing with a written program, it sounds like a bad idea. once again, i urge you to watch both videos and speak with BBoD directly. unless i'm missing something, it sounds like you're getting your goals crossed up and program hopping. again i ask, are you sure you should even be cutting? we don't know anything about your stats, diet, etc.

[Off Road]

To add to this. . .

I think conditioning is really important because it will allow you to recover quicker between lifting sets and allow fuller recovery between workout days. Also, a healthy body will use calories more efficiently and make your workouts more productive. You'll also have the energy to get through longer and tougher lifting sessions.

If conditioning is a priority, then lifting has to be reduced a bit; you can't serve two masters. In that case lifting 2 days and conditioning 3 days seems to be effective. Once a certain level of conditioning is achieved, then you can reduce it and maintain while adding back in a lifting day.

Seeing that you are cutting calories at the moment, your workouts won't be nearly as effective as when you are in a calorie surplus. I see this as a great time to reduce lifting days (which is still effective) and work on some general conditioning.

[Reefboy1980]

Originally Posted by SecondsOut

sorry, but that doesn't make sense. how are you getting stronger but not recovering? i posted 2 videos, not 1. you should watch the 2nd one. also, i posted a link to BBoD's thread...i will say that i don't see how you think conditioning will help you make more gains when you're not eating enough food. how is more exercise the answer to the fact that you're not eating enough food? lol...



i dunno, man. it's up to you; you need to do what feels right to you. but when you talk about messing with a written program, it sounds like a bad idea. once again, i urge you to watch both videos and speak with BBoD directly. unless i'm missing something, it sounds like you're getting your goals crossed up and program hopping. again i ask, are you sure you should even be cutting? we don't know anything about your stats, diet, etc.

Cheers guys, i think i'll cut the workout down to 2 & improve on conditioning or i could try 5x3

I'm not sure what you don't understand. Yes i'm getting stronger but the recovery is taking longer than before i was cutting, my muscles feel like they need at least 72 hours before hitting weights again. I'm sure once i've finished & started increasing calories recovery will be fine. I never said i was looking for gains as my priority is drop BF to my desired level & then start to bulk slowly

Should i even be cutting, well if i'm not entirely happy with my BF levels then i guess the answer is yes

My diet is fine as it's been working for me for the last 10 weeks without losing much if any muscle

[big_swede]

Originally Posted by Soldier

Hill sprints. Find the steepest, longest hill you can, warm up plenty, then sprint up the hill like your life depends on it. do that 5-20 times and you'll get plenty of conditioning. This is as good as it gets if you don't have a prowler or sled to pull.

Agreed, simple does it!!

[austin.j.taylor]

I do all my lifting then pick some sort of conditioning that wont interfere with the next days workout. Hill sprinting the day before squats is a no go. As a general rule I keep it short and intense. If you are doing 5X5 you might want to look at sled dragging as an active recovery/conditioning tool. You can make a sled cheap from an old tire and drag it around.