I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas or start to their respective Holiday Season. Lisa and I are currently in the Dallas/Fort Worth area visiting family so I’ll be taking a brief hiatus from the website this week. Thankfully a few friends and colleagues were kind enough to pinch hit for me and provide some stellar content in my absence.
First up is Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean who’s written several excellent articles for this site in the past. Today he discusses “cardio” for meatheads.
Cardio For Meatheads
I despise traditional cardio.
I’d rather pour gasoline over myself and jump into a fire than run on a treadmill.
However, give me a barbell and a few weight plates and I’m happier than a pig in mud. Happier pigs make yummier bacon, and the World Health Organization should be dammed, just saying.
For the most part, I’ve been a guy who never really found it difficult to get lean.
However, this has been harder as I’ve gotten older. This creates a conundrum as strength training is no longer enough for me to drop fat, but joining those cardio bunnies on the dreadmill is never an option.
Since the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise are undisputed, and the theory that cardio eats muscle like termites through wood has been smashed to pieces (Alex Viada is a prime example), I should suck it up and join the masses, right?
With most gyms having battle ropes, kettlebells, and medicine balls, that’s never going to happen. After all, there are more interesting ways to get your sweat on instead of being held captive by the treadmill or elliptical.
The beauty of using these tools is it saves your joints from taking an unwanted pounding on the treadmill, and with little or no eccentric stress involved with the exercises below, you’re not likely to get sore afterwards which allows you to have your bacon and eat it, too.
The routines below are my go to cardio when training for strength or hypertrophy.
Insert these at the end of your training as a finisher or between strength training sessions in place of traditional cardio. Smile and wave at the cardio bunnies while you’re sweating because they’re probably wondering what the heck you’re doing.
1) Battle Ropes/Side Plank Combo
I borrowed these from the Sons of Strength, Eric and Ryan Johnson. This combination is brutally effective and a great way add some extra core work in.
Instructions – Do any variation (see video below for ideas) for 30 seconds and then immediately get into side plank. Make sure to breathe down into your belly and engage your glutes. Hold this for 30 seconds. Go back to the battle ropes for other 30 second interval and do the side plank on the opposite side. Repeat this sequence for 10 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QStcSUGBJ1I
2) Kettlebell Swings/RKC Front Plank
This is another combo I stole from the Sons of Strength. Holding a full tension plank after heavy kettlebell swings is a challenge you’re sure to enjoy.
Instructions – Do 20 Russian Style kettlebell swings and then immediately get into an RKC Front plank. Once you have hit full tension take 10 deep inhales (and exhales) while maintaining full tension. Repeat the kettlebell-plank sequence for 5- 10 rounds.
3) Kettlebell Swings/Medicine Ball Slam
This duo will get your heart racing because the heart is working double time pushing blood from the lower to the upper body and back again. As an added bonus your lungs will burn, which is a sure sign of a good time. It will help to channel your inner Hulk smash on the slams.
Instructions – Do this as a countdown superset. Do 20 reps each of the swings and the slams and go down by two each time you perform a round until you reach two reps for each exercise (for example 20-18-16-14….2). If you don’t have access to medicine balls, substitute in battle rope slams.
Note – You can mix and match these combinations to keep things interesting. For example
Swings- Side plank
Battle ropes- RKC front plank
4) 10 Minute Farmers Carry
Dan John is a believer that inefficient exercise (exercises you suck at) is essential for fat loss and the farmers carry definitely fits the bill.
The following 10 minute carry combination is straight out of Dan’s play book which I unashamedly stole for your benefit.
At first glance this appears easy, but this carry combination will light you up.
Instructions– Depending on your strength level, start with one 20, 25 or 30 pound kettlebell. Hold the bell overhead (bottoms up) and walk, keeping your biceps by or behind your ear. After you lose your grip, stop and reset. When you lose your grip for the second time, bring the bell into the rack position and keep walking.
Once you lose neutral wrist position or your upper back is screaming at you, hold the bell suitcase style by your side and keep walking. Do this for a total of 5 minutes on each side.
Wrapping Up
Conditioning shouldn’t always be a grind and neither should it stand between you and your gains. This is a time to keep it short, sweet, intense and most of all fun.
After all, life is too short to be bored out.
Author’s Bio
Shane “The Balance Guy” McLean, is an A.C.E Certified Personal Trainer working deep in the heart of Dallas, Texas.
No, Shane doesn’t wear a cowboy hat or boots. After being told that his posture blows by Eric Cressey, he has made it his mission to rid the world of desk jockeys, one person at a time, and have fun while doing so.
I can’t believe we’re only a handful of days away until it’s September. SEPTEMBER! The good news is that Fall is my favorite time of year here in Boston…the leaves changing color, the crisp air, it officially becoming “I can wear sweat pants anywhere at any time (even at the dinner table) and no one cares” season.
It’s glorious.
The downside is that many of us here in New England (especially Boston) still have last winter fresh in our minds and we’re still cowering in the corner in the fetal position. Over six-feet of snow in a 30 day span (110+ inches overall) will give anyone nightmares.
We still have several more weeks of amazing weather, though. No point in playing Johnny Raincloud too soon.
Anyone who knows Pat or is familiar with his work knows how much of a “psycho” he is. And I mean that as a compliment.
Pat’s a former assistant professor at Springfield College and is currently the Director of Training Methodology and Continuing Education at Peak Performance in NYC. He’s also one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met, and if there’s anyone who literally eats, drinks, and sleeps strength and conditioning it’s him. He’s read everything, and tried it. Twice.
Pat’s a savage (<– again, a compliment) and someone who’s only interested in bringing out the “savage” in everyone he trains and works with.
MASS speaks for itself. The name alone should give you an indication on what it’s designed to do. But in case you’re not picking up the vibe it’s a 16-week muscle building treatise, and it’s brutal.
Admittedly I haven’t taken myself through it personally (yet), but I know of several coaches who have and no one has finished. They all got bigger and put on significant size, but all tapped out after 8-12 weeks.
Like I said, Pat’s a savage. Are you willing to give it a go?
In some ways the health & fitness industry mirrors that of the fashion industry: trends come and go. Although, lets be honest: who the heck knows where skinny jeans came from and why they’re so popular?
Not long ago, if you were a meathead, doing any form of “cardio” was taboo. Even if you thought about putting on a pair of jogging shoes you’d lose your gainz.
As of late, however, it’s making a bit of a comeback. This article helps explain why it can help (and actually improve) your gainz.
Throughout my life there are a handful of things I never thought I’d do. I never thought I’d live in a big city such as Boston. I never thought I’d use the word “delish” to describe something I ate.
Speaking which: that’s a habit I need to stop immediately.
I never thought I’d read a Twilight book. It was just one, scout’s honor. I had to figure out what all the fuss was about
And never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think I’d own a cat and that I’d love her to pieces.
Oh, my wife ranks up there, too…;o)
Furthermore, something else happened recently I’d never thought I’d do. I wrote an article on the benefits of doing “cardio.”
Yes that cardio.
I’ve had a change of heart of late, and feel the advantages far outweigh the perceived disadvantages. Especially in the weight room.
It’s my latest article on T-Nation and you can read it HERE.
Note from TG:Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Mike Sheridan, a nutrition researcher, trainer, and author of the book Eat Meat and Stop Jogging.
That’s about as manly of a title for a book as I’ve ever seen. The only way it could be even manlier is if it said:
He-Man Says to Eat Meat and Stop Jogging.
My immaturity aside, I’ve long been a proponent of the saying “you need to get fit to run, not run to get fit.”
I understand why many people gravitate towards long-distance, steady-state cardio. There’s no equipment involved – all you need is a straight line and a pair of shoes (shirt and pants optional) – and pretty much anyone can do it.
Thing is: running – especially long-distance, repetitive running – can be a joint killer if one is not properly prepared for the additional stress. In addition, many people are programmed into thinking that jogging (and “cardio” in general) is the key to a lean, healthy body.
While it can most certainly enter the equation – I do feel it’s an often overprescribed and over-rated mode of exercise outside of actually being an endurance athlete.
More to the point: it should be a component of one’s overall fitness plan, not the sole approach.
Nevertheless I like to think of myself as a middle-of-the-road kind of guy and hate using monikers such as everyone, never, and always.
Everything has a time and place – except maybe Crocs – running included.
That said I do lean more towards the camp which favors either walking or short bursts of sprinting and avoiding “stuff in the middle.” And, of course, lifting heavy stuff.
I enjoyed this piece by Mike and I hope you do too.
Is Running Natural?
Depends what you consider running. The one for speed or the one for distance?
Based on the prevalence of marathons and triathlons, and the number of visible joggers in most neighborhoods, you’re likely thinking distance. Moderate intensity running appears to be the most common form of exercise, but does that mean its natural?
The reason most of us start jogging is because that’s what we think is necessary to burn calories and lose weight. Sadly, our sedentary, inactive, technologically driven jobs and lifestyles, and tendency to select high-carb, sugar-loaded foods, has given us the false impression that we need to eat less and exercise more.
Apparently our fatness is because of a lack of fitness (and an abundance of foodness!)
Don’t get me wrong, we all need to move more; but the question of ‘how’ is critical. Instead of getting scientific, lets look at two simple questions that provide considerable insight into how we should be moving:
What was our daily activity like in the past? When we were hunter-gatherers.
How did we move before we were taught how to move? When we were kids.
Prior to the agricultural revolution, we actually had to go out and get our food. The cows weren’t in the barn, they were roaming the countryside. The berries weren’t at the grocery store, they were out in the wild. And you didn’t drive somewhere to eat, you gathered fruits and vegetables on your walk…as you looked for animals to hunt!
The biggest difference between then and now is that they moved frequently at a slow pace,[I] and we don’t. Many are surprised to learn that most hunter-gatherers walked more than six miles per day. Any exercise outside of that was infrequent, and usually consisted of acute bouts of highly intense movement in order to survive.
Hunter-gatherers didn’t run for 20 miles at 70% intensity to escape a hungry wolf, they ran for 20 seconds at 110% intensity to escape a hungry wolf.
There was obviously some lifting, climbing, carrying, and building involved as well, but generally speaking their daily walking combined with a diet composed of animal protein, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruit is what produced this physique:
Our ancestors would probably laugh watching us run for hours to ‘burn calories.’ Back then, energy was conserved, and you either walked to get somewhere, or you ran really fast to get away from something.
Even when organized hunting developed, hunter-gatherers relied on their brains and other resources to track and trap animals (not chase them around for 3hrs!). Recent findings provide evidence that the earliest form of human was not designed to run long distances because the conical shape of the ribcage made it difficult for them to swing their arms.[II]
The same conclusion is reached when looking at early childhood movement prior to instruction from parents and coaches. If you take a look at children playing in a park with no constraints, you’ll notice that they run and play with intensity for short bursts, and follow it up with ample recovery before running again.
If you don’t feel like observing it yourself (or you don’t want to look like a creep), science did it for you in a 1995 study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Researchers found that children playing didn’t move consistently at a constant speed, they unknowingly exercised in intervals.[III]
Most kids have to be taught how to jog – instinctively they feel more comfortable walking or running fast.
Ask any rehabilitation specialist (physio, chiro, masseuse) and they’ll tell you how detrimental chronic repetitive movements can be on muscles, joints, bone, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.
During the time of writing this article there’s a Dr. Scholls commercial with celebrity trainer, Dolvett Quince. The commercial is about ‘clients missing workouts because of injuries.’ Interestingly, all three problems he mentions are related to running:
Shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and runners knee.
Note from TG: Listen, no one is saying (and I think Mike will agree) that going out for a jog here and there is going to steal all your gainz or turn you into a Christian Bale’s character from The Machinist overnight.
Moreover, no one is saying that jogging doesn’t have any health benefits – it most certainly does! And honestly, if jogging is something you like to do and enjoy….by all means jog to your hearts content.
But please don’t continue to espouse on all it’s “benefits” when you’re the one always hurt and paying for your physical therapists or chiro’s Porsche.
Looking at the medical records of most Cardio Kings, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re consistently nursing injuries. All of these conditions are because of the stress and impact from chronic cardio sessions. And it’s the reason running shoe companies, like Nike, bring in trillions of dollars selling you pillows and cushions for your feet.
Other than musculoskeletal damage, continuous and prolonged exercise conflicts with our natural fight or flight response to stress.[IV] Usually when there’s a threat to homeostasis (stress), our heart beat accelerates, blood vessels constrict, and we secrete adrenal hormones (corticosteroids), so that our brain and muscles have the necessary energy and blood flow to ensure we survive.
A beneficial adaptation for short periods of time, but when experienced chronically the body produces excess stress hormones (cortisol), and other important functions and systems must take a backseat (like digestion, reproduction, and immune function) as our muscles and brain take priority.
Excess corticosteroids are linked to heart disease,[V] poor reproductive health,[VI] and decreased immunity.[VII]
The irony in the term ‘stress fracture’ is almost laughable, when you understand the excess cortisol and oxidative stress attributable to chronic cardio.
Unfortunately, many that select running (the long duration kind) as their predominant form of exercise tend to seek more miles and higher speeds, which further damages muscle and bone, increases stress, and raises one’s risk of degenerative disease and early death.[VIII]
So What is Natural?
Obviously, we can’t mimic the exact daily regimen of the hunter-gatherer, but we can all take 30min or more per day to go for a walk.[IX]
It may not be 5+ miles/day, but it drastically lowers our risk of the common diseases affecting North Americans. Walking lowers cortisol, decreases inflammation, lowers blood pressure and triglycerides, improves cognitive function, and increases lifespan; with no muscle loss, hormone disruption, or potential for injury.[X]
Aside from daily walking, the exercise regimen that’s most in line with our genetics is functional strength training. We can match the physical labor of our forefathers by lifting, pressing, pulling, carrying, and squatting a few times per week. Sprinkling in the occasional ‘run for your life’ sprint every once in a while doesn’t hurt either.
The problem with most North Americans is that they attempt to make up for crappy eating habits and an inactive day with lengthy moderate intensity cardio sessions. All these 3-hour bike rides and 10 mile jogs lead to is an increased appetite (for sugar!), elevated stress levels, muscle mass loss, free radical accumulation, decreased immunity, and chronic inflammation.[XI]
The time and effort wasted is not the sad part, it’s that this weight management strategy shows little improvement in body composition (muscle-to-fat),[XII] and the additional stress and overconsumption of sugar[XIII] to ‘fuel workouts’ actually increases belly fat.
Ironically, losing belly fat is the reason most start jogging or doing cardio to begin with.
We shouldn’t be running marathons, or taking part in the high-mileage, high-frequency training that goes with it, because we’re not designed to consistently handle that kind of stress.
Although it’s common for endurance fanatics to cite examples of long distance running in some of the earliest-known hunter-gatherer tribes that we descended from, this was not frequent.
Note from TG:Born to Run is still one of the most interesting books I’ve read in recent years.
For example, the San People, or Bushmen, of the Kalahari Desert are known for their persistent tracking and hunting techniques to catch larger prey like antelope. However, it’s clear that this was a rare occurrence. The San People did a fair amount of trapping and practiced a variety of less labor-intensive hunting techniques.[XIV]
Furthermore, as you can see from this video,[XV] the tracking involves mostly walking, with only one tribesman taking part in the long-distance running portion.
I think it’s fair to say that the Bushmen doing the running wasn’t the same every month, and if it was the same, that would mean 99.9% of the tribe did no running. Likewise, one could assume that a successful hunt would mean adequate food for some time. Suggesting that these runs were very infrequent.
I don’t doubt that marathons, triathlons, and ultra-endurance events are possible, but that doesn’t mean they’re plausible.
Just because we have the hamstrings and Achilles tendon to run, and are equipped with the unique ability to sweat and release heat so we can go far, doesn’t mean we should. When it comes to survival, we’re capable of staying awake for days, going without food for weeks, and running for extremely long distances until an animal tires, but that doesn’t mean we should turn these practices into habits.
I believe this quote from Dr. Mark J. Smith sums it up quite well:
“While the endurance athlete has a need to maintain a high sub-maximal intensity for long periods to be successful, the vast majority of athletes, and certainly humans in general, have no need for this type of activity.”[XVI]
About the Author
Mike Sheridan has been advising on nutrition and fitness for nearly a decade. He developed an obsession for research early in his career as he noticed the immense gap between the scientific evidence and the message to the public.
“I know conventional wisdom is not working for you, because it’s not working for anyone! The first step in rescuing your health is understanding why everyone else believes and follows the nutrition and training recommendations that have unfortunately become common knowledge.”
Mike has helped a tremendous amount of people lose the fat and keep it off without counting calories, doing cardio, or sacrificing their health. His success is due in large part to his philosophy that ‘Transformation Starts With Education;’ not just showing his clients what to do, but teaching them why.
[IV]Cordain, L., Gotshall, R. W., and Eaton, S. B. 1998. Physical activity, energy expenditure and fitness: an evolutionary perspective. International Journal of Sports Medicine 19:328-335.
[VI] Loucks, A. B. 2001. Physical health of the female athlete: observations, effects, and causes of reproductive disorders. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 26: S176-85.
[XIII] 1990. Utilization of fatty acids during exercise. In Biochemistry of Exercise VII, ed. A. W. Taylor et al., 319-28. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Setting the scene: Jen Sinkler, former USA Rugby player, former fitness editor of Experience Life Magazine, current “free-agent/entrepreneur” fitness junkie, and 100% fashionista was asked a follow-up question when being interviewed by a reporter. When explaining how she prefers to train and not ONCE uttering the words treadmill, elliptical, or Thigh Master, the reporter incredulously asked……“but what do you do for cardio???”
Jen’s now viral answer: “I lift weights faster!”
I’ve known Jen for coming up on six years now, and outside of being one helluva editor and awesome human being, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who’s more immersed in “fitness” than her. You name it, she’s done it.
Powerlifting, Strongman, CrossFit, kettlebells, Tough Mudders, taming Dragons…..she’s done it all. While never being more than five feet away from some lip gloss.
Told ya: 100% fashionista.
Knowing I was going to be away on vacation this week (it’s 75 degrees at 7:30 AM as I type this. What, what!), and knowing that Jen’s first solo product – Lift Weights Faster – was launching while I was going t be away, Jen was gracious enough to write a superb guest post for me on common conditioning mistakes that people make.
For those who like short and to the point here are the Cliff Notes:
Forgetting time is money – quick run down on intensity, volume and density…and how people neglect taking into the importance of density and their conditioning.
Not taking a systems approach – the importance of a $2 notebook for training, people throw it to the side during the conditioning, and leave progress on the table.
Workouts Can Be Like Having a Birthday Near Christmas – putting too much stress on an already stressed out body, whether it be from work, relationship, and other chronic stressors.
Variety the Smart Way – last but not lest, forgetting to add variety in different structures, time versus rep-based, and letting mental creep set in and loath the workout.
The Conditioning Conundrum: 4 Common Mistakes
Thanks to a rash of new research, the viral spread of info over the internet (“lift weights faster,” anyone?) and your own common sense stemming from the fact that you can get just as winded doing sets of heavy kettlebell swings as going for a run, the idea that cardio and strength work can be blended is generally more accepted than it used to be.
Thank god, because that elliptical shit is for the birds. (Unless you like it, then yadda yadda yadda, carry on.)
If you are here on this particular website, however, chances are you’ve already bought into the idea that resistance-training circuits are a viable alternative to traditional cardio pursuits (and that when it comes to both performance and body composition changes, they’re superior).
But as the pendulum inevitably swings toward favoritism of metabolic resistance training and everything that falls under that umbrella, some people will naturally either redline the extremes, or simply misinterpret what smart circuit training really is.
Here are four ways you may not be doing it quite right.
Mistake 1: Not Being Dense Enough
Regardless of the type of conditioning you’re doing, there are three variables always at play:
Intensity: This is the how many pounds you’re lifting, or how much resistance you’re using. In the context of exercise, for the sake of precision, it is not how hard you try. It’s just cold, hard weight on the bar (or otherwise in your hands).
Volume: This is the total number of repetitions you complete of a particular movement. Whether you’re talking about one set or your entire workout, volume is the number of repetitions you complete. (To calculate total volume, multiply reps by resistance used, or intensity.)
Density: This is the time it takes to complete a bout of work — essentially, how quickly you get the job done, whether “the job” refers to a set or your entire workout. (You can calculate it by dividing volume by time.)
If you’ve been strength training for a while, you’re probably inherently familiar with the three and how they play out in your strength program and progress, whether you’re conscious of it or not. You know that if you do much of X (high-volume deadlifts?), you’re wiped out when you try to do Y (Yvette), for example, and by the same token, what leads you to better performance. If you can lift heavier than you did a few weeks ago, you have a working knowledge of these concepts.
As a fitness community, we share a lot of notes about volume and intensity, but the variable that doesn’t get enough love is density.
Outside of CrossFit, people don’t really talk about how quickly they finished their workouts or work sets, but I think, perhaps, that we should — especially when your goal is better conditioning.
Teach your body to crush a circuit, recover quickly and ask for more, and you’ll crack open a new metric by which to measure your progress, both in how you feel and also how you look, if you want to lean out.
Mistake 2: Not Tracking Your Workouts
McDonald’s is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet, not so much because their food is delicious and high quality, but because they’ve taken a systems approach to make everything easier. Easier to produce, easier to measure, easier to manage.
Every piece of that business has a process and system in place, and if you approach your strength and conditioning from the same angle, you, too will be able to more easily measure and produce progress.
Bar none the best piece of strength training equipment in the weight room is the two-dollar training journal you bring in with you. The amount of feedback you can provide yourself, along with the ability to troubleshoot stalled progress, is big. Big. Huge. (Why yes, I am quoting Pretty Woman!)
But time and again, I see people toss their journals by the wayside when it’s time to finish up with a quick circuit. And yet, there is much valuable info to be gleaned, even here.
Track your volume, density and intensity, here, too, and you can figure out new ways to PR. In fact, even in your circuits, try setting your mind to moving the needle on one of those factors every time you train.
Mistake 3: Going Overboard
My rule of thumb: Regardless of your fitness level, if it feels like too much, it probably is.
What may not look difficult on paper will play out very differently while you’re in the gym. A whole lot of plyometric exercise, heavy lifting and hard circuit training can take a toll after some time.
Stress hormones such as cortisol are by no means always the bad guy — in fact, they’re quite useful for saving the day, in whatever form that takes for you. Chronically elevated cortisol levels, however, are a different story, and we would do well to note that our bodies don’t differentiate between types of stress. Piling training stress on top of work stress, relationship stress and money stress on a long-term basis can lead to a pretty major crash and burn.
Research points to lifting weights at maximal velocity spiking cortisol levels when compared to lifting at a lower rep speed, so if you’re piling on elsewhere, it’s probably better to cool it on conditioning. One to two sessions a week is plenty, for many people.
Mistake 4: Joining the Circus
Humans are hardwired to seek novelty — we have a deep-seated tendency to constantly seek out new, different, shiny. It can be good thing, this neophilia, in that it helps us assess risks, to learn new skills, to become more capable.
But new is everywhere now, including the gym. In her book New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change, Winifred Gallagher writes: “We already crunch four times more data — e-mail, tweets, searches, music, video, and traditional media — than we did just thirty years ago, and this deluge shows no signs of slackening. To thrive amid unprecedented amounts of novelty, we must shift from being mere seekers of the new to being connoisseurs of it.”
You know what that means? It means being selective about what is worth your time and what is not, not embracing variety simply for variety’s sake.
If your training time is limited, seek productivity in your conditioning sessions, exploring variations of skills you’re proficient in and finding ways to manipulate volume and work-to-rest ratios.
Changing a circuit of “three sets of 10 repetitions” to “three rounds of 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest” will evoke a different psychological response. New structure, new progress. Win-win.
The Total Package and Then Some A Lot
I get it — it’s easy to feel stagnant or overwhelmed by the prospect of putting together productive conditioning circuits. With that in mind, I compiled 130 grab-and-go workouts in my Lift Weights Faster product (including two guest workouts from Tony G.!).
Complete with a full exercise glossary that includes written descriptions and photographic demonstrations of approximately 225 exercises, from classic moves to more creative ones, I leveraged my background in magazine publishing to create a clear-cut, easy-to-use resource.
Every workout is organized by the equipment you have available and how much time you’ve got, including plenty of effective, hot-n-heavy options that last less than 10 minutes and also over 35 different workouts that require minimal equipment for when you’re traveling or outside the gym.
Jen Sinkler (www.jensinkler.com), RKC, PCC, PM, USAW, is a longtime fitness journalist who writes for national magazines such as Women’s Health and Men’s Health. A former member of the U.S. national women’s rugby team, she currently trains clients at The Movement Minneapolis.
I love Boston. More to the point, I love the neighborhood I live in. My apartment is a 30 second walk from a “T” stop (for non-Boston folk that’s the name for the subway/above ground public transportation system), there’s a kick-ass independently owned movie theater a few blocks away, a lovely (again, independently owned) bookstore right across the street from the theater, and all the other staples that you would expect in a booming, popular area of commerce – pizza joints, ice-cream joints (JP Licks!), CVS, Starbucks, Panera, and there’s even a GAP if that’s your bag.
But what really separates my neighborhood from the pack is that there’s a ginormous Trader Joe’s right in the middle of it all.
Every Sunday for the past two years we’ve co-habitated together (For the Record: I’ve never been yelled yet for keeping the toilet seat up, thank you very much) Lisa and I make the short trek to TJs to do out weekly grocery shopping.
As you might expect, in the two years that we’ve been shopping there, Lisa and I have grown “friendly” with a lot of the staff at TJs. It’s not uncommon for any number of the workers to stop the two of us and ask us how things are and to engage in your garden variety small talk. You know, the weather, Red Sox, and holy fuckballs avocados are on sale this week!
I remember one of the first weekends we started shopping at that particular TJs one of the guys who worked there asked if I was a personal trainer.
Hey, what can I say: It happens.
I said, “yes,” and that I was actually a strength coach and co-owner of my own facility outside – in the burbs- of Boston.
As the weeks passed, the random TJs guy would pepper me with various questions on how to “get a six-pack,” or what he would need to do to “tone-up,” or how he could add some muscle or any number of canned questions that I hear verbatim elsewhere on a weekly basis.
I’d play along and tell him that, in no uncertain terms, he’d have to lift some weights. Preferably of the heavy variety. Muscle isn’t just going to miraculously appear after going for a 4-mile jog (which was what his preferred mode of exercise was).
The guy was flabbergasted when I admitted to him that I rarely (if ever) perform any traditional cardio exercise. I lift heavy stuff, don’t eat like an asshole, and perform some sprints here and there.
It just didn’t (and hasn’t) clicked with him. I can’t tell you how many times he’s approached me in the past two years while Lisa and I are shopping asking me the same exact question, albeit tweaked slightly. And every time I try my best to better articulate my message (that you don’t HAVE to perform endless bouts of steady state cardio) and direct him to other resources that he can use as educational material.
Just the other week he asked, “soo, uh, how many miles would I have to run to look like you?”
I chuckled and just politely said, “my man, my answer isn’t going to change. GO LIFT SOME WEIGHTS” When he retorted with the colloquial “yeah, but what do I do for cardio?” I responded with a line I stole from Jen Sinkler:
Lift weights faster!
If someone’s goal is to put on muscle and add weight, I’m sorry, I’m not going to advocate “go for a run.”
Anyone who’s ever completed a 20-rep set of squats, performed a finisher after a strength session, or even pushed the Prowler around, knows what I’m talking about.
You can elevate your heart rate just fine without having to jump onto a treadmill. Why are people married to this notion that the ONLY way to gain a “cardio” benefit is by engaging in drawn out, low-intensity, steady-state mumbo-jumbo?
I’m not trying to bag it. I recognize that it’s part of a well-rounded exercise routine and that it offers a plethora of it’s own health benefits. But come on: anything that elevates your heart rate can technically be considered cardio……..even, GASP, lifting weights.
For an excellent retort on why it’s faulty logic to think the only way you can gain a benefit is by performing traditional cardio I’d highly recommend reading THIS post by Jen Sinkler, and then do yourself a favor and order one of her shirts.
They’re awesome! And a great conversation starter.
And I know I’m not the only one who feels this is a conundrum. One my former distance clients – who’s a very successful trainer himself in West Virginia – had a similar run in with an acquaintance himself.
“A guy at church asked me if I’d like to join him for a Tough MUDDER Run in October… I said, I don’t run and it would mess up my training. Lol
It cracks me up that people think you can’t be fit unless you run… Another lady at church runs a lot and couldn’t believe how good my wife looked despite the fact she doesn’t run…”
A gleaming example of this is Cressey Performance client Paula DeMarkey, who, under the tutelage of Greg Robins, won 2013 Fitness Universe Miami with not a single minute of traditional cardio. In addition, during her 20 weeks of preparation for the event she set personal records in the squat, front squat, deadlift, and chin up.
No sit ups, no traditional crunches. No change in hormone schedule, no special supplements, no short cuts. Just a lot of heavy lifting, real food, and incredible discipline.
This is her during her photo shoot the day AFTER winning.
She lifted weights 4x per week, performed the occasion 15-20 minute kettlebell circuit twice per week (which then turned into sprint sessions the closer she got to her show), and paid meticulous attention to her nutrition.
What’s more, she felt GREAT heading into the show.
Now, I don’t look like Paula – not many people do – but I can’t remember the last time I went for a jog or did any form of traditional cardio. And just to reiterate: if that’s someone’s preferred mode of exercise, more power to them. I just find it incredibly boring, and frankly a waste of my time given my own goals.
What’s more, running (or any form of steady state exercise, while it has its place) isn’t the panacea of health and well-being that it’s led to be.
And for those worried about my heart health. I visited my doctor a few weeks ago and everything is fine. Resting heart rate is a-okay, blood pressure is perfect, my hormone levels are spot on, and I’m pretty sure if I had to – whether it was on a whim or because the zombie apocalypse started – I could run five miles without batting an eye.
UPDATE:
To all the people suggesting my “narrow mindedness” and biased nature towards lifting weights.
How am I being narrow minded when I tell someone to stop doing MORE of what they’re already doing (in this case running), and instead suggest that they lift some weights?
Just so we’re all clear:
Believe me, I COMPLETELY understand if someone likes to run, or bike, or do overhead dwarf throwing. More power to them. Whatever gets people MOVING is a win in my book.
But what gets me annoyed, and it speaks to the reason why I wrote the post in the first place, is when someone has a particular goal and they continue to do MORE of the same thing, and continue to NOT get results. I’d never bash “cardio” outright, and as I noted in the post itself, I understand that it’s PART of a well-rounded exercise regime.
God for bid I tell someone to lift something heavy. To some, saying something so asinine makes me the worst thing since Pepsi Clear.
Mike Sheridan has been advising on nutrition and fitness for nearly a decade. He developed an obsession for research early in his career as he noticed the immense gap between the scientific evidence and the message to the public. 
the ONLY way to gain a “cardio” benefit is by engaging in drawn out, low-intensity, steady-state mumbo-jumbo?
