You Want Cardio with That?

Overheard yesterday while I was training on the gym floor:

Client:  "What do I need to do for cardio training?"

Trainer:  "If you're lifting weights, you need to be able to sustain activity for a minimum of 20, 30, 40 or 50 (!!) repetitions.  If you're lifting and can't do more than 10 repetitions, it's not cardio.  The activity has to be sustainable.  If you're on a treadmill, you need to be able to exercise for 30-45 minutes for it to be considered 'cardiovascular training.'"

I guess I'll have to start telling my clients, after they perform a perfect set of 8 strenuous deadlifts -- with them sweating profusely, breathing heavily and trembling with exhaustion -- that they haven't even begun to train the cardiovascular system yet. . . "Hey, you've only got 32 more non-stop reps to go!" (As I duck to avoid the flying water bottle. . . )

Now, in all fairness, I'm guessing the trainer was summarizing the training methods used to improve cardiovascular endurance, and, if that's the case, there is some validity to what was said.  Prolonged bouts of continuous exercise will build up aerobic endurance.  However, the point here is that the circulatory system doesn't only experience training stimulus through exposure to slow, long distance running (biking, rowing, etc.) and/or high repetition lifting.

Your can do heavy lifting with low reps.

Interval training utilizing short duration sprints.

Olympic lifts.

It doesn't matter what you do.  Any training that pushes the body to work hard will impose a training effect on the heart that is specific to the task performed.

So, when it comes to training (in reference to the heart), the question shouldn't be "What do I need to do for cardio?" so much as, "What type of cardiovascular fitness do I want to attain?"  Know the answer to the latter question, and you'll be able to determine the type of training you need to do.

 

Comments

[John]

Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.