Cardio and strength training

[Mark_Morris]

Hi Everyone

Ive googled this question and there seems to be a difference in opinion with the results i've found, due to time constraints I would like do some cardio training on the same day as strength training, some websites I have found have said yes it's ok and others no it is not.

The reason I am training at the moment as I intend to start Boxing/BJJ training but would like to get a decent level of fitness before I start any classes, I currently do strength training 3 days a week and cardio 4 days a week with 2 rest days for the moment as I intend to review my training schedule when I start classes, any advive or insights would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks

Mark

[MJ.23]

Well if you are talking about a sport then yes you have to do cardio related to that sport its as simple as that. Make the cardio sport specific as possible. Dont just go on the cross trainer and think that will help. Do heavy bag and whatever boxers/martial artists do.

The cardio after strength debate really only applies to people solely looking for muscle mass and who dont care about fitness level. Or do what i do and change your workout to be much more intense than just the usual weight exercises. Implement a lot of fast dynamic movements which act as both strength training and fitness exercises.

Have you used kettlebells before? They are basically designed for this task. Weighted fast dynamic movements for a high number of repetitions.

Also could you list what yout workout looks like? It helps to know what cardio and strength training you are doing. If you are doing cardio 4 days a week now and its working then why change it?

Look at functional strength training principles and you can turn your workout into a sport specific workout for boxing/BJJ.

Hope that helps a little. Any more questions feel free to ask

[Mark_Morris]

Hi MJ thanks for the reply

At the moment my workout looks like this

Monday - chest and bicep then 30 mins of cardio on a running machine
Tuesday - back and tricep then same cardio workout
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - shoulders and same cardio workout
Friday - Legs
Saturday - Day off
Sunday - Some core and cardio

My aim is fitness for sport and not to gain muscle mass im just looking for a good balance between strength and fitness and I do intend to change my routine when I start my boxing/bjj training as I feel that I would get my cardio workouts from those training sessions and just concentrate on strength training at home.

[MJ.23]

Well you need to get rid of the 2 muscle groups a day workout idea. To train for fitness nearly every movement should include as much of the body as possible.

Hypertrophy requires the classic 3 day split with 2 muscle groups but training for sport is very different. It requires movements for muscle groups normal people havent even heard of. A mix of injury prevention with dynamic movements to test balance as well as increase speed and strength.

Look at Joe Defrancos' and Michael Boyles' work. I wouldnt advise using Defrancos' west side for skinny *******s 3 program for sport however. Its a great program for mass gain but needs work to make it sport specific.

I have a sport specific program so you could check out how i split up the workouts. Theres zero muscle isolation in my program. Isolating a muscle is the least sport specific thing you can do and can lead to injury.

Cardio wise forget the running machine. I personally dont think good cardio can be achieved on a machine. Find a field and run, sprint, sled sprints and plyometric workouts. Its much more effective.

[Mark_Morris]

Hi MJ

Im confused about how to approach this now as Im a newbie to this, but what you said did make sense as this program was suggested to me by my friend who trains for body building and not for sport, I have looked around for specific workouts for bjj and boxing so I could compile my own workout but everything I have found online is either geared towards an advanced level or cost a lot of money, one I found on MMA was $200 a month and was based in america and a boxing programme I come across was over $2000 so way out of my price range.

So do you think I should drop strength training for now until i start my specific training and just concentrate on cardio?

[SpiderDan]

RossTraining.com - Strength Training For Fighters

have a look at that first

then have a look at Joe Defranco and Mike boyle

[Bobby-bandito]

I would say do cardio for training, not the sport. Training 3xweekly with weights and 3xweekly with some cardiovascular work is the best bet until your training starts to diminish when the actual training sessions get longer or your intensity in these sessions becomes higher.

Weights would be something simple like.....

Monday -
Deadlift - work upto a max set of 3
Overhead Press - 3x3, 1xfailure
Chins - work upto a max set of 10, 1xfailure

Wednesday -
Incline Press - work upto a max set of 5, 1xfailure
Face Pulls - 3-5x15-30
Dumbbell row - max set of 20

Friday -
Clean or variant of - 8x2
Squat - max set of 3, 1xfailure
split squats - 3x8 each leg.


Cardio would be -
Monday - 30-45 minutes of low impact steady state.
Thursday - some form of high intensity work (sprints or medleys or something along those lines)
Saturday - Depending on how you feel either another high intensity or steady state session.


At the end of the day though the best way to get good at something is to do it. Just go to the club and train.

[Fred]

I would say that you need to look in better places for your research. Firstly start here; Fighters Forum

also elitefts is excellent;

Who Said Training to Be a Fighter Was Easy?

Strength Training and a UFC Fighter

Should start you off. Personally, I think steady state cardio is the lowest priority for any type of sport. You need to be training for overall strength with compound movements and then using circuits to train at a medium to high intensity. Barbell complexes could be used in this situation as could any number of bodyweight circuits.

[Mark_Morris]

Thanks Dan, Fred and Bobby for your advice and I will check out the links you have provided, I do think my research could be better though

[Bobby-bandito]

Any why is it so bad Fred? Cos' some guys somewhere on some forum or website said so? You can train energy systems all you like but they arent going to help that much in an actial fight. You only get good at something by doing it. The Steady state will allow him to cope with longer training sessions, will it not? Will it not help both his capacity to recover AND increase it? will it not teach him abit of grit? Its a whole different mental ball game going for a 1RM that will be over in a few seconds compared to getting up and going to a gym/out on the road when the weather is cr@p and the times are unsociable.