Conditioning for strength athletes

[hailtotheking]

Apart from the last few weeks, my training has always been strength / power based. Its my passion, and i like to make my training as much strength / power based as possible. Whilst slugging away on the x-trainer the other day, feeling like a rat on a wheel going nowhere, it occured to me the only aspect of my training i really dont like is the cardio. Its just SOOO boring. I've tried mixing it up with different machines, doing intervals, AMC, etc. and eventually, i always come back to the same feeling - cardio is SOOO boring. However, the other day i came across an article on eliteFTS.com suggesting that for power / strength athletes, cardio conditioning can also be strength / power based, with such fun stuff as sledge pulling, car pushing, medicine ball throwing, etc. This immediately caught my eye and i looked at other similar strength / power conditioning methods around.

Heres a few ideas i was thinking of doing after the said weight training sessions

LEGS: - Squat rack walkouts (basically unracking heavy bar from squat rack, walk back about 5 - 10 paces, walk back again, re-rack) 10 x 10

- Weighted Lunge walking

CHEST: - Sandbag flipping or medicine ball throwing 10 x 10

BACK: - Deadlift walkouts (same as squat rack walkouts, except with deadlifting) 10 x 10

SHOULDERS: Overhead dumbell figure-of-8 walks (basically, hold a pair of dumbells overhead, and walk around in a wide figure 8 circuit; this motion greatly taxes shoulder endurance and rotator cuff stability) 10x10

ARMS: Hammer / heavy baton swigning drills, Farmers walks (for grip strength)

What do you guys think.

[Ripped Barbarian]

Yeah, i used to do lots of stuff like this.
One of my favorites was log flipping on the beach, a log that weighs the same as me repeatedly flipping it along the beach for as far as i could.....excellent cardio, used whole body near enough.

There's often some decent stuff washed up on the beach, when there was a tractor tyre one day it was like christmas!

Anything that uses a huge amount of energy in a short time is excellent.

[hailtotheking]

Tyre Flipping, car pushing, and sledge dragging would have been great, but unfortunately those options arent available to me.

Obviously, with this type of conditioning, its all about repeated short intervals, and the weight has to be just right to ensure you can perform the movements for the allocated reps / sets.

[Karlos02]

it does sound good and fun...in theory. but i really couldnt see myself doing lunge walking/walkouts in my gym, there just isnt enough room and boy would i get some looks!
cardio isnt so bad. invest in an mp3, spend a few hours filling it up with your favourite motivational music and you may actually start to enjoy the different type of challenge that cardio brings, i know i have!
oh and dont use the cross trainer. use a machine which is externally paced (such as treadmill, stairs) i find that these are slightly less monotonous as u can alter speed/incline to how you feel and they are more challenging.

[nrage04]

very true. I wouldnt even look at a treadmill unless I had my iPod on me...and most treadmills now have tv-screens in them so ya dont have to miss eastenders!

[MartinM]

I've just started doing a bit of cardio here and there. Mainly because I have started to feel very 'CV' unhealthy. It is VERY boring even with an MP3 but I must say I find 20mins of hard intervals on the treadmill isnt that boring cause all you can concentrate on is not being sick or falling off

tyre pulling and flipping has to be the best thing though

[Duncan]

My university gym has separate rooms for conditioning, free weights and cardio and if you're in the free weights room it's full of guys, but if you're in the cardio room it's full of girls. It's hard to get bored when the 19 year old girl on the stepper next to you's happily giggling away as you listen to your favourite music on your ipod!

[hailtotheking]

Quote

It's hard to get bored when the 19 year old girl on the stepper next to you's happily giggling away as you listen to your favourite music on your ipod!

When i was a gym instructor i saw many a testosterone-fuelled beast nearly stack it and fall off after being mesmerised by a treadmill when behind some fit 19 y/old ass who was on the stepper in front

[hailtotheking]

Was chucking around a 30kg bag of rock salt in my garden last night. Did 3 x 10 clean and presses, then shuttle runs with it on my shoulder (switching shoulders with each circuit). Took about 15 mins. Was great fun! And i was shagged by the end of it.

My next project is a 50kg padded 'log' to flip. Basically, im going to take the arms and leg of my old wing chun wooden dummy (weights about 45kg), cover it in foam (purely to stop me damaging the garden), and then flip it to and fro for sets of say 10 -15 reps.

[allthegoodnamesaregone]

I think I'll be sledge pulling soon to up my hip strength apartenly it does wonders for you squat numbers