I bought the 5-3-1 Forever book. Really good stuff! Few quick questions on the easy and hard conditioning.
On what days would you do the easy conditioning and on what days would you do the hard conditioning… Does it matter if either of these are on training days or non training days?
To your knowledge what is better at lowering blood pressure? I don’t have high blood pressure but it is higher than I would like. Just wondering if the easy or hard conditioning or mixture of both would do the job
With winter coming up I won’t be able to hit the school’s track up when there is snow on the ground, what would be some other examples of hard conditioning. (I do not have a Prowler)
The easy conditioning stuff should be whenever. It shouldn’t take away from your training. I personally do my easy conditioning on my off days, as I like to take a walk (weighted vest) and enjoy the outside - if I’m sore this is great too.
For the hard conditioning I will leave the answer to someone else, as I do not really execute this personally, but I believe it is like Jim once said that it does not matter when you do these, as long as they’re not prior to a lower body session.
Don’t mean to hijack the thread but I have a question about the weight vest. I think it will be possibly informative to OP as well.
I am likely purchasing a weight vest with 55 lbs in a couple days. I was just wondering if you had to work into using it slowly. My instinct (more like ego) tells me I can just slap 40 lbs onto the thing, throw it on, and walk a few miles and shouldn’t have any problems with adjusting to it.
However when I try not to make assumptions because I usually pay for it later.
So basically, did you have to work it in slowly or was it pretty much plug and play?
My plan is to maybe start with 20 and add 5 or 10 lbs in per cycle to be safe. Maybe try 40lbs once to see how it goes.
I too have limited conditioning options since I am on the Canadian Prairies and ice and snow can make sprints or sled pulls very difficult or impossible without risking injury.
I think the weight vest is a good option for me because I am currently pretty heavy and sprinting is hard on the knees. Also I feel the vest is a good baseline conditioning too. When I am doing nothing else or in doubt just do a weighted vest walk.
Any input you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Starting light and easing slowly in to it sound smart, but honestly I just slapped 88 pounds right on from the start and started with 1 mile and slowly worked my way up to 2 miles.
I guess it depends on you overall strength and such? I deadlift 600 and squat 480 pounds, so this may give you a indication of what you can start out with?
Easy conditioning need not be planned. Go for a bike ride, jog, swim, or airdyne bike at least a few times a week. Long hikes or weight vest walks are also great.
I think getting in better cardiovascular shape in general will lower your blood pressure. I would think overdoing sprints or too much HIIT when you’re not ready for it might be counterproductive.
Lots of options here. Hit a heavy bag, do burpees, jump rope, any type of HITT or tabata-type of training can be hard conditioning. Also, playing a sport like basketball, soccer, etc… at a fairly competitive level is what I would consider hard conditioning.
I personally do most of my conditioning on non-531 days (which I do 3x a week). I get easy conditioning most days, because I bike to work and walk quite a bit.
This has a lot to do with your size and strength. I have a 40 lb vest, and can do weight vest strength circuits no problem with it. However, walking 2 miles in the thing is definitely challenging. I would work up to it, as your traps and shoulders will ache the first few times you use it.