I am making good solid gains (in terms of PRs) with 531 and really enjoying the programme. However, I find that my conditioning training is one of the first things to fall off when work/family life picks up.
I am just about to go into a new 7 week cycle and I am considering doing some ‘conditioning’ training as my assistance. I would principally follow this in the vein of Conditioning Stations for Fat Loss
Using Heavy â?? Dynamic â?? Heavy (HDH) for the weight training days. This could for example be ‘Floor Press, Sprint, Pull up’ for the upper body days, or ‘Goblet Squat, Sidewalk Push up, SDL’ for the lower body days.
Off days would be traditional ‘prowler’ conditioning or something similar.
Would this be a good way of increasing the conditioning while focussing on the ‘train the muscle’ element of assistance?
What are your specific performance goals for lifting and your specific performance goals for conditioning?
I believe that the reason why your conditioning “falls off” is that there is no focus on a specific performance goal. Even when conditioning is done for simple aerobic or recovery means, it helps greatly to have a specific goal.
When the goal is set, then you work backwards in regard to building a total program. This is a great lesson to learn and one that took me awhile to really grasp.
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
What are your specific performance goals for lifting and your specific performance goals for conditioning?
I believe that the reason why your conditioning “falls off” is that there is no focus on a specific performance goal. Even when conditioning is done for simple aerobic or recovery means, it helps greatly to have a specific goal.
When the goal is set, then you work backwards in regard to building a total program. This is a great lesson to learn and one that took me awhile to really grasp. [/quote]
Jim,
Thank you very much for your advice. I have been thinking about this for a week or so and I am struggling to come up with an answer even for myself.
I used to be more endurance sport focussed and used weights to supplement that training. I decided to make the main focus this year (and hopefully the two after) to focus on power lifting. In terms of goals, my 'Conditioning Goals are 1) Run 1.5 miles in <10 mins, 2) Walk/Run 8 miles in 1h45m with 30kg over rough terrain and 3) Ensure that I have adequate conditioning to support a healthy, powerlifting lifestyle.
Unfortunately, 1 and 2 are absolute musts due to job reasons and as my previous sports focus has been on long, slow duration - I honestly have no idea what my specific goals for this should be.
Do you (or anyone else) have any suggestions? Thanks again for taking the time to help all of us 