Fitting in Conditioning?

Hi folks,

I was just wondering how when doing the 5/3/1 lifts over 4 days, people programmed in their conditioning?
I’m going to use hill sprints, kettlebell swings and hitting a heavy bag for my conditioning (not all on the same day). Would doing one of these on my none 531 days be enough? Would maybe lifting in a morning and doing conditioning in a evening several times a week be too much?
I’m just curious what other guys do in regards to frequency so any feedback will be appreciated, thanks in advance

I believe Jim’s official response to this has always been “do it when you can” - and also remember that if you put something in (conditioning) you have to take something out (weights/volume)

I personally do it as the last “exercise” of the day, either some kind of loaded carry or Airdyne sprints

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I also do it as the last exercise of the day. Either treadmill sprints or push a prowler. Conditioning isn’t the master I’m currently serving so if I skip it, it isn’t a big deal to me.

I played with a couple of ways and what I’ve found works best for me is tacking it on to the end of my press/bench days.

I also found doing it right after bench/press days (tue, thurs)works for me. If I do a third day then it’s usually Saturday.

If you were to use all these things for conditioning, I’d be more concerned with how it will effect your programming/training. You can’t add all this shit into your program and not take something out of it.

This is what 5/3/1 Forever was written for; understanding the balance of training.

NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON can answer your question; we have no idea your current levels, your history or any of the incidentals (personal/professional/sleep/diet/stress). My best answer is develop a program based on real goals, actual attainable goals you can strive for and then make a plan to get there. One year, one goal.

Now you are free to do random shit; maybe this makes you happy and you just need to blow off steam or whatever. That is fine. But real athletes who care about their training/results take the time to program with some kind of understanding and goal. Find THAT, and you find your answer. I think you are asking the wrong question.

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So many times I’ve talked about asking the right question.

Thank you for that.

The big thing is how it all fits in to what you’re doing. I can only let you know what I do from my perspective.

I do my lifting at night, because my kid likes to train with me. He is working towards being a nationally competitive athlete in the under 10 category (yes, he is working toward it, his goal - my bank would prefer he’d rather just have fun and rock locally but he’s pretty good so we run with it). He does his thing, I do mine. It’s a bonding thing. I do my conditioning on my lunch at work. I choose to walk 2.2 miles on squat/dead days, and do sprints / bomb around on a 20" bmx race bike for typically about 3.2 miles, or go for a jog at 2.2 miles, on the pressing days / off days, depending on how I feel and where in the season we are. The sport is a year-long season. If we’re in the thick of it (summer, big races weekly), I dial back jogging and accessory work when lifting, and focus more on sprints. If it’s between “A” races (i.e., there is a week off of the big ones), I ramp up accessory work and do some jogging in addition to the sprints just for that low-key work. If I’m burnt up, I chill out a bit, if I’m feeling spunky, I put the accessory work back in.

YMMV, but I study when the clan is asleep, so I have to manage fatigue, training, ability to focus on my work during the day, and keep up with everything else.