People who lift regularly often fall into a rhythm, only
performing strength exercises and weight training. This rhythm can hinder
progress for a variety of reasons. One reason is that you will have an underdeveloped
aerobic system in relation to your other athletic/performance attributes. What
many often don’t realize is that having a good aerobic system aids in the
recovery process between bouts of weight training over long periods of time.
Here is an interesting way to think about the process: when
we train, we create micro damage to our muscles. Technically speaking, each
time you train you are damaging your body a small amount. This sounds somewhat
sadistic, depending on how you think about it. People willingly damage their
muscles a little bit in order to reap the benefits of the body’s adaptation to
this damage.
Now, cue your recovery system. A large component of your
body’s recovery system relies on its ability to get blood flow to the area of
need, the damaged muscle. Those who train via weightlifting often have a bit of
muscle tissue. Lifting weights is, by nature, an anaerobic activity. Therefore,
you do not get the nice effects of angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) that you
would get from training aerobically. This results in the creation of muscle
that is relatively anaerobic in nature, but very strong and powerful. All
muscles, however, need to recover. Muscles get what they need for recovery
through blood flow that carries nutrient building blocks to repair damage done
to the system. I’m not saying you need to turn into a cardio bunny, but adding
an aerobic conditioning component to your training regimen would be a good
idea.
Some aerobic
activities include:
Walking up
an incline on a treadmill
Running
Interval
training
Riding a
bike
Hiking
Playing a
game of basketball
…And many
more
All of these activities have one thing in common: they
elevate your heart rate for an extended period of time. This kind of activity
taps into your aerobic system and causes your body to adapt. One of these
adaptions is increased blood flow, mediated through angiogenesis. Once you tap
into this process your muscles will be getting adequate blood flow to recover
more optimally between sets and between bouts of strength training. The better
you can recover, the harder you’ll be able to train.
Even if you are a strength athlete-a powerlifter, for
example-you can benefit from aerobic training. You probably won’t need to be
going for long runs, which could encroach on some of your strength gains, but a
lower intensity activity such as walking on an inclined treadmill will achieve
the desired effect. This lower intensity aerobic work will then give you the
ability to hit the weights hard on the next training day.
I like to get my
heart rate to sit between 120-140 generally when doing my aerobic work. If
you’re not that strict about your training, just get your heart rate elevated
for 20-30 minutes while performing an aerobic activity. Recover better, train
smarter, and do some aerobic work every once and a while.
Ryan Goodell, CSCS
For consultation/personal training/coaching inquiries email:
ryangoodell@weightsandstuff.com
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