Fit and Focused With Allison Moyer: Cardio Strength Training- What & How
If you’re stuck in the Mon-Fri/one body part per day/3 sets, 8-12 reps/ RUT (and it IS a RUT let me tell you) then this is going to be an eye opening post for you. Anyone who knows me, or who has seen me train, knows that my methods are
bit left of the conventional center. For me, figure is about looking like an athlete, a FUNCTIONAL athlete. I want my physique to flow, to be streamlined, to have aesthetic, athletic appeal and good lines. If you want to LOOK athletic, you need to train like an athlete. Enter CST (Cardio Strength Training) which is the marriage of aerobic training with anaerobic training that results in one hell of an intense, fat burning, athletic physique building session.
CST is the blanket term that covers a multitude of methods, some of which I’ll break down in a minute. Ever heard of Tabata? Tabata training has been featured in Oxygen recently and has been gaining some momentum within the figure community due to the outspeak of athletes like Erin Stern, IFBB Figure Pro, who uses it in her own routines. Well, Tabata is a FORM of CST, one of many forms in fact.
CST isn’t new by any means, but new research really has brought the methods back to light. CST is PROVEN within the scientific community to outperform aerobics for conditioning and fat loss. Using principles centered in training protocols for athletes, CST is innovative, challenging, muscle building, and fat frying. I use the strength training-interval training hybrid within my own routines, as well as the routines of many of my clients and the results speak for themselves. Most people are “scared” to try this form of training, but hopefully after reading this post you’ll be AMPED to find ways to incorporate CST into your own regime.
I’ll go through some ways to construct “beginner” workouts- but I should state the following: THIS IS NOT FOR THE WEAK OF HEART (or body), or just the average person trying to get back in shape. You need to have SOME measure of athletic ability, muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance to do this style of training. It kills. In other words this is not the “30 minutes on the elliptical while texting/talking on your cell phone” style of training. Remember- you need to push yourself harder and harder then longer you’ve been in the gym in order to see results. So from a metabolic conditioning standpoint this brings me to the overload principle, which is key. If you walk into ANY gym in America, you’ll see line of treadmills, ellipticals, stepmills, recumbent bikes, all loaded up with indivi
duals doing SOME form of low intensity, steady state cardio. NOW don’t get me wrong, that form of cardio has a place, but it’s not a cure all. Think about how many people are reading, watching TV, chatting with their treadmill neighbor. They come in, they log their easy 30 minutes and they’re out of there. AND THEY NEVER EVER EVER LOOK ANY DIFFERENT! This is NOT the type of metabolic training I’ll be talking about with CST. From a fitness/fat loss standpoint, steady state and low intensity is inferior on its own. Let me just say- you will be too busy or too out of breath to have a cell phone conversation or watch TV while doing any type of CST workout.
To quote Joel Marion, owner of Joel Marion Fitness Solutions: “Cardio for fat loss is ALL about creating a metabolic disturbance which forces the body to use energy to recover. Unfortunately the form of cardio that you see nationwide being performed in most gyms does very little to create the disturbance necessary for recovering metabolism. With metabolic resistance training however, you can take intensity to a whole new level beyond what is possible with typical cardio training forms. This equates to greater energy burn and subsequently unparalleled fat loss.”
CST is highlighted by intense bouts of exercise followed up by shorter rest periods. I’m sure you’ve seen SOMEONE in a gym do something like this at some point, Tabata or otherwise, tucked into their own corner of the gym, headphones on, sweating away with seemingly NO rhyme or reason to what they’re doing. All you can tell is it looks intense, a bit odd, and far from traditional. It’s CST. Trust me. And more than likely in contrast to the physiques casually texting away on their cardio implement, the guy/gal sweating their ass off in the corner is probably lean, strong, and athletic. The goal of CST is simple really- to get the most “bang for your buck” with intense cardio/weight intervals and create the ever important “afterburn” effect in your metabolism that will serve as a calorie incinerating furnace for hours following the session. The afterburn affect is the same affect that occurs as a product of HIIT training- but CST allows you to generate that affect using WEIGHTS.
While at first these sessions may SERIOUSLY make you consider investing in a wheelchair or crutches, the great thing about the human body is that it is an amazingly resilient machine with the ability to adapt and respond to overload. So if you DO decide to give CST a go, stick with it, give your body a chance.
The OTHER great aspect of CST is that it really never gets old. You can go weeks and weeks on end without repeating the same workout. From a mental standpoint, this is REALLY helpful in warding off boredom and burnout. From a physical standpoint this is also key because it makes CST a great way to keep the body guessing. By varying the workouts and by having limitless possibilities you prevent the body from fully adapting to a particular session. Each session has the opportunity to bring something new to your mind and your body.
Okay so the first “form” of CST, which happens to also be my favorite, the MAC DADDY of CST, is called Complexes ( I’ll touch on OTHER forms at a later date). Complexes are two or more exercises performed BACK TO BACK. This sounds basic but you can get pretty complicated and fancy with complexes as there are some basic “rules” that go along with it. You’d pick two or more exercises that are going to transition smoothly, because you CANNOT put down your implement. Whatever implement you choose- barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, bodyweight WHATEVER you cannot set it down throughout the duration of the complex so ALL exercises need to be performed back to back, smooth transitions, WITHOUT setting down the implement. Since you can’t set down the implement, you cannot swap weight out, so you’ll need to choose a weight based on your WEAKEST exercise. So let’s say you picked the following for a complex (using a barbell as your implement):
· Back Squat
· Alternating Lunge
· Behind the neck Push Press
· Barbell Ab Roll out
You would select a weight based on your weakest exercise of the above exercises. Pace and load are of the utmost importance, the harder you push yourself, through weight and pace, the greater the metabolic disturbance, and the greater the fitness benefit. Now if you’re JUST beginning this style of training you may only want to do 2 sets. If you are already in pretty good shape and feel like a challenge try 4-8 sets.
I recommend 8-10 reps of each exercise because this usually creates the greatest metabolic disturbance. You SHOULD train progressively until you get acclimated, meaning start with fewer repetitions per set, fewer sets and longer rest periods. As your mind and body adjust you can increase to more sets, more repetitions, and shorter rest periods.
You’re probably already like “WTF” this sounds NUTS. Well it kind of is. I’ve done complexes in three sets of 10 repetitions of a series of 8 exercises back to back- 80 repetitions per set, 90 seconds rest in between sets. I’m only ACTUALLY working for about 6 minutes but the discomfort is insane. In the book “The New Toughness Training for Sport” by Jim Loehr he says, “If there is no personal confrontation there is no progress.” So if you doubt yourself, thinking about what to make for dinner, or being distracted by your cell phone you’re not working hard enough at your training. NOTHING WORTH ACCOMPLISHING IS GOING TO BE EASY. Complexes are far from easy but that’s why I call them the MacDaddy of CST.
A good way to start is with a bodyweight complex. One I like is:
· Burpee/Pullup Hybrid
· Lunge Jumps
· Plyometric Pushups
· Hanging Abdominals (Leg Lifts)
Or an example of a dumbbell complex:
· Curl-Lunge-Press Hybrid
· Romanian Deadlift
· Bent Over Row
· Plank with weight transfer
If you’re still feeling intimidated by including complexes in your training protocol I suggest you try EASING them into your current training routine. One way I do this in my own training is to open up my weight training days with 2-3 sets of a complex. Or, sometimes I’ll polish off my training or wrap up my lifting session with 2-3 sets of a complex. I’ll pick and choose my complex combos depending on what I’m working that day. So for example, if I was doing shoulders I would construct a complex in which all exercises target one or more heads of my deltoids. Usually I like dumbbells (I’m a dumbbell gal) but I’ve used barbells as well. If I’m working complexes into the beginning of my workout I usually do no more then 2-3 exercises and no more then 2-3 sets because I don’t want to fatigue myself too much for the rest of my workout. The goal, really, is to work some warmth into the muscle, get my heart rate up, and get my blood pumping.
You could also start small by just designating one or two days a week SOLELY for CST as well, maybe Tues and Thurs. However you choose to implement CST is entirely up to you, but I’m a firm believer in consistency and frequency as a significant factor in fitness and fat loss, so whatever you choose commit and stick to it for a bit. Even if it’s just one session a week, it’s better than nothing and the metabolic disturbance will jump start the all important after burn I mentioned (EPOC, Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption).
In addition to barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells you could ALSO use cables, medicine balls, your own bodyweight, or get even more experimental with a bosu, suspended rings or the TRX suspension system (I’ve never tried it but I’ve heard great things!). Even the inclusion of a medicine ball, a weighted vest (I LOVE adding a weighed vest) or a dumbbell to one or a few of the exercises can increase the intensity.
Complexes are super effective because they’re super hard. Push yourself just to the brink of complete failure and you’ll reap all the benefits of this challenging training method. You’ll sweat more than usual, you’ll probably be way out of your comfort zone, but you’ll feel incredibly accomplished and my guess is your mind AND body will be thanking you in the long run!
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