Thread: How is heavy weightlifting not sufficient for cardio?

Because you simply aren't allowing the aerobic energy system to take full flight. Sure you are getting your HR up, but are you keeping it there?

You should train so all of the body's energy systems get a chance to take over. Creatine phosphate, anaerobic and aerobic. That is as far as health goes, anyway.

All of the energy systems are being used 24/7, but each should get a chance to be the primary energy source in exercise.

If you train in power lifting, your body adapts so your CP and anaerobic energy systems become more efficient, but your aerobic capacity diminishes. Like P-Funk has said, you can only serve one god. If you focus intently on aerobic strength, your CP strength will suffer, and visa versa. You can't be a marathon runner and a powerlifter.

You are probably getting beat up by those 6-8 rep heavy squats because your work capacity is low (a combination of aerobic and anaerobic energy efficiency). That is why it is prudent for PL guys to train what they call GPP (general physical preparedness). It helps to bring your work capacity up so you don't get wasted after such sets of squats. If your work capacity is so low that is affects your performance in heavy weight lifting, you should probably focus on increasing it. This doesn't mean you have to start training like an endurance athlete on top of power lifting, it just means you should keep your general work capacity in check so you can accomplish normal stuff through the day and in the gym.

So no, mid-range rep movements aren't enough for cardio, IMO.

Hope that helps.

From an article by Chad Waterbury -

" Early in my training days in Chicago, I befriended a chap named Tim. Most of you probably aren't familiar with Tim, but I can tell you that he was a stud in this industry. He virtually monopolized the professional basketball industry with his efficient and effective training methods. His list of clients read like any trainer's dream: Scottie Pippen, Juwan Howard, Rod Strickland, and, oh yeah, a fella named Michael Jordan.

I'm sure you can recall Jordan's metamorphosis from a weak, skinny player to a ripped, muscular force that could easily dunk over monsters such as Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon. Michael's newfound strength and increased performance was directly due to the magic of Tim. Word around the campfire was that each one of Tim's clients paid him more for a single month of training than most people make in a year. And you know what? His clients seemed happy to write the check!

Luckily for me, Tim is a good guy and he didn't mind if I peeked over his shoulder once in a while to analyze what he was doing with his clients. (Every now and then, he'd give me a nod and tell me that I was a good kid and I'd make it in this industry someday.) One of Tim's clients in particular really stuck out in my mind. This dude was 7'1" and massive. I'm not referring to "massively muscular" ? just massive. He carried an enormous amount of body fat on his huge frame, but he also possessed some serious natural talent.

The problem was, this fella was completely out of shape, and not the most motivated person in the gym. Tim had his work cut out for him. The first few weeks of this big dude's regimen consisted of little more than walking on the treadmill at a brisk pace followed by some court drills. I knew what Tim was doing, and luckily for his client, Tim knew what he was doing too. Specifically, he was training the big guy to improve his GPP levels.

Without an adequate "base" of fitness, this monster wasn't going to be able to jog across the room without having a coronary. But Tim's plan worked. Before long, the big guy was two-steppin' all over the court! "

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I bolded that last part for you.

Dave Tate has some good articles out there about GPP for PL guys.

Now, I appreciate your input Fufu, that's some good info there you wrote. I am not in as bad of shape as you may think, I was just saying that on that particular exercise, squats, today, it was one hell of a cardio "feeling" workout. Of course I need to up my capacity, I know that, that's what happens when you train in singles and triples for as long as I did, so lo and behold, that whopping 5 rep set was a doozy.

I guess the point I was trying to make was I truly felt just like I do after I sprint. Take HIIT for example, if you were to sprint for 30 seconds, then walk for a minute, then sprint, then walk, etc., I know you are still technically moving during the walking phase, but the sprint phase feels just like a heavy weight set to me, breathing and heartrate wise. Now, would it be more of a cardio type workout if I were to walk around my gym for my 2 minute rest period between sets?

In your opinion, how does what I described weight wise differ from HIIT?

do 315 for 15 then ask

Originally Posted by Stewart14

Now, I appreciate your input Fufu, that's some good info there you wrote. I am not in as bad of shape as you may think, I was just saying that on that particular exercise, squats, today, it was one hell of a cardio "feeling" workout. Of course I need to up my capacity, I know that, that's what happens when you train in singles and triples for as long as I did, so lo and behold, that whopping 5 rep set was a doozy.

I guess the point I was trying to make was I truly felt just like I do after I sprint. Take HIIT for example, if you were to sprint for 30 seconds, then walk for a minute, then sprint, then walk, etc., I know you are still technically moving during the walking phase, but the sprint phase feels just like a heavy weight set to me, breathing and heartrate wise. Now, would it be more of a cardio type workout if I were to walk around my gym for my 2 minute rest period between sets?

In your opinion, how does what I described weight wise differ from HIIT?

I don't necessarily think you are in bad shape. I am just working with the info you put in your post. You are probably in great shape compared to most people. However, comparing yourself to yourself in terms of your strength performance may be a different story.

How long does a set of 6-8 rep squats take (perhaps 20-30 seconds)? How long do you rest in between (perhaps 2-4 minutes)? Do you really think that walking around the gym is warrants active recovery under the terms of HIIT?

In HIIT, I imagine you perform a high intensity total body exercise for x amount of time (I'd say no more than 30 seconds, seeing how high intensity exercise can't be sustained for that long), then continue the same exercise (or a similar one) w/ light resistance a rest period for x amount of time.

So, I wouldn't consider your example HIIT, but semantics exist as well.

Sure, you are doing high intensity work, resting, and repeating, but why bother calling it HIIT? Just to call it? My idea of HIIT has more specific parameters.

So this is how I would see your example turned into HIIT -

5 squats w/ 315
20 squats w/ 95
repeat as you'd like

Now, that would be much harder. In HIIT, you never really stop the exercise, you keep your elevated heart rate maintained. I wouldn't consider walking around the gym as active recovery. You are active, but walking around is so entirely low intensity I wouldn't even consider "exercise" in the context of the gym. As far as your heart rate is concerned, I wouldn't see a difference between walking around and standing around.

*Under my criteria, one would have to jog between sprints under HIIT protocol. Maybe walking would work, but I would have a pretty short rest interval. The goal is to keep that heart rate up, keep that body tired, deter it from recovering.

"How is heavy weightlifting not sufficient for cardio?"

When you rest for five minutes.

I dropped some cardio and put legs on a circuit. The circuit comes after back squats in a pyramid. The circuit includes front squats(ass to the ground).

i always work up a sweat during squats and deadlifts as they put pressure on your whole body, but you need to rest before you can do the next set and by that time your HR has gone down.

if you could do sets of 20 squats with heavy weights and only 20 sec rest inbetween and do it for 20 mins without any negatives then sure it could be cardio

Originally Posted by fufu

So this is how I would see your example turned into HIIT -

5 squats w/ 315
20 squats w/ 95
repeat as you'd like

This sounds like a good tough workout...