Finally! Cardio for the Strength Athlete.

So I recently retired from playing minor league football a few weeks short of my 29th birthday. Having played nearly my entire life, I decided that I was finally tired of the bumps, bruises, and injuries that serve as the opportunity cost of playing such a vicious and violent game. Nonetheless, I'll always love the game and it will always be a huge part of me and who I am as a competitor.

Toting the rock in the final game in my hometown

How you doin'?

So now that football is over for me, where in the hell am I going to get my cardio from? If you're a strength athlete like me, then you almost feel allergic to cardiovascular training. However, as we get older the need for cardio becomes more prevalent. Knowing that, I went on a hunt for a few cardiovascular conditioning programs and came across two offseason routines put together by the strength and conditioning coaches for the Houston Texans NFL franchise. Both routines are timed speed intervals with one covering 60 seconds and the other covering 30 seconds. The idea is for the first program to be simulated 400 meter runs and the second program to be 200 meters. (It should be noted that as a athletic performance professional and former football player, I do not advocate running more than 100 yards as a form of football conditioning. Distance running is not functional for the game of football in any way. However, these running programs are great forms of conditioning for other sports that requiring middle distance running and for Joe Blows like you and I.) The programs go as follows:

400's Treadmill Interval Workout

Exercise time: 60 seconds

Rest interval: 2 minutes, 30 seconds

Repetitions: 6

Instructions: Run for 60 seconds, then either dismount the treadmill or slow walk for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. (Always use 2 and half times the running time for recovery) Continue this process until you've finished 6 repetitions. Cool down at 3 mph for 3 minutes. When you can complete all 6 reps at the same speed, increase the speed by 1/2 mph on your next workout. For safety reasons, do NOT exceed 15 mph. Once 15 mph has been acheived, begin to increase the treadmill incline. Workout should take approximately 17 minutes.

200's Treadmill Interval Workout

Exercise Time: 30 seconds

Rest Interval: 1 minute, 15 seconds

Repetitions: 10

Instructions: Same as above, but adjust for 30 second intervals with 1 minute, 15 seconds of recovery time and 10 repetitions.

These programs are designed for the trainee to reach the target heart rate zone of 70-85% of your max heart rate. Working in this target zone is optimal for the conditioning of the cardiorespiratory system. And best of all, each program only takes 17 friggin' minutes! As a strength athlete, you probably don't want to be on the treadmill for 45 minutes to an hour with long distance cardio, as this will have adverse effects towards my strength and muscular gains. (Just think, have you ever seen a big strong marathoner or cyclist? Last time I checked, Lance Armstrong was about 165 lbs...with or without performance enhancers.) In performing these running programs a 2-3 times per week, you can improve your cardiovascular health without sacrifice your strength training too much. Give them a try, and tell me what you think.

Now, what are you going to do?

CAS