Example workouts with work & rest intervals included!
Jordan Patrick, B.S. Kinesiology & Nutrition, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, 8 Weeks Out Certified Conditioning Coach
The most important thing to understand about conditioning is that it is the system that delivers your muscles ability to perform. Being very strong and powerful without a conditioning system to transport it is such a tragedy. Think of conditioning like the “currency” of your body’s energy which dictates the type of performance it’s capable of. It is possible to have a high level of fitness, but a poor level of conditioning. It is the mental and physical ability to utilize your fitness to meet the demands of the environment. In other words, conditioning is the ability to take those measurable qualities such as power, strength, speed, and mobility and turn them into performance. Let’s dive in with a few examples!
#1 Classic HIIT Style Workouts
You’ve probably heard of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) at some point or another. It’s an anaerobic dominant style of training that pushes your cardiovascular outpoint to a whole other level because of the high intensity and effort. You can use your bodyweight or almost any piece of equipment in the gym (jump rope, kettlebells, treadmills, medicine balls, battle ropes, etc).You will work up a sweat fast and you get a brief recovery period followed by another round of high intensity. HIIT workouts can save you time because you won’t have to exercise as long to get the same caloric burn as you would with longer steady state cardio.
HIIT example #1 – Tabata Method
A Tabata is a category of HIIT hallmarked by 8 Rounds of :20 seconds of work followed by :10 seconds of rest. A traditional Tabata takes 4 minutes to complete. Usually people will do multiple tabatas in a row lasting anywhere from 8-24 minutes. You can do 1 exercise for a tabata or alternate with 2 exercises. Here’s some examples.
Tabata Example #1 (using 1 exercise)
8 Rounds (4 total minutes)
- Medicine Ball Slams – :20 seconds
- *Rest :10 seconds between bouts
…after Tabata #1 rest 60 seconds and go directly into Tabata #2
Tabata Example #2 (using 2 exercises, alternating)
8 Rounds (4 total minutes)
- Burpees – :20 seconds
- *Rest :10 seconds
- Russian KB Swings – :20 seconds
- *rest :10 seconds
**Technically you are doing 4 rounds of each exercise since you’re alternating between the 2, so it will still last 4 minutes**
I love using the Tabata interval for my core workouts and even muscular endurance “burnout” sets. With Tabata, the possibilities are endless!
HIIT example #2 – EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)
EMOM is a workout protocol where you complete a predetermined number of reps of a particular exercise within a 60 second time period. Any time that remains in the 60 second block after you’ve done your reps is your rest/recovery time before you move on to the next set. Remember, the clock is running! So the quicker you complete the reps, the more rest you earn for yourself before going again at the top of the next minute. EMOMs are time efficient and force you to challenge yourself by building up your stamina. EMOMs can last anywhere from 10-40 minutes!
EMOM Example #1
EMOM x 10 minutes
- Jump Rope – 60 reps
Looks pretty simple right? At the end of the 10 minutes you will have jumped 600 times! About halfway through it starts to burnnnn. Advanced people can increase this to 75 reps!
EMOM Example #2
- EMOM x 15 minutes
- Minute 1: Push-ups: 12 reps
- Minute 2: Burpees: 10 reps
- Minute 3: Bodyweight Squats: 15 reps
- Minute 4: Situps: 15 reps
- Minute 5: Reverse Lunges: 20 reps
This version we’re using 5 different exercises. Since the EMOM lasts 15 minutes, that means you will go down the list and back up to the top doing 3 sets of everything once the EMOM is finished!!
#2 Lactic Intervals
Unlike Tabata or EMOMs where you get a brief 10-20 seconds rest, having a longer rest period than your work period will allow you to recover better so that you can put more or the same amount of intensity into your following sets. This is popular with activities like running, cycling, and sports training. Lactic intervals are generally around 30-60 seconds of a work period. If you train with 30 second bouts, you’ll be more leaning toward the side of lactic power and with a 60 second bout you’ll be training more lactate capacity. The purpose of the interval is to have a way to improve your overall lactate threshold (your ability to go high intensity for longer periods). Having a higher lactate threshold means an athlete can continue at a high intensity with longer time to exhaustion. Because of this, lactate threshold is one of several factors that will indicate athletic performance in many cases.
The goal during lactic intervals is to have an intense work period and then get your heart rate back down as quickly as possible, this might take 1-2 minutes in most cases. The quicker you can recover your heart rate indicates a superior cardiovascular fitness. If you have a heart rate monitor, it’s best to rest until your heart rate gets back down to about 60-65% before doing the next set. Lactic intervals are very fatiguing and the goal is to focus on how many QUALITY sets you can get while maintaining around the same intensity each set. Lactic Intervals help you develop fitness qualities while reinforcing the mental performance to control your energy expenditure in order to maintain good technique throughout.
Here are some examples:
Example #1 Lactic Power
10 Rounds
- Incline Sprint on the Treadmill – :30 seconds @ 10-15% Incline
*60-90 seconds rest between sets (or when your heart rate is down to 60-65%)
Incline sprints are a great example of something that is so intense that you will need longer rest to be able to recover and keep good quality as sets prolong.
Example #2 Lactic Threshold
5 Rounds
- Sled Push or Bear Crawls – 60 seconds
*90-120 seconds rest between sets (or when your heart rate is down to 60-65%)
You can also make lactic intervals more sports specific, for example in my particular sport (Jiu Jitsu) you can perform 30-60 seconds of continuous takedowns or positional specific training at a high intensity with a timed rest period.
#3 HICT (High Intensity Continuous Training)
HICT is different from HIIT and different from lactic threshold training in that you want a lot of resistance at a slower pace. For heart rate you will actually be in the middle zone about 70-75% of your max (no higher than 80%) at a hard, slow pace. This is a way to train the high threshold fibers for a longer stimulus and training this way will enhance your body’s ability to recover from those faster bouts of exercise. The only downside to HICT is that there’s only a few things that work well because you don’t want a lot of eccentric components with the movement that you use. You want to attempt 5-20 minutes. You probably won’t sustain very long your first couple attempts but you can eventually work your way up to the 20 minute mark. This is great for training your mental toughness as well.
Example #1 (best option if you have it)
- Cycle Bike – HARD Resistance where your RPM can sustain around 20-30 continuously.
Example #2
- Stairmaster w/weighted vest at a slow pace
Example #3
- Uphill Lunge or slow paced Box Step Ups
In summary, this is only a snippet of the many ways you can train your body’s ability to move well under loads or with your own bodyweight. There is more to cardio than just steady state running and doing all out 100% effort all the time that will quickly lead to overtraining. I hope this opens your eyes to ways that are more fun and effective!
If you need more professional help and guidance, and especially if you have certain physical limitations, I make custom training plans with instructional exercise videos for my clients based on their goals, abilities, limitations, and available equipment. I talk to all of my clients daily through my app as well make them custom meal plans, provide nutritional coaching, and hold them accountable to their goals!. Click here (https://jordanpatrickfitness.com/contact/) so we can schedule a 30 min consultation call to see if I can help you reach your goals!