Is cardio needed for an exceptional body & mind…
Mandsager, K. et al (2018) ‘Association of Cardiorespiratory fitness with long-term mortality among adults Undergoing exercise treadmill testing’, Jama Netw Open, 2018; 1(6): e183605, Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6324439/
The study undertaken by Mandsager, K. et al (2018) referenced above, took 122,000 participants aged 53 average and measured their VO2max using a treadmill.
VO2max is maximal oxygen consumption which measures a subject’s Aerobic fitness based on a scale from low to elite fitness.
It was found that going from a low to just below average VO2 max saw a 50% reduction of all-cause mortality in the next 10 years!!
All-cause mortality are deaths that exclude accidental deaths such as car accidents etc.
Remember that all other factors such as body fat, smoker vs non smoker were taken into account so this was just from improving cardiovascular fitness.
It was also found that improving from low VO2 max to elite level fitness saw a 5 fold reduction in all-cause mortality
Just to give you an idea of how powerful this is;
If you are a smoker vs non smoker there is a 41% difference in all cause mortality.
Getting fit has a more powerful reduction in CVD disease, cancer and End stage renal disease death!
We can now see how important doing your cardio is no matter what your goal is.
Performance Benefits
Increases mitochondria in skeletal muscle meaning greater use of oxygen to produce ATP and energy.
Increased capillarization of skeletal muscle- This improves circulation and oxygen availability to muscles. Also improves efficiency of removal of Lactic acid during training.
Increased lung capacity.
All of the above increase your work capacity whilst in the gym. As we said above, training volume is the main driver of hypertrophy.
If you fatigue too quickly while training because you’re unfit. This will reduce the weight lifted, number of sets and reps lifted. I.e. reducing training volume leading to less muscle built.
The 3 benefits above will lead to better to recovery between each session. Meaning you can perform more effectively each session.
Cardio Protocol
All the top experts agree to 180-200 minutes a week of cardio per week for cardiovascular health and performance.
An important note is that all the fittest people such as Tour de France cyclists do a large amount of their work at Zone 2. Which is low intensity 60-70% of your heart rate.
The top cycling coach in the world Inigo San Milan has his cyclist spend hours at this intensity to build their aerobic capacity.
Therefore you don’t need to crush yourself every session.
To calculate your approximate max heart rate is 200 minus your age.
My favourite piece of equipment is the rower. For the following reasons;
Measurable- Any form of training it’s vital you’re measuring progress. If you aren’t measuring, how do you know whether you’re improving or not?
Safe- 99% of people don’t know how to run safely and end up with a large number of chronic injuries. Unless you have a running coach and are light, I would stick to rowing.
It’s brutal- Nothing is more savage than rowing but I promise once you start progression you’ll love it.
Below is a video link to our YouTube channel explaining how to set up the rower
How to PROPERLY use the Concept 2 Rowing Machine // Drag, Intervals, Set Up & Technique – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaiJlEOf-UE
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BTX Protocol for Cardio
Week 1-3
3 Times a week 40-minute walk/incline treadmill walk or stationary bike at Zone 2
3 Times a week 5x500m with a minute rest
Week 3-6
2 Times a week 40-minute walk/incline treadmill walk or stationary bike at Zone 2
One 5000m row
2 Times a week 8x500m with a minute rest
Week 6-9
2 Times a week 40-minute walk/incline treadmill walk or stationary bike at Zone 2
One 30 minute row
2 Times a week 10x500m with a minute rest
Week 9-12
2 Times a week 40-minute walk/incline treadmill walk or stationary bike at Zone 2
2 Times a week 30 minute row
2 Times a week 10x500m with a minute rest
Notes
Try and separate your rowing from your weight training on separate days or morning weights then in the evening rowing
If not lift weights first followed by rowing
When training push,pull,legs obviously this is not possible as you’re lifting 6 times a week. So just row after your lifting session or split AM/PM
The walking you can do at any time except days you’re rowing.
Make sure the walking/Bike is not harder than zone 2 as this is important for building an aerobic base. If it’s good enough for Tour de France cyclists. It’s good enough for you.
The best heart rate monitor on the market and what I personally us is the Polar H10.
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