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Cardio for lifters

Gym (men) / Popular

Add conditioning without hurting your gains.

What coaches agree on

  • Choose low-impact cardio — cycling, rowing, incline walking, swimming, or rucking — for your conditioning work; it causes far less muscle damage and soreness than running, which protects your recovery for your next lifting session.
  • Building real cardio conditioning improves your work capacity and recovery between sets, letting you handle more training volume and perform better on your lifts.
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Common mistakes

  • Doing your cardio session right before lifting leaves you fatigued and cuts into your strength and rep performance for that workout.
  • Pushing conditioning work to an all-out, lactic "gasping" effort more than a couple of times a week interferes with strength, recovery, and fast-twitch power.
  • Skipping cardio entirely because it isn't strictly required for fat loss means giving up real cardiovascular health, longevity, and mood/sleep benefits that diet alone doesn't provide.
Cardio for Powerlifters
Intermediate

Cardio for Powerlifters

Coach's take: Genuinely useful, specific cardio prescription tailored to lifters.

3.5