Hello!
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about the advantages/disadvantages of including cardio in a strength/hypertrophy focused program.
I’ve heard what you guys have had to say on the podcast and have read a series of 4 or so articles on Greg Nuckols’ site.
I was hoping to get a confirmation from you on some things I’ve taken away from the reading as well as get some answers on training specifics.
Takeaways:
- The advantage of including cardio is increased work capacity (in addition to overall long-term health benefits)
- There is an interference effect between AMPK and mTOR, but not as pronounced as originally believed
- Some (much?) of the interference effect was due specifically to running, and it’s not as pronounced in cycling/swimming etc
- HIIT work does not confer all of the advantages of longer cardio work
Training questions (again, all of this assuming my primary programming is strength/hypertrophy):
- Should cardio be steady state? (Heart rate targeting?)
- Is it ok to do dynamic cardio programs (e.g. “spinning” classes with intervals, hills, etc)
- How much cardio should be done each week?
- Do you believe rucking is good cardio? (And is ok for joint health?)
I also walk 4-6 miles a day at a fairly brisk pace. Would this substitute for higher heart-rate cardio work?
Thank you again!