cardio: really compatible with linear lifting programme?

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

dear doctors,

as a novice lifter on a linear programme i am facing a little conundrum over cardio that i was very keen to ask you guys about.

for context: i work from 7am to 7pm most weekdays, train 3x/week after work and usually get ~6h of sleep/night.

up til 1-2m ago i had never really done any form of cardio, and just recently began running 30min at 5-6mph every day i don’t lift. as a result my strength gains have taken a big hit, especially my squat. i also feel very fatigued throughout the day and a bit worn out.

my question is: do i just soldier on with cardio + lifting until my work capacity adapts at the cost of some short-term fatigue? or maybe is 3-4x cardio sessions a week a bit incompatible with a linear lifting programme, especially when lifting volume really starts to ramp up?

thank u for ur time!!

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You may have started out with a bit more conditioning work than you were really prepared for, given your level of adaptation and available recovery resources.

Aside from this, we do not think that rigidly linear training programs are ideal for a variety of reasons we’ve discussed in our programming-related content in the past.

Doing both strength & conditioning work is important, and I think that finding a tolerable/sustainable way to do both is preferable in the long term. This may involve adjusting the dosage (intensity, volume, frequency) of conditioning activity in the short term, finding strategies that allow for more autoregulation in your strength training, and ensuring you’re getting adequate sleep throughout the week.

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thank you for the answer Austin. you’re the best