It’s mentioned in BBM The Bridge E-book that cardio (GPP days) can be used to get rid of metabolic waste products… does this essentially mean that it’s good to do some cardio so you’re not so sore and tense from only lifting?
For example lets say you are really sore and tense Saturday and Sunday for a hard week of training, would it be wise to go for a walk or even a light job Sunday to feel better?
Thank you!
Not exactly. You aren’t just sitting around with “metabolic waste products” sitting in your muscles for days after lifting, and you really should not routinely be getting sore from training anyway.
What that is referring to is the idea that increased conditioning allows you to clear those byproducts more efficiently in real time, which can then translate into improved performance and/or decreased fatigue (allowing for more training) in the anaerobic realm (e.g., HIIT or lifting).
I know you mentioned that you haven’t missed but a week of training these last few years, even with that amount of training frequency do you not get sore at all after a max or sub max lift?
I know this is highly individualized and hard to answer for that reason, but for a young adult training perhaps it would be a good idea to move around more or do a light Sunday jog to clear byproducts in real time before starting the week?
Thank you Dr. Baraki
Nope.
It sounds like you still don’t understand what I’m saying. You don’t have a bunch of metabolic byproducts just sitting around in your body on Sunday before starting the week. They’ve already been dealt both during and shortly after your training session. When I say “increased conditioning allows you to clear those byproducts more efficiently in real time”, it means that when you are more conditioned, you can deal with things more efficiently during your workout. Not that doing the conditioning itself is actively “clears byproducts” that your body isn’t otherwise dealing with.
Doing conditioning and “moving around more” are still good for you for a number of other reasons as well, of course.
I gotta say that, being sore the morning after day 1 week 4 of The Bridge, it’s hard to conceive this (not that I don’t believe you, of course). Even if there wasn’t really heavy weights in absolute terms (but probably the most volume I ever did in a single wo).
Is it simply a matter of getting used to the loads and volume or lack of conditioning (most likely my case) may have a considerable part, besides allowing more training in the future?
Thanks!
Right. You just said you did the most volume you’ve ever done in one workout.
Why is it hard to conceive that, once that amount (or any reasonable amount) of volume isn’t a big deal anymore, you won’t get sore from it?
The most sore I have ever been was the morning after my first LP workout this past January. I was very surprised to find that I have almost never been sore since then. Fatigued, yes. And I was in a fair amount of pain while working through some back tweaks over a couple weeks.
recently, due to work commitments, I haven’t been able to train for almost a week. My back is now getting sore from inactivity! 4 days of almost nonstop sitting, and my back hurts far more than after deadlifting a heavy 5. I am now truly a believer that squats and deadlifts are the antidote and vaccine for back pain.
Okay thank you for clarifying, that makes sense.
My next question for you that relates to what I’m trying to figure out is this: you swam your whole life before you started training, now that you train at a high level do you miss doing more cardio related activity?
If I understand correctly, I can tell from yourself and Jordan’s podcast you guys mentioned that unless you can’t carry a bag of groceries up a few flights of stars you are in good conditional shape, therefore there isn’t any reason to think you need more cardio work.
Now I’m all on board with strength training. I would much rather be a strong, heavier person than some thin stick man who does cardio all the time. But at the same time, it’s kinda bothersome to only strength train and then be sedentary when you’re aren’t lifting. Is that just me or is that how you and Jordan also live your lives to maximize recovery?
Do either of you miss just being active for the sake of it, maybe playing a pick up game or riding a bike?
I guess I just feel strange when I have a non lifting, non GPP day, where I just literally go to work then thats it for the day. When I was growing up I was always at a sports practice, or snowboarding, or something else like that. It’s an odd adjustment and I don’t want to feel like an old man too quick.