Strength Specific Effects LISS and HIIT

Hello gang,

I read some of the reasoning behind doing LISS and HIIT in The Bridge. I understand how HIIT can benefit strength training as the cardiovascular conditions in strength training are somewhat mimicked. But I don’t understand the adaptations from steady state cardio that benefit strength training, and I don’t understand why having an aerobic base can benefit anaerobic activities. It seems similar to doing sets of 20 to increase a 1rm. Could you give your thoughts on this or point me toward some resources with the info?

Also, I’m still in the SSLP and making steady progress, but I sometimes have to take 10 min rests because my heart rate is still quite high at 7 or 8 min. Would you advise the above conditioning as a solution even though I’m in LP?

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Caleb.

You are correct that the LISS is not directly increasing your 1RM.

But the training required to increase your 1RM over the long term has a greater metabolic cost than you might think. Think of a session where you perform 6 sets of 5 across on squat and bench, followed by some supplemental work for sets of 8-10 reps. Based on your description of your current experience on the LP, this is a sort of workout that you would not be able to tolerate. So, our goal is to get you into shape so that when the time comes where you need this much volume to optimize your progress, you can handle it better, and your inter-set recovery improves such that the RPEs don’t skyrocket from the first to the last work set.

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So if I understand correctly, even though the stress during the sets is anaerobic, the recovery process in between is more efficient with LISS, and the increase in volume is easier to handle each workout. Is this accurate?