How one goes about structuring their training session is often a question I am presented with. Specifically, I am often asked which should be done first, conditioning or strength training. I guess conditioning really isn't a fair word here. What they are referring to is a type of conditioning, but the goal from that work may be of more of a technical nature. For example, there is a difference between running wind sprints for conditioning and running 10-meter sprints in order to work on acceleration out of the blocks. I'm not sure if I'm conveying this difference clearly or not, so if not, drop a comment to let me know and I'll attempt to clear it up in a future post.
Anyways, the same distinctions can be made with strength training, too. Are you squatting to work the technical aspect of the squat and become a better squatter or are you using the squat as a tool to develop another skill. There, that's a better way of thinking about it. Are you training the movement because it is a primary movement of your sport and mastering it will allow you master your sport, or is training the movement a means to helping other movements progress? In other words, how great of a transfer is there between what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish?
The higher the transfer, the greater the precedence the movement should receive when you are structuring your training. For example, a powerlifter should work the technical aspects of his squat before performing any aerobic conditioning. Likewise, a sprinter should squat after the technical aspects of her sprint are trained for the day. The reason for this is because when performing movements that require absolute precision in order for you to have the highest probability of success at achieving what it is you desire to achieve, you want the neuromuscular system to be at it's most rested state. If you try to learn or perfect movements while in a fatigued state, there is a much lower chance that you will ingrain that movement into your CNS in the way you want it performed and may, in fact, teach your body how to perform that movement in a less-than-optimal manner.
If you are not a competitive athlete and are just trying to lift and do conditioning for health reasons, then what you do first depends on what you would rather get through while feeling fatigued. Will you still do conditioning if you lift first? Will you still lift after if your conditioning gasses you? One recommendation I will give, however, is that if you are going to perform any type of explosive or plyometrics-based movement, I would strongly suggest performing these movements before you do your strength training. My reasoning is that if you fatigue yourself with squats, for example, and then do a bunch of jumps after, if the squats were too much for some of your muscles to handle and subsequently those muscles are no longer contracting as they should, when you land from the jump there will be greater eccentric forces placed on your system than there will be during a squat. If what isn't contracting is placed under the greater stress, then you will be at a much higher risk for injury.
When structuring your training for the day, take into consideration your goals from the training and give precedence to certain exercises based on their ability to help you reach your goals. The exercises which have the highest transfer to helping your reach your goals should be performed near the beginning of your training session.
Charlie Cates, CSCS
Self Made®, Owner
Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.
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