If you are like most meatheads, conditioning really isn't your thing. You can lift for hours on end, but as soon as it comes to raising your heart rate outside of leg day, you call it quits and head for your protein shake. For a number of months I was finding it difficult to motivate myself to do conditioning outside of or in addition to my lifting. Subsequently, my lifts became worse as my overall work capacity decreased due to my deconditioned state. That's when I developed SMF.
SMF is that Self Made Finish to your training session; the final burn for the day. Essentially, it is 5 to 20 minutes of high-intensity, anaerobic or aerobic training done in an interval fashion. (I will not use the term HIIT to describe SMF because of all the negative connotations I derive from that word due people's misuse and misunderstanding of the concept.)
Examples of SMF include:
- Bike Sprints
- Plate Pushes
- Boxing
- Stairwell/Hill Sprints
- Battling Ropes
- Track Sprints
- Medicine Ball Circuits
- Jump Rope Circuits
- Kettle Bell Circuits
- Body Weight Circuits
It is an "easy" way to get your conditioning in every day without killing yourself or your lifts or having to set aside a separate time to train for conditioning.
If you are struggling to keep up your conditioning or want to improve it without sacrificing your lifts, I would highly recommend the SMF format. Set your watch for five minutes and get as much work done as you can in that time. Add 30 seconds to your watch each week and feel the improvement in your conditioning and overall training.
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.
This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.
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