Can Cardio Help You Get Stronger?

Directly, probably not.

But indirectly, yes it can.

I don’t have a lot of evidence to back this up (if you want the science behind why cardio can help you get stronger, check out some articles by Greg Nuckols and Alex Viada); I just know from first hand experience that when I’m not doing any cardio, my ability to set PRs in the weight room declines dramatically.

 

And, I Would Attribute This Most to a Decline in Work Capacity.

Work capacity, as defined by Strength Coach Greg Nuckols, is the “total amount of work you can perform, recover from, and adapt positively to,” and because getting stronger requires a continual increase in the total amount of work/stress you subject your body to on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis (you can’t grow without overload), this poses a bit of a problem.

Now, strength training in and of itself improves work capacity, but you can’t continue to increase the volume and/or frequency of your strength workouts – indefinitely and without strategy – without one of two things happening:

 

1. You accumulate a s*** ton of fatigue (which negatively impacts performance).

 

2. You get injured.

 

Instead of doing more work in the weight room (assuming you’re following a properly designed resistance training program that’s not only tailored to you individually, but that showcases a solid progression scheme), it’d be better to throw in some cardiovascular workouts.

Doing so will not only improve work capacity – which will improve your ability to 1.) Tolerate more work/stress in the weight room, and 2.) Resist fatigue – but it will also improve hearth health, brain function, your ability to utilize oxygen, and a host of other factors that all play a role in optimal health and function.

 

Secondly, I Would Attribute It to a Decline in Pain Tolerance.

I’m gonna steal a line from Strengh Coach Tony Gentilcore:

“Strength training isn’t supposed to tickle.”

Lifting progressively heavier weights?

Supersaturating your muscles with blood?

That mess hurts.

It’s painful.

It isn’t the “bad” pain associated with traumatic injury; it’s the “good” pain associated with growth and development.

But, regardless of whether it’s “good” pain or “bad” pain, it’s still pain, and it’s something all of us avoid unless we’re trained – or prepared – to embrace it.

Running?

Biking?

Swimming (legitimate swimming, not the stuff you do when you’re chilling at the pool with your friends)?

That stuff sucks.

It’s brutalizing.

It requires you to get to a point where everything inside of you – both mentally and physically – is telling you to “STOP” because you can’t go any farther, and to continue pushing forward.

And that right there – the ability to “embrace the suck” (stole that from Alex Viada) and push past your perceived limits – has a major impact on your ability to display, and maintain, intensity in the weight room.  

 

Alright… So How Much Cardio Should I Be Doing?

Personally, I would start with some form of low intensity cardio 1-2 x per week, for 30-60 minutes per session.

If you’re someone who competes in a specific sport, you’ll want to choose an activity that most resembles what you’ll be doing in competition.

If you’re someone who doesn’t compete in a specific sport, pick the activity that’s most fun and exciting (nothing is off limits).

As you progress, you can either increase the intensity (speed), duration (time), or frequency of your cardiovascular workouts.

But, don’t get too crazy with this; the main goal is still to build maximal strength.

Figure out an amount of cardio that aids – not hinders – your ability to gain strength in the weight room, and stick with it.

If your cardiovascular workouts start to have a negative impact on your strength training workouts, you need to tone things down a bit.

 

Wrapping Up.

Like I said before, I don’t have any evidence to back up the claims made in this article (…yet).

I just know that in the absence of cardio, my strength training workouts become infinitely more challenging.

Will cardio help YOU get stronger?

Will it make it easier for YOU to create overload – and maintain a higher intensity – in the weight room?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I guess you won’t know until you try it.

If your workouts are running smoothly, and you’re setting new PRs on a regular basis, don’t change anything.

But, if your workouts aren’t running smoothly – and you aren’t setting any new PRs – add in some cardio.

Trust me…the results will probably surprise you.