Is Your Current Fitness Program Working for You?

A friend of mine asked me the other day if the cycling I do makes me tired and slows down my bodybuilding gains?

What an outstanding question!!  

I was grateful to be asked this question and it inspired this week’s article on fitness program design. Thanks to my friend for the question and please keep sending questions about fitness my way. This is a community and by sharing our questions, thoughts, and experiences we learn and grow.

Every workout we do whether it is cardio, resistance training, yoga, pilates, running, swimming or any other modality - they all have benefits and they all have a purpose.

A fitness program should include a number of elements 

Cardiovascular exercise is an important contributor to overall health and wellness. It is critical to perform aerobic exercise to stimulate the cardiovascular system and keep the heart, blood vessels, and lungs healthy. 

Resistance training increases lean body mass, increases metabolic rate, reduces fat mass, and promotes bone development even reversing aging in skeletal muscle tissue.

Flexibility training improves range of motion, posture, balance, mood and also decreases chronic pain.

The question my friend asked me:

Does cardiovascular exercise makes me too tired to put in the hard work at the weight room - the answer is Yes! But there is more to it…...

Program Design is an important element of a fitness program. I expect most of you are doing this to an extent already. You likely have an established routine or pattern, and a selection of workouts you perform on a consistent basis. Whether you are doing the same type of workout every day or if you have taken a step further, blending cardio, resistance (strength) training, and flexibility training, you currently have a program design.

What you should do is examine if the program design is working for you.

Reflect on the goals you have yet to achieve.

Is your current fitness program design going to get you there?

Let’s dive into this a little more….

We can chat later about finding a program design that fits the perfect athlete – You!! 

Every fitness program should include:

• The Warm-up

• Flexibility training

• Core training

• Balance training

• Resistance training

• Cardiorespiratory training

• The Cool-down

The two we are going to focus on in this article are resistance training and cardiorespiratory training.  And specifically how do they counteract and compliment each other within a fitness program design.  Let’s consider two scenarios:

Scenario 1:  You want to build cardiovascular stamina, improve aerobic capacity, and gain overall strength while maintaining flexibility.  This scenario is very applicable to most everyone who is looking to stay fit and healthy over the long term. I applaud you if this scenario aligns with your goals.

Scenario 2:  Your main focus is bodybuilding and maximizing muscle gains (also known as hypertrophy). As a bodybuilder the challenge becomes achieving a lean physique without sacrificing muscular size and development. This scenario applies to a number of you and put myself in Scenario 2 as well.

OK, let’s get back to my friend’s question now that we have established that I fall in Scenario 2.

“Does the cycling I do make me tired and slow down my bodybuilding gains?”

A strenuous cardiovascular workout, particularly one longer than 30 minutes will burn a good percentage of the available calories/energy in your system leaving less energy for a resistance training workout.  Is that bad?  

No, it is perfectly fine if you fall in Scenario 1. Stacking cardio and strength training workouts is great and you will get the benefits of both because you are putting in the effort to build both aerobic capacity and muscular strength. While you may be missing out on maximum strength gains with your lifts, is it really that big of a deal whether you train with 20 lb or 25 lb dumbbells? It’s not — as long as the effort is there, don’t get too caught up in the numbers. What matters is you are consistently training your muscles and focused on gaining strength over time.

Cross-fit actually combines resistance training and cardiovascular training in the same workout which is perfect for people looking to build aerobic capacity and strength in a single workout. 

For those of you who are on Peloton, the platform makes it easy for you to stack strength training workouts with cycling, running, or rowing classes and build-in the warm-up and cool down on your stack which is awesome!  Peloton has done a great job enabling their members to tailor their workout routines.

But what about those of us who fall in Scenario 2 - The Bodybuilders?  Rest assured it is very possible to build and maintain a high level of muscle while getting sufficient cardiovascular exercise done. I recommend everyone includes cardiovascular exercise as part of your fitness program because of the long-term health benefits especially for your heart.  

That being said, it is important to understand that as a bodybuilder every calorie counts, every minute of recovery counts, and you need to consider how to keep your cardio work from counteracting with your muscle building work. Do both - absolutely do both!! But consider how you include them in your program design.

Here’s how I do it:

I never do both cardio and strength on the same day

I prioritize strength training to maximize muscle gains

I get one rest day per week

I make sure to get 175 g of protein every day

My personal fitness program design:

Monday = Resistance - Arms

Tuesday = Resistance - Legs

Wednesday = Cardio - Cycle 45 - 60 min

Thursday = Resistance - Chest and Core

Friday = Rest

Saturday Cardio - Cycle 60 - 90 min

Sunday Resistance - Shoulders and Back

* Yoga every day, every workout includes a warm up and cool down

For a bodybuilder, the key is recovery time between your workouts. If hypertrophy (muscle building) is the goal having space between cardio workouts and strength workouts provides the following benefits:

• Purposeful mental preparation for each type of workout

• Adequate energy for every workout especially your strength work

• Specific fueling for cardio vs. strength workouts

• Specialized recovery for cardio vs. strength workouts

• Variation in warm-up and cooldown appropriate for each type of workout

Your program design doesn’t need to look exactly like mine or anyone else's. There are lots of fitness programs out there and in my opinion most of them are good. The best fitness program for you is the one designed specifically for you and your goals.  

Think about how you are using the energy in your body and if your training program is working for you don’t change it - you’re doing great. If you find you are draining your battery or if you are missing out on some of your goals even though you are putting in the work - let’s chat about it.

Click the button here to Book a Free 30-minute consultation with me. 

Best of luck with your training and I hope to hear from you soon.

— Tom