I Must Confess: An Admission of Guilt
Well, today I come clean. I must admit my guilt.
For a while there I let “vanity” dictate my routine. If you are a client of mine, then you know I discuss the difference between vanity muscles and fitness. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing fitness for “vanity sake.” Many people I’ve encountered who claim to be ‘bodybuilders’ or ‘strength trainers’ will brag about their bench, their body-weight, or even the size of their arms. And, that’s great!
However, rarely will you hear a guy who lifts weights talk about his conditioning. In fact, many people think cardio is simply for “wimps.”
Well, I too must admit that there was a time when I neglected my conditioning purely for the pursuit of larger muscles and greater strength.
I was under the notion that cardiovascular conditioning would take away from my size and strength gains. But after years in the fitness industry (and actually getting older) I can to realize that this notion was a misconception that stems from only getting half the story.
Overdoing cardio can and will slow down your gains. But, what you probably didn’t know is that it is possible to do 3 or 4, 20 min sessions of cardio a week and still maximize muscle and strength gains.
In fact, my training Team and I believe that improving your conditioning will actually boost your performance in other areas. One major benefit is the ability to recover quicker between sets. You’ll also find that actually performing heavy weight movement exercises don’t take as much out of you either.
There are many other health benefits too.
Not only will you improvement in your ability to move heavier weight, but your endurance, alertness, and ability to go “give it your all” will increase.
So, don’t be afraid of combining conditioning work with your resistance training. It will provide rewards that will carry over to many areas of your life.
HINT: Start off slow, with 5 or 10 minutes of using a treadmill or elliptical machine. If you don’t have access to them, then try jogging or jump rope a few times a week.
If you need help designing a program that best suits your needs in the least amount of time, then consider giving me or any of my staff a call. We are here for you and can give you what you need to discover more ways to boost conditioning and your maximizing your “vanity” muscles! ; )
See you at “The Gym!”
John Aaron
musclemechanics.com
“The Gym for Personal Training”
PS: Combining strength training with conditioning work requires premium grade nutrition plan if you expect results. Click Here: Learn more about my ONLINE NUTRITION PROGRAM and our affiliation with Pro/Grade Nutritional Supplements!
Go to http://www.musclemechanics.getprograde.com/
