Fit and Fine by Kamal Singh CSCS: Strength or conditioning?

What is the difference between strength and conditioning when it comes to working out and why you need to focus on both equally

Today’s column is the result of a conversation I had with a prospective client. He came to me with a goal of improving his “stamina”. He had been an active strength trainee for the last few years. His lifts were pretty impressive and the form pretty good too. If he lost just a few kilos, he would be in great physical shape. The reason he came to me was that he tried playing football again after a gap of few years and found to his dismay, that though he was big and strong, he could not keep up with his teammates!

Buying into the strength and high intensity myth

The fitness industry has been pushing this idea for too long now that as long as you are improving your strength in the gym, conditioning can be improved very quickly. But strength is good as long as you have the heart and lungs to go along with it.

Using a typical bodybuilding style of lifting in the gym – where long rest is taken between sets of exercise, does very little for improving the functioning of the cardio-vascular system. This is a fact and it does not matter which weight lifting guru might tell you otherwise.

Also tacking a couple of high intensity intervals at the end of your weight training session, will do very little for your conditioning. If your cardio is lagging, then these few sets of hard intervals will be like a drop in the ocean.

An overview of the energy systems in the body

We have two main energy systems in the body—aerobic and anerobic. Anytime we need to quickly exert ourselves for a short period of time, the anerobic or without oxygen system is utilized. Any intense activity lasting up to 30-45 seconds primarily uses the anerobic system. As the duration increases, the body switches to using the slower aerobic or with oxygen system.

Earlier it was falsely believed that the aerobic and anerobic systems were mutually exclusive but we know better now. The energy systems of the body are a continuum. Initially the energy might be produced anaerobically, but the aerobic counterpart also contributes to the process. The good thing about the anaerobic system is that it can be accessed very quickly but it runs of steam very quickly. The good thing about the aerobic system is that you can use it for a long time, run a marathon etc. but it tends to be slow!

Another we were not aware earlier was that it was the aerobic system which helps the body recover between bouts of intense exercise. Thus, you have to do the slow, steady paced running, cycling to develop the aerobic system. This is the much derided “jogging will make weak” pace which the gym bros love to hate. But this pace will help you develop an efficient cardio-vascular system. As a side benefit, workouts in the gym will become easier as recovery between intense sets will be faster.

Implementing a running fitness program

In my view:

•Everyone should be able to run 3.2 km in less than 20 minutes. This is pretty much a fast-walking pace.

•Look for a stadium with 400 m running track.

•Run 4 rounds in 9 minutes or less. This is 1 mile.

•If you can do 1 mile in 9 minutes or less. Then you would be able to easily do 3.2 km in less than 20 minutes.

If you cannot run the 3.2 km in less than 20 minutes, then your aerobic system is woefully underdeveloped. Time to focus on developing your cardio-vascular system to go with your strength and muscularity. Keep the lifting to a maximum of two days a week for the next three months and pick up any 3 days a week beginner running program freely available on the net. If you are diligent and consistent, running 5 km inside 30 minutes would become easy. Once there, come back to your lifting and keep the running on a maintenance level- max 2 days a week.

Now go and do it.

Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years

From HT Brunch, May 28, 2022

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