Why Cardio Is Important

We’ve all seen it. Lean, muscular people who obviously lift weights, but their idea of conditioning is to walk slowly. We call that “all show and no go.” 

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Yes, they look great but they are missing the conditioning piece. And I’m not talking about being able to do a marathon. We are interested in the type of conditioning that will allow people to do a steep hike on vacation or try a new sport or run from the police (I kid, I kid). 

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Looking fit and being fit are not the same thing.

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We are predominantly a strength gym. It’s what people come to us for. But we are also very well-versed in conditioning methods and principles. We believe that building and keeping muscle is the foundation of aging well, but strength without conditioning is like a big engine with a tiny gas tank. You’ve got power, just not for very long.

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When you train your cardiovascular system, your heart muscle adapts. It gets more efficient, pumping more blood with every beat. That’s why a lower resting heart rate is often a sign of better fitness: your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to do its job. Cardiorespiratory fitness is also one of the strongest predictors of long-term health. 

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Walking is good (and important). It’s just not enough to move the needle for most people.

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When you are cardiovascularly fit, stairs feel easier, you recover faster between sets, you can play the game, take the hike, and essentially say “yes” to whatever activity you’d like to do.

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One thing to note: our conditioning isn’t mindless. We don’t sweat for the sake of sweating. Anyone can write a workout to make you tired. That’s not the goal.

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Our conditioning is programmed with purpose:

• We practice pacing. Going all out for 30 seconds and dying for the next five minutes isn’t fitness. Learning to manage your effort is a skill, and we coach it.
• We train different energy systems. Your body uses different fuel sources for short, explosive efforts, hard efforts lasting a minute or two, and longer steady work. Real life asks for all of them, so we train all of them.
• You learn to recover while moving. This one is huge. Being able to catch your breath while still working is what allows you to keep going. And in terms of lifting, it helps you to recover faster between heavy sets.

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The ultimate goal is to be well-rounded. We’ve got people in our gym who LOVE to lift, but avoid cardio. And we’ve got those who LOVE cardio and sleep in on strength days.  

We want you strong enough to lift it, conditioned enough to carry it up the hill and mobile enough to move well doing both. 

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So, where do you start? If you’re a cardio junkie who doesn’t lift, start with 1-2 strength days per week. Are you a meathead who doesn’t get their heart rate up? Start with one conditioning day per week. Either way, we got you!