Strength + Cardio in One Workout (Without Spending Hours in the Gym)

It’s probably obvious that being strong, well conditioned, and athletic are all good things.
But if you’re reading this you probably don’t get paid to workout for a living.

In an ideal world you know you should lift some weights, do some cardio, and be athletic enough to not get hurt kicking a ball around with your kids.

Knowing those things aren’t what's important though.
It’s knowing how to actually fit all those things into a program that doesn’t take 10+ hours a week.

And unfortunately most programs and workout classes are missing the mark on doing this well.

If you want to improve your strength, power, aerobic conditioning, and athleticism (in less time)…read on.

I want to explain one specific way you can apply all of these within a single workout (that takes less than an hour).

Something you can add right now to your current routine.

The concept is called Interval Weight Training (IWT), and it’s something we come back to often in our programming cycles (and one that we’re currently running in the new cycle of our Hard To Kill Track, which you can try out for free here)

We use IWT often because it’s incredibly efficient and effective for being really strong and well conditioned.

It’s been around since the late 1960s, but you’ve probably never heard of it.

And here’s why.

problem one: most people in the gym are doing either cardio or strength

If you look around the average gym, you’ll see two main types of people.

One of those is slaving away on a piece of cardio equipment.
With a high probability of getting caught up on social media memes or another netflix show.

The other one is following some version of the same bodybuilding workouts that have been floating around for decades.
Probably trying to bench 225 on Mondays (national chest day) and doing arm supersets in the squat rack.

problem two: people gravitate towards basic strength training programs that do very little for their aerobic conditioning

If you’re following a good strength program, focusing on compound movements, and getting stronger over time..you’re ahead of most when it comes to your health and fitness.

These programs are great for getting stronger.
Adding lean muscle is one of the best things you can do for longevity, health, and how you look...so don't skip this.

But just like cardio on its own is incomplete, even the best strength programs are incomplete.

Only focusing on strength can leave you with similar aerobic fitness as a sedentary individual (even seen in professional lifters)

And strength training does very little to change your VO2 max (which is very important to be healthy now and for years to come)

problem three: most ‘hybrid training’ programs have a straight line approach

Of those that are committed to doing both cardio and strength, you’ll see a mixed bag of programs..mostly designed for those that have the flexibility to train for hours each day.

Most are random WODs or circuits just designed to make you sweat, but aren’t sustainable or even effective long-term.

Other hybrid athlete programs that combine running and lifting only train things in isolation.
Run one day, lift the next (or run in the AM, lift in the PM).

This is inefficient at best for those that have busy schedules.

And also usually at the expense of overall athleticism, as most approaches combine running or cycling (straight line activities) with traditional bodybuilding or powerlifting programs (also straight line in nature)

These can develop imbalances overtime, making you less athletic or injury prone.

Now here’s the good part, and a strategy you can apply right away in your program to get the best of both worlds.

Interval Weight Training: a practical way to combine strength and conditioning (and athleticism) on a busy schedule

This is a form of concurrent training that is incredibly effective.

It simultaneously trains…

dynamic strength + muscular endurance + power

You do this through what’s called an anaerobic work interval and an active rest interval.

Here’s how this looks on paper (and how you can try it out):

1. choose a strength movement

This is a great place for a movement like back squats, front squats, bench press, shoulder press, etc.
If you are well trained with olympic movements, you can insert power cleans, snatches, here as well.

A good starting point this is to aim for 12-15 reps across 3 sets.

Set 1: 50% of your 1RM
Set 2: 60% of your 1RM
Set 3: 70% of your 1RM

2. choose a monostructural activity (running, rowing, stationary bike)

You will go from your strength movement immediately into this activity.

You’re going to go hard (9/10 effort or 90% of your max heart rate) for 2-3 minutes.

3. rest and repeat

Rest 90 seconds to 3 minutes, and then move into set two.

In our programs, we’ll typically do two of these IWT circuits in a single session (one lower body strength and one upper body strength movement), followed by some accessory work.

bonus: mix in different athletic movements and planes of motion to improve athleticism and longevity

Combining our body geometry principles (progressions, contractions, planes) has been something we’ve seen incredibly effective for improving athleticism and longevity within the IWT framework.

These sessions are hard.
They’re not meant to be done more than 1-2 times per week.
And they’re not something you can follow forever.

But when they show up in our new training cycles, our athletes see incredible progress in their strength, conditioning, and athleticism.

This is one way you can become really strong, fit, and athletic without spending your whole week getting there.

If you want to see how we program both strength and cardio (without working out for more than an hour), sign up for a free trial on our Hard To Kill Track.