Information on how to run faster, lift stronger and think deeper

Powerlifting: When to do cardio

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Dec 10, 2019 9:30:00 AM

Powerlifting: When to do cardio

Powerlifting: When to do cardio

 
Do your cardio either after your sessions or on the rest days depending on how often you train a week. Three times a week for 20 minutes should meet most weight loss goals if diet stays the same.
 

Click for Instagram

What is your why 

 
Before we go into the details of when to do cardio when powerlifting, let me ask you a couple of questions: 
 
  • Why do you want to lift 
  • Why do you want to change your body
  • What happens when you do 
  • What happens if you don’t 
 
These questions are crucial for your success. Research shows that people who write down their goals and reflect on them are more likely to make them a reality. When was the last time you did this? Can you even remember? If you can not it is time to get a pen and paper and start. Many people go about their lives like this: 
 
  • What do I want 
  • How do I get it 
  • Why do I want it 
 
This a pretty good way to get your knickers in a twist. What you want changes hundreds of times a day depending on what you do, who you are and where you are. You will be chasing your own tail if you make this the center of attention. Your resources will be spread thin and your time scattered between too many activities. Frustration and failure will be the consequence. Something interesting happens when you flip the running order of these questions on their head: 
 
  • Why do you want something 
  • How do you get it 
  • What needs to be done 
 
This way your long term goals become your life’s compass. Your thoughts and actions will become more connected and success will follow. If you want to know how this works on a psychological level read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek's Ted talk on the golden circle will change your life. 
 
 

What is your goal 

 
Cardio and powerlifting are not necessarily complimentary. If you flick through the advice of powerlifting coaches like Mark Bell, Chad Wesley Smith and Jim Wendler you will often find that they only recommend very light forms of cardio. This is because you did not need a lot of endurance on the platform to finish a meet. 
 
Where cardio can have a place in powerlifting is to lose weight to make a weight class. A good strategy to make it more likely to win for you is to drop your weight significantly before a competition. This is a balancing act between keeping the right energy levels and going down to keep the same total. Cardio and a strict diet can help to achieve this goal. 
 
To be fresh for your lifting, start the day with your powerlifting workout. For three times a week add 20 minutes of cardio at the end. Keep your diet the same during this period or even cut the intake. 
 

Powerlifting 

 
Powerlifting is the sport of the total. Your total consists of three lifts. These are the bench press, squat, and deadlift. For each lift, you get three attempts to lift the maximum weight. The best attempt for each lift will be counted towards your total. Based on your total you will be ranked against your competitors. 
 
A big difference to lifting in the gym is that you will be judged. Three referees will observe your actions from three different angles. They decide whether you performed according to the standards of the federation you are competing in. Two out of three judges have to agree for the attempt to qualify. You need at least one qualifying attempt for each lift to make it on the board. Otherwise, you will be disqualified. 
 
Powerlifting is all about maximum strength. Endurance is not of great help here. If you want to do cardio take a long walk with a weighted vest on or do some farmers walks or yoke carries. 
 

Cardio 

 
Any sustained activity which goes on uninterrupted for more than five minutes is cardio in my book. Yes, of course, you can debate that, but that is not what you came here for isn’t it. 
 
Research shows that the sweet spot between gains and effort for aerobic exercises is somewhere around twenty minutes. To dive deeper on this read the book “the first twenty” minutes. Anything longer will still benefit you but is more effort for lesser returns. So if you are not interested in running longer distances than 10k you have no real business in doing cardio for longer than 20 minutes a day to save time and get the most bang for your effort. Different forms of cardio are:
 
 
And the list goes on based on your preference and access to nature. What I recommend is 20 minutes of activity with 4x 4/1 intervals. This means that you go at a moderate pace for four minutes and then give it everything for one minute. Repeat four times to finish your workout. 
 

Powerlifting when to do cardio 

 
Do the cardio after your lifting session for 20 minutes three times a week if you train five times a week. If you lift three times a week do it on the off days. 

Topics: Powerlifting