integrating met-con into strength training routine?

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ocean27

New member
hey y'all, i've been hitting the gym consistently for about 6 months. i'm still lifting pretty light because i'm old and lifting too heavy hurts lol, so taking long rest periods in between light sets feels super boring. i was previously a crossfitter, so recently i've been making my lower body workouts more intense (i.e. circuits, emom's, tabata's, and shortening the rest period), and doing more "traditional" strength training on upper body days.

my goals are to lose weight and get stronger, and i feel like i'm early enough in the process that as long as i'm getting in the gym, i'm going to be getting gains.

so i guess my question is: have y'all tried using strength training to improve endurance? what was your experience? tyia!!
 
@ocean27 I have never been a crossfitter, but from my own personal experience lifting 5-6 times a week and incorporating some form of cardio 4-5 times a week has gotten me stronger and leaner in the past. I typically would jog 4-5 times a week and then have 2-3 leg days a week and split up my upper body workouts. I've served in the military and this type of training helped me become conditioned and pass all of my fitness tests either as the top female or one of the top females in my unit. Hope this helps!
 
@ocean27 Metcons are a great way to get your accessory work in, but don't try to turn your main lifts into metcons. You need that between-set rest to be able to lift heavy enough to make good strength progress.

If you're using lighter weights temporarily because you're dealing with an injury, then do whatever you need to get through, for now. But what you're calling "traditional" strength training is most important for squats, snatches, and other lower body involved lifts.
 
@anon103 Thank you! Yeah, I’m frankly just not going for big lifts right now. I definitely want to and plan to in the future, but I feel like I’m still in the process of reconditioning my body to be moving in this way at all. In other words, since I’m not increasing intensity through load, I’m thinking I’d like to start increasing intensity through volume and pace, but I don’t want that to negatively affect my progress towards lifting heavier… if that makes any sense lol.
 
@ocean27 I hear you on that! Unfortunately you are compromising your progress on strength by doing this. Up to you whether it's worth the tradeoff.
 
@ocean27 Hey there - former CrossFitter here. I’ve tried a few things over the years: follow push/pull/legs split and the end of each day have about a 10 minute Tabata or EMOM to burn out - so on a push day for example, I’d end with jump rope/battle rope/mtn climber to push up sequence for 12 minutes; I’ve also done splits of upper/lower/FB and the full body day is a longer (think 35-40 minute) EMOM - Pinterest is full of CrossFit style workouts; finally I’ve also tossed in FB Fridays so wherever I am in my split, Friday = CrossFit type workout/full body.

As I just love PPL split, the first one above is usually what I go back to and about every 12 weeks I change out the exercises.

If you’re not opposed to a trainer/app, check out Playbook app with Obi Vincent or Simply Mander - they do great blends of CF and bodybuilding type lifts - even Obi’s dumbbell program kicks my ass. Sarah Holden (has her own app) is a good trainer as well and I like her programs.
 
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