Off Season Cardio Strategies for Cardiovascular Health and Recovery

I see a lot of people completely stop doing cardio once they start bulking but I think that is a mistake. I am looking for off season cardio strategies for cardiovascular health and recovery. I find that keeping some low intensity steady state cardio in my routine helps with my appetite and keeps my heart healthy while I am carrying more weight.

I usually do twenty minutes of incline walking four times a week. It does not interfere with my leg training but it helps me recover faster between sets of squats. I also feel much less winded during my heavy work when my aerobic base is solid.

How much cardio do you all keep in your off season? Do you prefer the stairmaster or the treadmill? I am interested to see if anyone uses high intensity interval training or if that is too much of a stressor when you are already training heavy five days a week. I want to be a well rounded athlete not just a mass monster.

Spot on, ScottishStrength. Dropping cardio entirely is a massive mistake for heart health, especially when you're carrying extra timber in a surplus. I keep 3 sessions of 20 minutes LISS a week just to keep the ticker efficient without burning through too many calories.

I disagree that it's always needed. If you're hitting heavy squats and deadlifts with high intensity, your heart rate is already soaring. I find that extra cardio just eats into my leg recovery when I’m trying to push the weight up.

Mike, lifting isn't a substitute for zone 2 work. LISS actually helps recovery by improving blood flow and clearing metabolic waste. I do an incline walk on the treadmill while catching up on sports—it’s easy work.

Totally agree with Dave. If you get winded just walking up a flight of stairs to your apartment, your work capacity in the gym is going to suffer. You can't build maximum muscle if you're gassed before your muscles actually reach failure.

I've been doing 15 mins on the Stairmaster after my upper body days. It’s enough to break a sweat but doesn't leave me flat for the rest of the week. Plus, it keeps my appetite up when the food gets high.

Does anyone use a rowing machine? I’m in Toronto and since it's freezing outside half the year, I’ve started using the Concept2. It feels more like a full-body flush than the treadmill.

Rowing is brilliant but be careful of the lower back fatigue. If you’ve got a heavy RDL session coming up, rowing for 30 minutes the day before might not be the best shout for your lumbar.

Good point on the lower back. That's why I prefer the recumbent bike if I do anything at all. No impact, no back stress, just steady heart rate.

How many of you are tracking HR? I try to stay between 120-130 bpm. Any higher and I feel like it starts interfering with my strength sessions.

I just go by the 'talk test.' If I can hold a conversation without gasping, I’m in the right zone. Keep it simple.

That's what I do. If I can't breathe through my nose, I'm going too hard for an off-season 'growth' phase.

Does anyone incorporate HIIT during the off-season? My coach suggested one 10-minute sprint session a week but I’m worried about the CNS fatigue.

I’d avoid HIIT personally. The injury risk is higher when you're heavier in the off-season and the recovery cost is massive. Stick to the steady state and save the intensity for the iron.

Exactly. Leave the sprints for the football players. We're here to grow.

I disagree with the total ban on HIIT. A quick 5-min prowler push once a week can do wonders for insulin sensitivity. Just don't go overboard.

Prowler is a different animal though, Dave. It's more of a concentric-only movement so the soreness isn't as bad as running sprints. I could see that working.

I'm glad this sparked a debate. I've personally found my recovery between sets of squats is much better when I keep the cardio in. I’m not gasping for 5 minutes after a set of 10 anymore.

That's the real benefit. Better heart health means better training density. You can get more work done in less time.

Plus, it makes the transition to contest prep much easier. You don't have to 'build' your cardio base from zero while you're starving on low carbs.