I train upper body, midsection, and lower body evenly in each strength/conditioning workout to be balanced. I’ve been ramping up the cardio lately and noticed a problem: pretty much every effective cardio exercise is leg-heavy. Biking. Distance running. Jump roping. Hypoxic swims. Interval running. This is leaving my legs disproportionately tired. I suppose I could take out the lower body portion from strength/conditioning but I like the results from there so I don’t want to do that. Any suggestions?
I’m sure plenty of folks have come across the same exact problem before.
Yup I noticed the same thing when I ramped up cardio. The solution for me was to slightly reduce lower body volume/intensity. Gradually your body will be better able to handle it. However you need to understand that you cant have it all. If you do an all out, lactic acid inducing run or HIIT workout, you will pay for it when it is time to squat, and vice versa. I also like to schedule lower intensity cardio sessions on the days after working lower body to flush some blood into my legs and help recovery, and save the pr conditioning attempts for days when my legs are more rested.
Yeah, I’m 39 and this week I ran 25 minutes on Monday, did squats and lunges on Tuesday, then ran 30 on Wednesday and my knees are quite tender today…by tender I mean fucking sore.