Metabolic Conditioning: A different way to train.
April 2025
Happy April, BHC fam!
It has been an exciting few months at our club, and although the first quarter of 2025 has come to an end, the pursuit of health and fitness is a forever endeavor. Often, to sustain this pursuit week-in and week-out (for the rest of our lives) we need to make changes to our training program to avoid plateaus, and keep things fresh which keeps us coming back for more.
A typical training program will consist of 2 elements, Strength Training and Cardio Vascular Training (Cardio). We use strength training for an array of goals from reversing sarcopenia (the loss of muscle mass, typically associated with aging) to body building for aesthetics. Also, it’s important to note that we are using 2 out of our 3 energy systems, the Phosphygen and Glycolitic pathways.
We do “cardio” to train our most important muscle in the body (the heart), which improves our body's functions such as lowering cholesterol, improving blood pressure, burning fat, and increasing lung capacity and endurance. Here we are using the body’s 3rd energy system which is the Oxidative pathway.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the mental and emotional health benefits that both strength training and cardio gives us including improved sleep, stress reduction and enhanced cognitive function.
Going back to the typical training program, a lot of people will do strength training one day, and cardio on another. Others will do both on the same day, normally strength first, cardio second. If we combine the strength and cardio into one singular workout we have what is called Metabolic Conditioning (Met-Con). The best of both worlds with huge fitness benefits that typically take 30 minutes or less.
Met-Con workouts are completed at high intensity with short rest periods using all 3 energy systems, and burn calories both during (common of cardio) and after (common of strength training) the workout. And again, after a good warm-up and movement prep (practice) these workouts are typically 30 minutes or less.
There are endless ways we can program a Met-Con workout which is part of the allure. We use bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups and burpees, strength training equipment like barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells, and cardio modalities like running, biking, rowing and jumping rope.
Here are some examples workouts:
5 Rounds For Time:
400 Meter (¼ Mile) Run
15 Barbell Deadlifts
Choose a Deadlift weight you can complete 10 reps unbroken while fresh. Complete the 15 deadlifts in 2 or 3 sets with minimal, yet appropriate rest for your fitness level. If a 400 meter run is too much, scale back to 200 meters
AMRAP (As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible) in 20 Minutes:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-ups
15 Bodyweight Squats
You’ll see with this workout there is no “cardio” modality. Your oxidative energy system will be utilized by limiting your rest periods as much as possible and getting as many rounds of this 3 exercise circuit as possible in 20 minutes. If you don’t have a pull-up, substitute with challenging TRX Rows.
Every 3 Minutes x 5 Rounds - Rest 1 Minute Between Rounds:
15 Dumbbell Alternating Lunges
15 Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Max Calorie Row in remaining time of the 3 minute interval
Choose a dumbbell weight you can complete 15 reps while fresh. As you get into the later rounds you may need to break up the sets. Your goal for this workout is to get as many calories on the rower as possible across all 5 rounds.
These are just a few of the endless possibilities of Metabolic Conditioning workouts, or “tests of fitness.” You can expect to be holding a higher heart rate for the duration of the workout. Rest as needed, take deep breaths to recover and record your results so you can re-test down the road. An increase in reps or decrease in time is a sign of an improved fitness capacity.
If you have questions about Metabolic-Conditioning or would like to learn more about how to incorporate Met-Con’s into your fitness program, please contact me at kyle@ballardhealthclub.com.
I hope you have a great month ahead, and thank you for being a valued member of our neighborhood gym.
3, 2, 1…. Go!
Kyle Hyde
Owner & Fitness Director
Ballard Health Club
kyle@ballardhealthclub.com