Want to be strong, jacked, and aerobically fit? You should. The best part: you can forget about
doing 10-mile runs and day-long bike rides. In fact, you can avoid “endurance” training
altogether if you want to. High intensity interval training (HIIT), or short intense sprints
performed at max effort is all you really need.
There’s something to be said about being strong, functional, and FIT.
I take pride in being strong, athletic, functional, and possessing elite level work capacity. I am
not bragging when I say I can get more work done in 20 minutes than most lifters can get done
in 1 hour. It’s just a fact. It’s purely a by-product of my training and training philosophy.
Training specificity matters, so always train according to your goals. If your goal is to run a
marathon, you better spend the 10-14 hours/per week doing the mind-numbing low intensity
steady state (LISS) cardio. Sheer volume is the only way you’re going to build the aerobic base
to complete a marathon. However, if your goal is to be strong, muscular, and aerobically fit, then
keep your conditioning short and intense.
Now, is endurance training superior to HIIT to build elite aerobic capacity and to maximize
aerobic function? Absolutely. Is endurance training great to maintain all the hard earned
strength and muscle you’ve built in the gym? Absolutely not.
So unless you’re training for a triathlon, I’d skip the LISS cardio. When doing any form of LISS
cardio you’re literally sending your body the wrong signal if trying to preserve muscle and
strength. Muscle tissue is heavy, it has a high nutrient demand, a high water demand, and a
very high oxygen demand. Remember, your body adapts to whatever stimulus you provide it, so
if you require your body to do a significant amount of cardio, your body will drop the muscle to
compensate for the increased demand on the cardio-respiratory system.
The better alternative? HIIT. Not only does this form of cardiovascular training improve VO2
max and aerobic capacity, you’ll maintain strength and muscle. Additionally, short sprints
performed at maximum intensity improve metabolic rate. With LISS cardio, calorie burning stops
when the session stops. However with HIIT, you burn calories during the session and continue
to burn calories all day long from that session.

Additionally, with HIIT not only do you have to spend a fraction of the time doing cardio, you get
a much better return on your cardio investment. In fact, if done correctly, there’s some scientific
evidence that HIIT can even build muscle. Ever seen an olympic sprinter or the legs of a
velodrome cyclist? Their training revolves around short max effort sprints. I’d say that’s
evidence enough that HIIT can build muscle.
So why is aerobic capacity important if you
want to get and stay jacked? Simply put, it
increases your work capacity (your ability to
perform a set amount of work in a certain
time domain). Improved aerobic capacity
allows you to better control your heart rate
and recover more quickly between lifting
sets such as high rep heavy back squats or
heavy cluster sets of deadlifts. In turn, this
improved aerobic capacity allows you to get
more work done in your training session.
I’ll be the first to admit I am not the most
well-read or scientific trainer out there. But
what I lack in research, I make up in
experience as I have spent tens of
thousands of hours of training and
coaching. Over the years I have developed a strong training intuition and like to believe I have a
pretty good idea of what works and what’s bullshit. And HIIT, when programmed intelligently,
works like a charm to improve aerobic capacity while preserving lean body mass and strength. It
may even be the missing link in your training that will ultimately allow you to get bigger and
stronger.
Don’t overthink it. Here’s a simple analogy of how doing cardio can actually get you bigger and
stronger:
Improved aerobic capacity=improved work capacity. Improved work capacity=More work
done in your training session. More work done in your training session=More
strength/muscle gains.

How to best incorporate HIIT into your training:
HIIT is most effective on non-lifting days or done in separate training sessions if you can train
2x/day. Alternatively, if you only train once a day, you can perform HIIT after your strength work.
HIIT workouts are best performed 1-2x/week.
Here’s two of my favorite HIIT workouts:
#1
Every 3 minutes x6 rounds:
10-20 second MAX EFFORT sprint on the assault bike/running track
*rest and recover for the remainder of each 3-minute round.
*As seen in the video
#2
Power Intervals performed on a Concept 2 rower:
5 rounds of:
60 second MAX distance row for meters
*Rest 3-5 minutes between rounds
*Focus on taking as many long, strong, powerful strokes as possible in the 60 seconds. Your
entire body will be SCREAMING by round 4 & 5 if you hit it with the appropriate intensity.
Fair Warning:
When done correctly, your body experiences some extremely uncomfortable sensations with
HIIT. You’re literally forced out of your comfort zone and you’ll feel like your body is swimming in
a pool of lactic acid.
HIIT is hard, which is why you don’t see more people doing it. However, if you find LISS cardio
incredibly boring and inefficient use of your valuable training time like I do, HIIT is great.
Embrace the discomfort. Get out of your comfort zone. Afterall, it's the only way you'll get better
and get results.