Why Conditioning Should Be A Top Fitness Priority – And Why I Believe In It

How's it going everyone? Something has been burning in my brain as of late. We live in a wild world of fitness where everyone's chasing the next big lift or that shredded six-pack, we've got it all backwards sometimes. Strength is and always will be royalty in the quest for longevity for sure, but without conditioning, you're just a castle built on sand, waiting for the tide to wash it away. Today, I would love to dig deep into why conditioning training needs to be one of the top absolute priorities in fitness. Not some side dish – the main course. And I'll share how I've made it happen for me, because let's face it, talking the talk without walking the walk is bullshit.

First off, what the hell do I even mean by "conditioning"? I'm not talking about some off the wall cardio class where you're prancing around like a gazelle on caffeine, it's great if that works for you. However; conditioning is that beast mode endurance – the kind that builds your engine so you can go harder, longer, and recover like a fucking superhero. Think high-rep total circuits, explosive band work, hill sprints that make your lungs scream, or even those grueling bodyweight sessions that leave you in a puddle of sweat. It's the stamina that turns a one-set wonder into a multi-round warrior. Conditioning isn't just "cardio"; it's the foundation that lets your strength shine without crumbling under pressure.

Why prioritize it? Let's break this down, because number one: longevity. I'm in my 40s now, and I've seen too many guys my age blow out knees, tweak backs, or just quit because their bodies couldn't handle the load. Conditioning builds that resilience. It's like prehab on steroids – improving joint mobility, firing up those fast-twitch fibers for explosiveness, and torching calories without the joint-pounding punishment of endless heavy lifts, lifting has its perks especially with Sandbags but that's not the name of the game here. Take my obsession with Dopamineo bands (shoutout to those indestructible beasts – if you haven't grabbed one, what are you waiting for?). I hammer out 500-rep circuits daily, sometimes 1000, mixing pulls, pushes, and rotational stuff like the Propeller exercise. That shit doesn't just build muscle; it conditions your heart, lungs, and connective tissues to handle whatever life throws at you. No more feeling like a zombie after a workout – you're electrified, ready for round two or three.

Here's a take on performance. If you're an athlete, weekend warrior, or just someone who wants to dominate pickup basketball without wheezing or giving out within minutes, conditioning is your secret weapon. Remember Henry Cejudo? That UFC champ used resistance bands for his conditioning, turning him into a machine that could wrestle, strike, and outlast many of his opponents? I've channeled that vibe in my own training. Those 20 Rounds with the Chosen Higher Band have been brutal. By the end, I'd cranked out 1,000 reps of blissful hell, feeling like Goku powering up like a Super Saiyan. My explosiveness went through the roof, and recovery? Flawless victory, Mortal Kombat style. Without prioritizing conditioning, that strength plateaus. You hit that wall where reps feel like molasses, and gains stall. But flip it – make conditioning the priority – and suddenly your lifts improve because your body's efficient at using oxygen, clearing lactate, and staying in the fight.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying ditch the weights entirely. Hell no. Strength and conditioning go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. But if you're building a pyramid, conditioning is the base. Too many programs out there glorify the "no pain, no gain" bullshit, pushing extremes that lead to burnout or injury.

How do you make it a priority? Start simple, but commit like your life depends on it – because in a way, it does. Assess your current state. If a 10-minute circuit kicks your ass, that's your baseline. Build from there. Little by little down to the smallest fraction of progress still leads to the big picture. Even bodyweight circuits are fantastic because you can do them anywhere. Do them on your off days from the gym. I'll be going 2x a week to play around with the weights and then work on the other stuff the rest of the time. Do what works for you. If you're looking for some fun bodyweight workouts, check out Darebee.com. Thousands of workouts for FREE!!!

Here's a kicker: making conditioning a priority isn't just physical; it's mental. In a world full of distractions – social media, endless scrolling – fitness is your anchor. Prioritizing conditioning builds discipline, that instinctive drive to push when you want to quit. It's like speaking a second language of grit. I've seen it in the Dopamineo Community: folks using the dopa bands for family workouts, kids building explosiveness for sports, elders staying mobile. It's inclusive, not elitist. Unlike some bro-science out there, this isn't about destroying yourself; it's about evolving. Be passionate about it – let that fire burn, add gasoline if needed. The rewards? Endless. You'll move better, live longer, and crush goals you didn't know you had.

Wrapping this up, because I could go on for days: if you're serious about fitness, make conditioning your priority. It's your greatest asset – the engine that powers everything else. Start today: grab those bands, hit a circuit, feel the burn (be sure to lock in my code POWERANDMIGHT to get a few bucks off your order). You'll thank me later when you're killing it at levels you never imagined. Be amazingly awesome, keep evolving, and remember, train smart, train hard, and let's dominate.

Testing Strength And Resurgence In High Rep Training

 With a few workouts lately at the gym, I'm starting to get a good feel of the place and what I like to do in addition to other aspects of training I do. For the most part, I like to play around with stuff and test some of my strength for the fun of it. I'm not looking to build the type of strength suited to one method or another. More on the lines of using what's possible to carry over to other areas of my journey and whatever comes my way.

My favorites to play with at the gym are the Sandbags, the Infinity Rope and the Barbells. Again, just to feel them out and get a good sweat going. The least of these three is the Bench which is more in tuned to just pure strength. Don't know if I'll hit up over 300 again like I did when I was younger. It's not that important and I can still hit more than my bodyweight for reps for someone who doesn't do that lift consistently. The other two, those are like my bread and butter there. I can do all kinds of stuff with the Sandbag and with the rope, I use it for upper body conditioning.

Today, I tried out a different approach to the Infinity Rope by instead of doing a set for minute or more straight, just did pulls for sets of 25 reps. Mark off the set and get back to it. Wanted to 8 sets but I was feeling great and went for 10. 250 Total Reps. With the Sandbag, just did a pick up and carry for distance back and forth in the room. Did this 10 times which jacked my heart rate up good. Before that, I loosened up doing animal moves, spread eagle splits and other joint loosening & flexibility work. 

The big exercise I ended up having to get a fear over was the Leg Press which I haven't done in ages, the Hack Squat was more recent in comparison. I haven't really done much of that type of training in more than a decade. If I was ever consistent with the Leg Press, it was in my late teens to 20. Worked up from 180-450 for 10 reps each and that was where I started feeling this thing in my mind where if my legs can hold up and the rod and pins can handle the weight. You need to remember that I don't lift very heavy weights for a reason especially with the legs cause of the rod and pins. I got skiddish about going up for one more set so I added another 50 lbs. which hit at 500 lbs on this thing. A part of me wanted to do but I had that governor in my head saying "you're pushing it with those legs". Once I got passed that eerie feeling, I went for it and I managed 5 reps with that 500 lbs. Could I have done more, highly likely cause it wasn't a huge struggle, a small one at that, I was feeling it yes but it wasn't a do or die trying effort. It was more mental and worry about my legs than anything. I'm proud to still be able to pull that off. 

For the most part, 500 lbs on a leg press for most guys in the strength world is like a cakewalk to them, barely even a warm up. I've seen guys press more than 1000 lbs with that but that's where they're far more consistent than I' am. I first did a Leg Press at 15-16 years old and by the time I was 17 I hit 945 for my max and never went past 800 after that. So to go 21-22 years with hardly touching that apparatus and still managing 500 lbs is a win in my book. On Sunday, one of the exercises I went for was the Barbell Shrug which again I have hardly done in more moons than I can count and still was strong enough to do reps with heavy weight. I managed 315 for 4. No straps, no belt, just a t-shirt & shorts and shoes. Just to even pick up and hold it was a small feat for me cause I don't do that stuff. 

Lifting somewhat heavy stuff again at the gym without being consistent with it is awesome at least in my eyes. I'm the guy that does all sorts of bodyweight stuff, isometrics and bands. The only weights per se I really use are hammers, clubs, maces, kettlebells and sandbags. That's it. Most of these never reached 100 lbs. It's little victories that matter and it was cool to do some of those lifts. 

Now, outside of the gym, I have been having a surge of high rep training a lot more consistently in recent months especially with the Dopa Bands as you may have read on the workout circuits I do. This is where I love circuit training where I don't have to focus on one particular exercise and move from one to another in a flow like fashion. Even bodyweight wise I'll do 100 or more push-ups and 200+ squats along with punching, kicking, mountain climbers and such. A couple times I've done 500 Hindu Squat workouts with my deck of cards. 

I have written in the past about not always needing to do crazy high rep training unless you're training for something like in a sport or have a goal to do whatever. In and of itself, high rep work is great but it's not the end-all-be-all of physical training like some who are such fanatics that they'll call you a loser if you don't do that kind of training (in reality, those guys are full of shit). I still believe in not NEEDING but choosing to do that and doing it smart. Not just going all out like a maniac cause it's some kind of requirement you have to do all the time. I do high rep work out of choice and working around what I want to do to build up to certain numbers. Step Ups are always fun for me and I always do a minimum of 500 reps of that exercise; I haven't done them lately cause my mind is occupied on other things but never say never. With circuits, I can do 500-1000 total reps in a session without getting physically drained to the point where I can't move. Circuits give me the opportunities to go longer without tiring out and focus on one exercise at a time instead of just hammering one exercise and be done with it. It's full body conditioning that keeps me active and I'm enjoying the fuck out of it.

 Quite frankly, I'd rather be in the type of shape that lasts rather than having temporary moments of strength. That doesn't mean Temporary strength is a bad thing. Being able to work both is essential to what you can do with your body. Some have more temporary strength than conditioning but the same can be said for the other way around; they don't have a ton of strength but can go. Having both is top tier especially for athletes or even those in later stages of life. Strength comes in many forms whether from a short term or long term point of view but when you have strength that lasts a bit of time and even for a short amount of time, it gives you true perspective on what you may need to do in crucial situations. 

Whatever your goals are, make them worth the effort but also be aware of pushing so hard it can break you; LITERALLY. Injuries are a bitch trust me, been there done that and at this stage of my life, I don't want to so crippled up from training that I can't enjoy other aspects of life. Knew too many guys who have beaten themselves up but have also seen guys that trained with sheer vengeance and still come out unscathed and live life to the fullest for a long fucking time. It's a matter of the choices we make and what we learn to be aware of while finding out what we are capable are. Keep killing it everyone and be amazingly awesome. 

Be sure to use my code POWERANDMIGHT at Dopamineo.com to get 10% OFF your order. Stay fit and be in the best condition possible. 

High Rep Training Or Isometrics: Which One Is Better As You Get Older?

 With advances in science, nutrition and fitness training, it still boils down to how an individual adapts and maintain throughout their lives. High rep training can be very beneficial when it comes to being in top condition, hell I'll do up to 500 Step Ups in a workout and have written about it a time or two, also do 500 total reps in circuit workouts with the Dopa Band. To an extent, it has its perks and can do wonders. However, certain exercises are not meant to be done in high reps like one arm push-ups or hundreds of burpees, what's to be gained from that? Where's the long term benefit? 

The greasing the groove method of high rep training is a lot more beneficial than trying to hundreds of reps within a fixed time. Do pushups here and there throughout the day, pull-ups or whatever BASIC movement. Gives you time to rest and be fresh when you get to a new set. Herschel Walker was a big advocate for this and other athletes. Do what works for you. As you get older, you might need to do as high of reps or total reps. You're not going to see many people do hundreds of squats and pushups at 70 or 80, some can at that age and it's incredibly impressive but how necessary is it?

With Isometrics, it can benefit just about anybody. If you've never worked out a day in your life or are a seasoned vet, you can enjoy the benefits of Isometrics. Once you feel it, even at a small percentage, it can work your musculature like a charm and develop strong tendons and ligaments. There are different types of Isometrics but the Yin & Yang are Overcoming & Yielding Isometrics. Overcoming is doing a hold at a fixed point and you can't go any further. Going against something immoveable. Yielding is holding a position where you fight against gravity and keeping that position as best as possible (plank, horse stance, wall sit, L Sit etc.). Now there's a way to combine the two called Super or Hybrid Isometrics where you take a position where there's a stopping point but you're fighting to keep that position using a strap or a loop like putting a strap on your legs to squat up but you stop and hold that position while fighting gravity at the same time. 

Isometrics can be extremely adaptable and virtually done anywhere and depending on the intensity, it can be short or long with the type of goal you're going for. Isometrics can be used in a variety of ways to warm ups, cool downs, in between sets, working around injuries, strengthen an area of the body to even things out, a workout in and of itself or as a method to use for purely strength training and do activities the rest of the time. 

What method of training is better for you as you get older? In a nutshell, neither is better or worse than the other. It comes down to what benefits you the most and gives you the type of quality training that helps you live long and prosper (for you Trekkies). Both have their pros and cons but both can be used in different ways. They can be used on alternate days, used for recovery, used as supersets, do splits for certain muscle groups, whatever keeps you strong and going. We all follow different things and make changes but it doesn't mean we can't do what we love. Train to what helps you. I've done both in the same workout and on different days or done one exclusively for a period and changed it up. 

Keep training and make the most of what's possible and learn the basics. Have an amazingly awesome day.