Alternative training methods

Just curious as to how some of the guys/ gals training routines look that don't necessarily train like bodybuilders. I will always love lifting like a bodybuilder but I'm trying to incorporate more cross training and cardio into my workouts. Essentially what I'm doing now is lifting 5-6 times a week but have one or two days of light cardio like walking or hiking, then one or two long-ish run days and then one or two days of high intensity quick cardio like burpees, sprints, and/ or hitting the heavy bag. I will never be a cross fitter but I'm definitely interested in what some of you "non bodybuilder" bodybuilders are doing out there. Need some creativity and excitement in my life lol.

burpee box jumps to pullups, kettle bell swings to push ups. tire flipping and hitting with a sledge,

for cardio one of the best to blow the lungs is an all out one minute round on the bag with no stopping all straight punches then immediately run 250 meters at a fast pace. 30 second rest and do it again. this is a cardio crusher. want to add use the 30 second rest for lunges so rest from cardio but not work.

i like doing stuff like floor press with 50% of my max weight explosive up then putting the bar on a higher peg and do body rows. back and forth. set a time limit, say 6 minutes to start. don't stop. you will find you will have very sore pecs and lats and will be blowing wind like a hurricane. it's great when you can get a strength workout with real cardio at the same time.

a lot of BB and power lifters bag crossfit but other than the arthritis in my back i am the strongest and in the best shape of my life. i do not have the same level of pure strength as when i power lifted but i can maintain 85% max reps for much longer than i could maintain 65% max reps when i power lifted.

my CF coach calls it power to efficiency rating. if it costs your body less energy and O2 per rep this means your machine can work longer and harder increasing gains for BB or power lifting and making your heart happy with all the cardio.

we have a guy who is pretty big 185# at 6' but you would not call him jacked. he has an athletic build. he popped off 10 415# reps for 3 rounds of a metcon. this included running 400 meters and deadlifts. i used 135# for my bench and still could not keep up with him.

anyway. check out some crossfit workouts on line and incorporate some of their stuff.

my goal is no longer mass and pure strength. i started crossfit to help my in combat sports. it did. hell we know shocking the body with a different style workout is good. also i love the competition. in BB it might be about your big lift or having bigger legs but that is subjective. the stopwatch does not lie. neither do the fists in the ring or on the mat

Have you ever done any Tabata training? Look into that. I know LittleTom is currently doing this in his training

I alternate between straight powerlifting one week and Crossfit training for 2 weeks. It can really improve your stamina and endurance quickly

In the old days, I used to train for bodybuilding competitions like I was training for a powerlifting meet. I knew if my strength was going up and I was getting leaner that I was holding on to my muscle while dieting. I would be trying to break poundage records the week of the bb contest lol. Might not be the best way, but it worked for me. I did this both with and without cardio and got lean and stayed in the heavyweight division every time

I love cardio almost as much as I do lifting. I find that many lose interest because it's boring. I need to feel like I'm actually training for something. (I listen to a lot of Rocky IV soundtrack). Like BABY said I'm doing a Tabata style of cardio atm. It's not so much what the exercise is, it's the duration of the movement and the rest period. It's 20 seconds on as hard as you can and rest for 10 seconds. You can do the same exercise or a few different ones but trust me, 20 seconds of full out burpies for 5 rounds of 20,10 is intense. I also LOVE the rowing machine and recently found the glider. I like to switch it up but for me, mindset is key. I need to be rowing down a river to escape savages or using the glider to march into an army of super soldier robots (all in my mind of course) but that makes me love it. Sounds cheesy but it works for me.

I typically train like a bodybuilder, but I've crossed over and incorporated some powerlifting off and on when my training gets somewhat stagnate. I liked jumping into something like Bill Starr's old school 5x5 program. Just a good shock to my body and helped add some great size and strength gains.

I'm about to start incorporating the Tabata style of cardio that Little Tom mentioned as well. I've been reading about it and it sounds pretty intense.