High school strength and conditioning coach here. Long time follower of the conjugate methodology and crossfit. Finding your content so helpful in understanding the why. Also about 4 weeks into your conjugate X programming. I'm feeling yoked and healthy. Thanks.
I agree that 130-150HR seems optimal for maximizing cardiac output. However you can reach that that same 130-150HR with radically varying cadence and resistance. What do you think is an optimal balance between cadence/resistance to make the stroke volume and heart chambers largest rather than thicker? High speed/low resistance, 50/50, low speed/high resistance, or what balance? Also to progress do you add longer duration or more resistance?
I think resistance doesn't really influence the heart response, as long as your keep your heart rate in the correct zone. Resistance influences muscle fiber recruitment of the muscles at work, so I think it depends on the muscle adaptations you are looking for and also on the length of your session and on how fit you are. I mean, if you're going to do a 20 to 30 minutes zone 2 cardio session, then you can pretty much use any resistance you want as long as you keep your heart rate in zone 2. But if you're going for a 2 hours+ session, then it's better to use a lower resistance/higher cadence approach, otherwise your muscles could get tired before your heart does, and you might not be able to even complete the session.
