Conjugate Conditioning for Strongman: Why You’re Still Gassed After One Event

Conjugate Conditioning for Strongman: Why You’re Still Gassed After One Event

You’re strong. Maybe even brutally strong.

But one yoke run, and your lungs are on fire. One sandbag medley, and your soul leaves your body. Your deadlift might be world-class, but conditioning-wise? You’re still getting buried.

And no, it’s not because you “just need to do more cardio.”

It’s because your conditioning hasn’t been programmed with the same intent as your strength. You’ve been sold the idea that strength is everything — and forgotten that strongman is a strength-endurance sport.

I’ve written a bunch of articles about cardio, conditioning and GPP. But I guess they haven;t been simple, obvious and actionable enough. So lets go fucking nuts. I love conditioning circuits possibly because I’m a sado-masochist who knows - However Tri-sets, Giant Sets and Circuits will always be part of my programming. Lets get into some ideas for them and how and where to program them.

Let’s fix that. Here’s how Conjugate Conditioning works for strongman — not against it.

💥 Strength Isn’t Enough — Conditioning Is the Gap

Too many strongman athletes run through ME and DE work like machines… then throw together “event day” chaos on the weekend and wonder why they’re still flatlining on medleys.

Here’s the truth: strength isn’t the bottleneck.

Your work capacity is.

Strongman demands three types of conditioning:

• Explosive power output (for cleans, pick-ups, launches)

• Strength endurance (reps under fatigue — think car deadlift, stone series)

• Aerobic and alactic capacity (the ability to recover between events and maintain output)

  
  

You can deadlift 300kg+ — but can you pick, load, and sprint five bags in 60 seconds without red-lining?

⚙️ Conjugate Conditioning = Intentional GPP

If You’ve read it in Barebones Strongman 2.0 and From Training to the Podium: then you know GPP isn’t optional. But GPP doesn’t mean mindless circuits or spinning your wheels on a treadmill.

In Conjugate, conditioning falls under three key umbrellas:

1. Extra Workouts – 15–30-minute sessions done 3–4 times per week (often after DE or on off days). Think:

   • Sled drags

   • Sandbag carries

   • Belt squat marches

   • Light medleys with submax weight

   • Rower intervals or fan bike sprints for recovery

   
   

   Medley Progressions – Layered into your DE Lower or event days. This could mean:

   • Yoke + sled drag medley

   • Farmers → bag load → sprint

   • Speed medleys with reduced weight but tight rest periods

   
   

   Conditioning-Specific Phases – Especially in the off-season or Base Builder-style blocks. Here, GPP is the point:

   • 60–90 seconds of work per set

   • Light-to-moderate weight with perfect execution

   • Mixed tools: sleds, carries, kettlebells, light log, battle ropes

Your goal: condition the movement patterns you’ll need in comp — not just your lungs.

💡 You’re Not Weak — You’re Under-Rehearsed

One of the most overlooked elements of strongman conditioning? Mental rehearsal and event timing.

You don’t just need to be strong and fit — you need to:

• Pick up heavy implements while bracing

• Recover under 90 seconds between medleys

• Transition cleanly under comp pressure

• Stay mentally present during chaotic event flow

That’s why your conditioning has to include:

• Pick and rest drills (e.g. log pick, 10-second pause, full press)

• Hold and go intervals (e.g. 30s hold, then sprint yoke for 20m)

• Repeats under comp timing (e.g. 3 medleys in 8 minutes)

You’re not just building lungs — you’re building event execution under fatigue.

🚫 Common Conditioning Mistakes in Strongman

• Treating GPP like random HIIT

• Using only “heavy event day” chaos with no structure

• Skipping conditioning in meet peaking phases

• Thinking it’s all about lungs (it’s also patterns + intent)

Avoid these, and you’ll make faster, more consistent progress.

🧠 Smart Peaking Still Includes Conditioning

Peaking for a comp? Don’t drop GPP — evolve it.

In your final weeks:

• Shorten session length

• Drop volume

• Maintain intent

Instead of ditching conditioning:

• Use timed bag loads with 70% comp weight

• Perform yoke runs with lighter load but reduced rest

• Do sled pushes for 20–30 seconds for patterning, not punishment

As written in From Training to the Podium:

"Your best lift doesn’t win the comp. Your worst event — when you’re gassed, slow, and mentally foggy — loses it."

From Training to the Podium: Conjugate Peaking for Strongman Competitions

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🔥 Sample Conjugate Conditioning Session Ideas

Here's 10 Sample Ideas

🔥 Sample 1: 20-Minute GPP Medley (Post DE Lower)

• Sandbag Carry 20m

• Prowler Push 15m

• Sled Drag Backwards 10m

• Rest 60s 🌀 Repeat x4 rounds

🔥 Sample 2: The “Comp Stamina Rehearsal” Circuit (Extra Workout Day)

• Yoke Walk 15m @ 70% comp load

• Log Clean and Rack Dip Pause (10s) x 2

• Sandbag to Shoulder x3

• Rest 45s 🌀 Repeat x5 rounds

🔥 Sample 3: Static-to-Dynamic Smash (Post ME Upper)

• Banded Push-Ups x15

• Farmer’s Carry 20m

• Battle Ropes (20s ON)

• Hanging Leg Raises x10

• Rest 60s 🌀 Repeat x3–4 rounds

🔥 Sample 4: The Fast Fatigue Finisher (Post DE Upper)

• Log Clean & Strict Press x1

• Sandbag Zercher Carry 20m

• Slam Ball x10

• Rest 75s 🌀 Repeat x3 rounds

🔥 Sample 5: Sled Assault (Standalone GPP Session)

• Sled Sprint 15m (Heavy)

• Sled Drag 15m (Backwards)

• Sprint x20m

• Rest 90s 🌀 Repeat x5

🔥 Sample 6: Loaded Recovery (Extra Workout)

• Belt Squat March 60s

• Kettlebell Swing x20

• Sled Drag (Light) x20m

• Bike Sprint 20s

• Rest 90s 🌀 Repeat x4–6

🔥 Sample 7: Event Conditioning Ladder (Post DE Lower)

• Farmers 10m + Bag Load

• Farmers 15m + 2 Bag Loads

• Farmers 20m + 3 Bag Loads

• Rest 90s after each round 🌀 Ladder up x3 levels

🔥 Sample 8: Grip & Grit (Post DE Upper or Extra)

• Sandbadl Toss x5

• Towel Pull-Ups x5

• Plate Pinch Carry x20m

• Plank Hold w/ Shoulder Taps x30s

• Rest 60s 🌀 Repeat x3–5

🔥 Sample 9: 3 Implement Flow (Mid-Block Reset)

• Log Clean Only x3 (Pause in rack)

• Bag to Platform x2

• Med Ball Slam x10

• Rest 60s 🌀 Repeat x5

🔥 Sample 10: Strongman Sprint Conditioning

• Yoke Sprint 10m

• Drop → Sprint Back

• Load Bag → Sprint 10m

• Drop → Sprint Back

• Rest 90s 🌀 Repeat x3

  
  

Simple. Brutal. Conjugate.

🛠 Not Sure Where to Start? Try This:

• Pick two extra workout slots per week (15–30 min)

• Choose one medley session (use Samples 1–10)

• Add one short GPP finisher after your DE Lower day

• Run that structure for 3–4 weeks, then progress

This keeps your weekly conditioning tight, manageable, and aligned with your lifting goals — no overhauls needed.

🏁 The Strong Survive, The Conditioned Win

If your comp has 5 events and you’re only prepared for the first one — you won’t last.

You don’t need to be a marathon runner. But you do need to be the lifter who doesn’t fade after one implement. Who breathes through the pain. Who rehearses what others avoid.

That’s what Conjugate Conditioning builds.

Conjugate for Strongman 12 Week EBook Program 2.0

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💥 Want the Blueprint?

If you’re ready to build real-world strength and capacity:

• Grab Barebones Conjugate for Strongman 2.0 — the full 12+ week program

• Use From Training to the Podium to structure your peak like a pro

• Or start your reset with the Base Builder for Big Bastards

You’ve got options. Now build the lungs to match the deadlift.

* Online Coaching

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HeartShock Training: What It Is, Why It Works, and Why You Don’t Need to Overcomplicate It

Let’s be blunt:

There’s nothing inherently magical about "HeartShock" training.

It’s not a secret Soviet method. It’s not a revolutionary system. It’s just a clever name slapped on top of a tried-and-true conditioning format that’s been used by strength athletes, fighters, and field sport teams for decades:

The high-output medley.

In HeartShock’s case? You combine strongman tools in a tight, continuous loop: → Sled sprint → Bag over bar → Rope pull → Log carry → Repeat

Short rest. Big output. Controlled vomit risk.

It’s effective. But it’s not sacred.

🚨 Why It Works (and Why You’ve Probably Done It Before)

The principles behind HeartShock-style training are solid:

✅ Alactic-to-lactic energy system layering 

✅ Multi-joint, full-body fatigue under time constraints 

✅ Patterned implement use under escalating fatigue 

✅ Mental toughness and aerobic recovery, built in

The truth? This style of medley training is in every smart strongman prep plan — whether you call it “extra work,” “event flow,” or “conditioning waves.”

HeartShock just packaged it up slickly. That’s not a criticism — it’s good branding. But don’t get the idea that only HeartShock can deliver those results.

💡 Your Tools. Your Medley. Your Name.

I want to make this crystal clear: You can do this with any implements, any movement patterns, any style.

What matters is:

• Tight rest periods

• Intentional implement selection

• Varying carry patterns and planes of motion

• Repeatable work-to-rest ratios

And if you want to slap your own label on it? Go ahead. That’s what I do.

🧠 My Favourite Branded Medley Sessions

Here are a few of my own "named and shamed" favourites from coaching over the years:

🪓 The Lumberjack Loop

→ Sandbag Clean & Toss x2 → Axle Zercher Carry 15m → Log Clean Every Rep x3 → 90s Rest 🔁 Repeat x3

⚰️ Coffin Conditioning

→ Reverse Sled Drag (Heavy) 20m → Stone to Platform x2 → Slam Ball x10 → 60s Rest 🔁 Repeat x4

🧟‍♂️ The Death March

→ Yoke Walk 15m → Sandbag Front Carry 20m → Belt Squat March x45s → Battle Rope x20s → 75s Rest 🔁 Repeat x3

💣 The Widowmaker Triple

→ Bag Over Yoke x3 → Duck Walk 15m → Farmers Hold for Time → 60s Rest 🔁 Repeat x3

🌪 The Vortex (GPP Hero Variant)

→ Kettlebell Snatch x10 → Prowler Sprint x15m → Slam Ball x8 → Airdyne Sprint 20s → 60–90s Rest 🔁 Repeat x5

From Training to the Podium: Conjugate Peaking for Strongman Competitions

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HeartShock training works. But not because of the name. Because it’s just solid medley programming — and that’s something you can (and should) be doing anyway.

So here’s your homework:

• Build your own medley.

• Give it a ridiculous name.

• Make it brutal enough to earn it.

• 
  

And if you want it structured for you? Grab Barebones Conjugate 2.0, From Training to the Podium, or Base Builder for Big Bastards — I’ve already laid it all out.

You don’t need a gimmick. You need structure, sweat, and just enough ego to survive three rounds of The Death March.

Conjugate for Strongman 12 Week EBook Program 2.0

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