Q: Hey Tony, I've read your "The Rule of 90%" article and have started incorporating more lifts above 90% into my programming, however I am little perplexed as to when (or if) I should include any cardio during the week (ie: John Berardi's "G-Flux" approach). Do you have any thoughts?

A: First off, I'm glad you liked the article. I've said it before, and I will say it again: if one of your goals is to get strong, you NEED to include more lifts above 90% into your programming. Performing 5x5 will only take you so far. Many intermediate and advanced trainees miss the boat in this regard. For those not familiar with what I am talking about, read the article for crying out loud (wink).

As far as your question pertaining to cardio (I'm just going to assume you're referring to high intensity intervals); absolutely you can include it in your weekly schedule. The key is to just know how to control your CNS (Central Nervous System) intensive training. Training over 90% is pretty taxing on the CNS, as is going out and running sprints on a football field. The objective here is to try to "condense" your CNS intensive training so that you're not running yourself into the ground every week (pun intended).

I'm a firm advocate that most trainees should give themselves at least 1-2 days of complete rest per week. The problem is, most people will train everyday to some degree not realizing that they're stunting their progress from training too much (fatigue will always masks one's true fitness level). I'll give you an example from my own weekly breakdown.

Monday: Lower Body (DE Squat)
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: AM: Sprints, PM: Upper Body (ME Bench)
Thursday: Lower Body (ME Squat/Deadlift)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Upper Body (DE Bench)
Sunday: AM: Sprints

Rather than sprint on Tuesday, I just take that day off and perform a quick AM session on Wednesday because I know the sprints won't necessarily affect my upper body workout later that night. Ideally I should perform my other day of sprints on Friday, but I like to train with my girlfriend on Sundays and we go to the track together and run our sprints (awwwww).

On my OFF days, I still may do some light walking or extra mobility work in the gym, but I do NO CNS intensive training on those days.

If you're just looking to include a few easy sessions of steady state cardio in per week, I see no reason why you couldn't include a brief 15-20 minute "cardio session" after your upper body days.