10-minute conditioning finishers to end your workout

A finisher is a short, hard block of conditioning at the end of a lifting workout. Five to ten minutes is enough to get your heart rate up, build work capacity and leave you feeling like you trained, without taking anything from your main lifts.

Rules for a good finisher

• Short: 10 minutes at most. It's the end of the workout, not a second one.
• Simple: movements you can do well when tired. No heavy barbell lifts.
• Planned: pick one before you start, so it doesn't become an excuse to skip the last lifts.

Five finishers to try

1. Sled sprints: push 20 metres, walk back, 6 to 8 rounds. Hard on the legs, easy on the joints.
2. Swing ladder: 10 kettlebell swings, rest 30 seconds, then 15, then 20, then back down.
3. Rope and rest: 20 seconds of battle ropes, 40 seconds rest, 8 rounds.
4. Bike sprints: 15 seconds all-out on a fan bike, 45 seconds easy, 6 to 10 rounds.
5. Bodyweight minute: every minute for 8 minutes, 8 burpees or 20 mountain climbers, resting for the rest of the minute.

• Sled pushQuads, Glutes
• Kettlebell swingGlutes, Hamstrings
• Battle ropesFront delts, Forearms
• Fan bikeQuads, Front delts
• BurpeesQuads, Chest
• Ball slamLats, Abs

When to skip it

Skip the finisher on a heavy leg day, in a deload week, or when you're short on sleep. Finishers are a bonus. If they leave you sore for your next session, do less of them or keep them gentler.

Tip: Pair a heart rate monitor and watch how fast your heart rate drops in the rest periods. Getting faster over a few weeks is a good sign your conditioning is improving. See heart rate during weight training.

Fitting it in

Pick how many minutes you have in Liftsmith and it builds a workout that fits, warm-ups and rest included. Add a finisher to the end of a workout or save it in a routine, and log it by time, with distance for sleds, runs and rows.