Endurance and Strength

[tongzilla]

To what extent is training for endurance incompatible with training for strength and power? Endurance as in VO2max and lactate threshold.

I am a rower who's very interested in endurance, but also strength, probably more than necessary than what is required with the sport.

The top Great Britain rowers train 12-14 times a week, with most sessions on the water, rowing machine, heavy weights, circuit training and core stability. This is obviously very high volume, but most atheletes don't overtrain on this program (and they are definitely not on AAS etc.).

Would a standard 5x5 intermediate program do well?

 

[Ramstein II]

Specificity

Check out research on specificity or "specific adaptation to impossed demand" the "SAID" principle. Strength and endurance training do interfere with each other. It depends, of course, on the degree. For example, 30-45 minutes of cardio at a moderately intense level (ie. equal to jogging) is probably not going to sabotage a bodybuilder's pursuit of size.

However, you are an endurance athlete it sounds like. I don't know if you're competitive or recreational. That may affect your decision on how important that edge is.

Long and short: your body will adapt muscle fibers to whatever you train them for. If you train for endurance than many intermediate fast twitch fibers will be converted to take on characteristics of slow twitch endurance fibers (ie. increased cell mitochondria etc..).

Something I've done in response to a back injury is to train my legs for "functional" moderate endurance work. So, my upper body is trained for 10 rep strength and my lower body is trained for things that would be equat to running 400 meters.

That's an option perhaps for you. It may be difficult to train synergistic upper body muscles this way. For example. You could train your lower back for endurance and chest, shoulders, arms and even lats to some degree for strength.

If you do that, I would certainly avoid using your endurance oriented back and legs for strength lifts like deadlifts.

 

[Drachus]

I'm at work now and will be looking into the SAID research as suggested, but I had a quick question on this part

30-45 minutes of cardio at a moderately intense level (ie. equal to jogging) is probably not going to sabotage a bodybuilder's pursuit of size.

With regards to this portion, if I were training for hypertrophy of the legs, and also at the same time trying to bring my 3 mile time down into the 25-30 minute range for the sheriff's office, what frequency do you feel would be optimal to run(with an HST style 3 times per week full body workouts), assuming a 3 mile run.