As the discussions on forums play out it doesn't take long for the topic to drift all over the place and people describe all sorts of exercises that would not traditionally classify as strength training. Many describe dedicated strength training year round all while training for endurance events with a ten plus hour week. I have read some fairly decent studies that are almost convincing, but there are things in those studies that do not line up with what I have observed and experienced through 35 years of strength training for competition and training others.
What are the greatest challenges that I have observed and experienced in true strength training combined with endurance training? Where I get hung up is mostly a timing issue in managing training stresses.
- Managing the training load.
- Recovery
- Muscular Soreness
Definitions?
What I suspect in these discussions are by individuals that are focused on endurance training and do not really understand true strength training. Just as cycling training is often governed by an estimated threshold or something similar, strength training is often governed by an estimated one repetition maximum or 1RM. Many lifters train to a variation of the Prilepin Chart.
It is important to understand that the majority of us cannot determine 1RM or 1 Rep Maximum exactly. Take for instance a powerlifting competition is a day of attempting 1RM's. The athlete has worked toward a peak condition for competition and yet that day and those attempts to lift a maximum weight may or may not be successful. I have seen lifters fail all attempts on that day. The load is at a whole level of discomfort and mental anguish than lifting down in the 85-95% range. For many training in strength they will start with an estimated 1RM and it will probably be close enough to stimulate training. Well, that is if they already have a strength training background or have someone very experienced in lifting to help them establish the 1RM.
Not to make it sound like it is rocket science because it is not. There are a few aspects that may impact a new lifter from establishing a decent 1RM.
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Not to make it sound like it is rocket science because it is not. There are a few aspects that may impact a new lifter from establishing a decent 1RM.
Stumbling blocks to establishing 1RM
- Technique
- Discomfort / Pain
- Mental Blocks
- Residual Fatigue
Recognizing 1RM
One can display a lot of drama when the load gets that heavy? I understand it because I encounter it myself, but I have long ago come to terms with the mental intimidation. When the load is that heavy you know there is a risk and it is difficult to overcome doing something you subconsciously believe can harm you and it can and it has. Over the many years I have had blood vessels in my eyes burst as the least effect and at the worst I have had six minor strains (muscle tears) and many other issues between the two from lifting heavy. However, overcoming the mental barriers can be tougher than learning technique.Recognizing Drama
For instance the following video is an effort I did last October. By watching the video of a 1x720 take a look and see if this is a 1RM.Are you able to tell if this is my 1RM on this particular leg press?
It has the appearance that it is, but I know the truth and the truth is this is not my 1RM. This video was taken while in rehab (clue in the video title top left and noted on this blog post). The set before this set of 720 was an easy 630 lbs x 6 (in video on the blog post link). I was mentally intimidated by the weight and the condition of my injured knee (torn PCL) to do more reps with 720. Can anyone beside me comprehend the intimidation factor in this lift? Experienced lifters know. The drama in the video was me trying to get over the mental intimidation factor. I tend to make a bit of noise to drown out those negative thoughts that try to creep in right before the load is felt. I used to be a whole lot more dramatic when I was lifting heavy to compete.
This can easily happen to anyone new to strength training or introduced into a study. Can the researcher identify if someone is mentally intimidated by the amount of weight once all the weight is bearing down on the individual? Perhaps the researcher, the coach and the individual can determine a decent estimated 1RM.
Why is this important?
Because the study that I am thinking about and several others are specifically noted as "Heavy Strength" in the title. In order for the study to be true, a correct 1RM has to be established otherwise it is not "Heavy Strength" and it is something far less. If the results of the study were more in the moderate to light resistance training that helps explain why they are able to handle the training load for both types of training.
If a person is training in terms of % of 1RM based on a variation of a Prilepin Chart in what we would classify as "Heavy Strength" it will have a greater impact to the CNS (Central Nervous System) than training in much lighter. If 1RM was not established because of fear, mental block, residual fatigue or poor technique they are potentially training in a range that has less micro trauma and less muscle fatigue. Training heavy stimulates greater muscle activation and also a greater amount of micro trauma or muscular damage. You know the old "You break it down so it will build back stronger" thought.
The timing of repair or recovery is variable, but as a general rule it is recommended to have at least 48 hours between training sessions of a larger muscular group (legs and chest) before heavy loading again. Many lifters will extend that period even longer between heavy loading and in my prime I trained the same group every 5th day. That is how long I felt my legs needed between maximum lifts in that 80%+ range. I have met and worked with lifters that are much more durable in mentally coping with that type of load and seemed to recover faster. However, for those claiming to be strength training 3 times a week I suspect they are not lifting heavy enough to really load the CNS as they may think.
There is also a motivation factor to CNS called Neural Fatigue that can impact motivation. The greater the load the more it seems to impact the desire to load again if the CNS has not yet recovered. It is said that the central nervous system can take longer to recover than the muscle group that was traumatized. That was also the case for me and another factor of why I spread my days between loading apart to every 5th day. If you truly lift heavy on Monday it takes a greater amount of motivation to put that heavy load on you on Wednesday and then again on Friday. What ends up happening is people will tend to naturally lift lighter (still may seem heavy) and end up not really stimulating strength because they are not training at the needed stimulus.
Why is this important?
Because experienced lifters may actually lift heavy according because that is what the study recommends and may put themselves at greater risk for injury unnecessarily or more likely not manage the training load. Whereas the individuals in the study may not have actually been training as heavy as they thought. On forums you will read people saying they strength train using body weight exercises or yoga or other things. Those things may be tough in their own way, but do they cause the same type of muscular damage and neural fatigue like heavy loading for strength training? The only thing I can say is come to the gym with me to train legs and let's see how well you do with a 60 minute session on a bike trainer at or near threshold the next couple of days while DOMS is setting in. Sometimes a low intensity like L2 or endurance feels as discomforting as training at threshold while my legs are recovering from leg day. I do it, but not too well and thankfully I am not training to compete in endurance cycling events.
There are many factors that can slow down recovery, such as, age, life stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and other things that can impede recovery time. It takes diligence to find what a person can endure in a weekly training load and some can handle a whole lot and others are overwhelmed by much less. We each have to figure that out and some would call that the art of coaching because it difficult to pin it down with science. There are things we can try to help speed up recovery by eating the right ratio of macro nutrients, sleep and try to lower life stress.
Perhaps the study is valid that there were some sort of benefits of lifting for the endurance athlete, but I believe there is potential that the weights used in the study are fraction of that person's true 1RM and perhaps the title may really be Moderate to Light Resistance Training instead of Heavy Strength. Just an experienced guess based on years of observation.
To lift or not to lift
Are there other benefits of lifting? I do enjoy lifting for a number of reasons and with 35 years of invested effort I do not plan to give it up. At 54 I see a benefit to fight the natural decline of strength. However, I will be honest that I have never experienced any of my strength being applied in endurance cycling and especially those who primarily focus on events like a time trial or triathlon where the power output is sustained for a longer period of time and are not known for needing a massive sprint. I am very grateful at this point in life to have a balance between strength and endurance, but I also know that I am not training optimally in both.For those who desire to step up in the ranks of endurance cycling and triathlons here are a few questions to consider.
- Does lifting provide a direct stimulant to improved aerobic condition?
- Is it a very good use of time for the time crunched endurance athlete?
- What is the risk / reward ratio?
- Does the reward outweigh the risk of injury from improper technique or robbing freshness needed for the specific training that does have greater stimulus and is more efficient?
Final thought
What troubles me the most about the forum discussions is not so much the study, but to reference the study as proof of "heavy strength" training is somehow effective and crucial for endurance training and then reveal that they are doing something completely different. It is kind of like a post I read years ago when a guy was saying he was doing Tabatas and then he laid out what he was actually doing. A noted female sports scientist responded, "You sir are not doing Tabatas. You are doing something completely different than the study. Perhaps you may be getting good results from what you have described, but do not call it Tabatas because it is not."Are you really strength training or are you doing something else?
If someone tells me that they trained legs at the gym and it does not impact the endurance training in terms of fatigue, I cannot help but be skeptical that what they were doing was just going through the motions. And when someone claims that they are "strength training" three days a week and also doing endurance training I just shake my head in total disbelief. I train my legs once a week and struggle managing the training load and hitting the target intensities or load in both strength and endurance.
References
Central and Peripheral Fatigue During Resistance Exercise – A Critical Review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4723165/
Neural Contributions to Muscle Fatigue: From the Brain to the Muscle and Back Again https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5033663/
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