CAN I MAKE SERIOUS GAINS IN BOTH STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE AT THE SAME TIME?
Had you asked us that question five years ago, our answer might have been a little different. But 2024 is the year of the hybrid athlete – and an increasing number of trainees, both elite and recreational, are challenging themselves to target seemingly incompatible goals, simultaneously. For example, ticking off a marathon while PB’ing their power lifts.
If you’re concerned about this approach, then you’ve probably heard about a phenomenon called the ‘interference effect’ – the idea that endurance training compromises gains in strength; or that too much cardio cannibalises your muscles.
But it’s not something you should worry too much about, according to
Phil Price, a senior lecturer in strength and conditioning science and biomechanics at
St Mary’s University in
London. At the elite level, it might be smarter to focus your attention around a singular goal. ‘But at the sub-elite or national level, you can be pretty damn good at both [strength and endurance]. If there’s any detriment, it’s very small.’
A 2021 review of 43 studies published in Sports Medicine has gone further to disprove the idea, concluding that ‘concurrent aerobic and strength training does not compromise muscle hypertrophy and maximal strength development’.
‘In reality, it just blunts it a little bit,’ says hybrid athlete and coach Fergus Crawley (@ferguscrawley). Crawley advises programming heavier lifts and faster efforts at the start of the week; moderate tempo, high-rep resistance work in the middle-to-end; and longer, slower stuff at the end of the week.
Build up slowly to avoid burnout, though. ‘There is a misconception that more is better. Or that you should take 100% of a running programme and 100% of a lifting programme and put them together,’ he says. ‘The maths just doesn’t add up… and that’s when injuries occur.’
The number-one rule of hybrid training? ‘Skill acquisition first, volume second,’ says Crawley. For strength, that means movement proficiency and solid execution; for endurance, aerobic base development. ‘Accept that you are a student and embrace rebuilding yourself from the ground up.’