What is strength endurance and how to develop it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This physical quality will make you a “machine” in sports and in life.

What is strength endurance

Strength endurance is the ability of muscles to maintain the strength of contraction during prolonged intense work.

We are talking specifically about heavy loads, when the muscles do not have enough oxygen. To keep moving, the body switches to anaerobic energy production. Because of this, hydrogen ions accumulate in the body, and the pH shifts to the acidic side.

In other words, the muscles "acidify". Pain and burning increase in them, and in the end there is a refusal - they can no longer contract. The longer you hold up to this point, the better your strength endurance will develop.

There are two types of such endurance N. Tretyakov, T. Andryukhina, E. Ketrish. Theory and methodology of health-improving physical culture:

• If the muscles contract a lot, but the lengths do not change - for example, when you try to sag on a horizontal bar or hold out in a plank for longer - this is static endurance.
• If the fibers shorten and lengthen during contraction, for example, during pull-ups or squats, they speak of dynamic endurance.

Who needs strength endurance

When it comes to sports, the ability to withstand intense work for a long time is important in almost any discipline. Strength endurance is essential:

• For cyclic sports, in which you need to give all the best for 4-8 minutes. For example, running 800–1,500 meters, rowing 2,000 meters, swimming 100–200 meters.
• For football, including American football, baseball, hockey, basketball and other team sports, where you have to work in short intervals with maximum intensity.
• For kettlebell lifting.
• For crossfit and functional all-around.
• For almost any martial arts.

Moreover, strength endurance will definitely come in handy in everyday life, even if your lifestyle cannot be called active. So, she will help carry the child along a steep ascent from the beach, drag heavy shopping bags across the entire parking lot, run two stops and still catch the bus that almost left without you.

You won't know when you might need strength endurance, but that moment will definitely come.

How to train to develop strength endurance

There are several effective ways to train your muscles to work longer without acidification.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

This is a training method in which you exercise at fixed intervals, alternating sections of near maximum intensity with rest or work at a calm pace. For example, pedal the exercise bike with all your might for 20 seconds, then at a calm pace for 10 seconds, and then repeat the same thing seven more times.

HIIT is increased by David C. Hughes, S. Ellefsen, K. Baar. Adaptations to Endurance and Strength Training / Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine both general and strength endurance teach the body more effectively than P. B. Laursen. Training for intense exercise performance: high-intensity or high-volume training? / Scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports work in anaerobic mode and increase the time to fatigue.

You can compose an interval workout from just about any exercise. Interval jogging is suitable for sprinters, stayers and triathletes, for basketball players - complexes with shuttle running, for weight lifters - HIIT with swings, jerks and jerks, for fighters - a series of strikes with a short rest.

Versatile options are obtained from exercises with your body weight: push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups, folds and crunches on the press.

You can also add weight movements such as thrusters, deadlifts and squats, kettlebell swings and snatches, and other strength exercises. Just make sure you are familiar with their technique and can safely handle the equipment when tired.

Complement your program with intensive interval beats by doing them 1-2 times a week. Be sure to take a rest day between the two sessions and decrease the frequency as you increase the volume of your workouts.

Strength training for high repetitions

If you work out in the gym, you can incorporate long, light weight sets into your workouts to develop strength endurance. However, it is important to keep in mind several points.

1. Perform the approach to or near muscle failure … If you stop before the muscles are tired enough to just stop contracting, there will be no sense.

Moreover, training to muscle failure will help 1. R. W. Morton, S. Y. Oikawa, C. G. Wavell. Neither load nor systemic hormones determine resistance training ‑ mediated hypertrophy or strength gains in resistance ‑ trained young men / Journal of applied physiology

2. B. J. Schoenfeld, J. Grgic, D. Ogborn, J. W. Krieger. Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High ‑ Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta ‑ analysis / Journal of strength and conditioning research they increase in volume despite relatively light weights.

2. Choose lower body exercises … There is some evidence that long sets with light weights develop better leg muscles than arms and chest.

In one experiment W. J. Stone, S. P. Coulter. Strength / Endurance Effects From Three Resistance Training Protocols With Women / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, participants were divided into three groups to test the effectiveness of different training formats. The first one performed strength exercises in three sets of 6–8 times, the second - in two sets of 15–20 times, and the third - in one approach, 30–40 times. The girls in the latter group increased the number of repetitions in the squat by 137%, while in the rest - by 80–84%.

For the upper body, however, long sessions were not that effective. So, in the third group, the number of repetitions in the bench press increased by only 20%, and in the first and second - by 31–41%.

Although the study is small and only included women, it can be assumed that shorter sets of 15–20 reps are better for upper body strength endurance.

3. Alternate with other strength training formats … You should not make a program only from long approaches with light weight. As the experiment showed above, working with heavy and medium weights pumps the strength endurance of the muscles of the upper body just as well as exercising with a lighter barbell.

In addition, heavy shells are much better at increasing the indicators of maximum power, and it is directly related to F. J. Naclerio, J. C. Colado, M. R. Rhea. The Influence of Strength and Power on Muscle Endurance Test Performance / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research with strength endurance. The higher your one-rep maximum in the exercise, the longer you will hold out with a light barbell.

To develop all physical qualities harmoniously, try working in cycles. For example, train strength for several weeks by doing short sets with heavy weights, and then move on to long sessions with a lighter apparatus to develop muscle endurance.

How to eat to maintain strength endurance

It is important to provide the body with fuel for intensive and long-term work and help it to cope better with "acidification".

Eat enough carbohydrates

When you eat foods with carbohydrates, some of the glucose is stored in the muscles as glycogen. During intense exercise, these deposits are used by P. Knuiman, M. T. E. Hopman, M. Mensink. Glycogen availability and skeletal muscle adaptations with endurance and resistance exercise / Nutrition & Metabolism for energy production.

Lack of fuel will negatively affect your performance, concentration and recovery rate in Food and drinks for sport / NHS. Therefore, low-carb diets, such as the ketogenic diet, are not suitable for sports in which strength endurance is important.

The daily intake of carbohydrates depends on K. Vitale, A. Getzin. Nutrition and Supplement Update for the Endurance Athlete: Review and Recommendations / Nutrients depending on the intensity of your exercise:

• loads with an average intensity for 1 hour a day - 5–7 g / kg of body weight;
• medium to high intensity workouts 1–3 hours a day - 6–10 g / kg;
• loads of medium and high intensity 4–5 hours a day - 8–12 g / kg.

Distribute the right amount of carbohydrates across all meals and try to eat within the next two hours after class to replenish depleted glycogen stores.

If you exercise intensively for more than 60 minutes, you may need an additional recharge in the form of 30-60 g of carbohydrates each subsequent hour of the activity. For example, there are special sports drinks with 6-8% glucose and fructose that are easy to consume during your workout.

Try beta-alanine

If you are a health practitioner and not going to compete, there is little point in buying supplements. Adequate nutrition will be sufficient.

But for athletes who care about every few seconds in a race, beta-alanine can come in handy.

This nonessential amino acid enhances G. M. Brisola, A. M. Zagatto. Ergogenic Effects of β-Alanine Supplementation on Different Sports Modalities: Strong Evidence or Only Incipient Findings? / Journal of strength and conditioning research the amount of L-carnosine. This is the name of a substance that helps the body to better buffer R. M. Hobson, B. Saunders, G. Ball. Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta ‑ analysis / Amino Acids hydrogen ions and avoid acidification longer.

Try Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, Hoffman JR, Wilborn CD, Sale C., Kreider RB, Jager R., Earnest CP, Bannock L., Campbell B., Kalman D., Ziegenfuss TN, Antonio J International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: beta-alanine / Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 4-6 grams of beta-alanine daily for 2-4 weeks. During this period, the body will accumulate enough L-carnosine to give you a small increase in performance.

You Can Take Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid that is found in our body, mainly in the muscles, produced in the liver and kidneys, and can be absorbed into the body through food. Creatine supplements are used to increase workout volume and accelerate recovery and muscle growth.

Also, this amino acid is important for the development of strength endurance. As shown by the experiment P. D. Chilibeck, C. Magnus, M. Anderson. Effect of in-season creatine supplementation on body composition and performance in rugby union football players / Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism with rugby players, 8 weeks of creatine monohydrate 0.1 g / kg bw / day helped increase the amount repetitions in the leg press and bench press.

In addition, J. Hoffman, N. Ratamess, J. Kang help with creatine supplementation with or without beta-alanine. Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength / power athletes / International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism to increase strength, which is also important for muscle endurance.

Another benefit of this amino acid is the rapid restoration of muscle glycogen. Assumed A. G. Nelson, D. A. Arnall, J. Kokkonen, R. Day, J. Evans. Muscle glycogen supercompensation is enhanced by prior creatine supplementation / Medicine and science in sports and exercise, that if you take 20 g of creatine together with carbohydrates for 5 days, the level of stored glucose in the muscles will be about 14% higher than without the supplement …

You can use P. Peeling, M. J. Binnie, P. S. R. Goods. Evidence-Based Supplements for the Enhancement of Athletic Performance / International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism Creatine in two ways - with or without loading.

In the first option, take 20 g of the supplement per day for 5-7 days, dividing the dose into four equal servings. During this period, the level of creatine in the muscles will increase by about 20%. Further, you will only need to maintain it, taking 2-5 g of amino acids per day.

If you want your creatine levels to rise gradually, skip the loading phase and take 3-5 grams on a consistent basis.