Comments on: Strength Training Without Additional Body Mass – 3

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:46:27 +0000

I agree that hypertrophy specific weight training alone will not result in increased aerobic performance. The concept here is that muscle mass is increased, and then this new muscle tissue is put through an aerobic training regimen, to build endurance. Just take a look at the finish foto’s of the guys and galls that win triathlon events. They are buffed and lean. If they were just lean they would not be crossing that line in first place. Take a look at the leg muscles in competitive cyclists. Or how about speed skaters, even in the longer distances – e.g. Sven Kramer. Their legs are massive. That’s all muscle, trained for aerobic performance.

Still, for most sports enthusiasts your basic premise still holds: increase strength without increasing body mass. It’s just that muscle mass increases and fat declines, so the athlete’s net weight remains close to where it started.

By: Jesper Bondo Medhus

Jesper Bondo Medhus — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:15:49 +0000

Hypertrophy will improve force production and increase your overall power, but that will only make you faster at anaerobic skills like sprints and short jumps. Oxygen uptake per kilogram will decrease. If mitochondrial density is maintained it will never be due to hypertrophy specifc weight training principles per se.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:48:03 +0000

Read Alan Couzen’s blog on the importance of aerobic muscle mass for endurance athletes, and that makes a lot of sense. The additional muscle mass makes for greater weight, but as Jamie points out the strength to mass ratio is what matters. The largest amount of muscle you can support within your aerobic capacity (VO2 max) will be the optimal amount, even for endurance sports. I’m training for a triathlon and do a weights and core routine three times a week in addition to the swim bike run thing. Been on this program for about 4 months, I’m 6.2, weighed 185 lbs at the start and have lost perhaps 2 or three pounds due to simultaneous loss of body fat. I’m finding it actually not that easy to just bulk muscle and get heavy, perhaps also because of the running etc. I have heavy bones and know I need a good amount of muscle to reach my maximum performance potential.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:35:16 +0000

Thanks, Jasper. That helps. I agree with some points, but I still think there are some cyclists (mostly cat 5, cat 4, masters) for whom hypertrophy might be beneficial. An athlete who has a larger bone structure is going to need to be heavier than someone more sprightly. The more bone and tissue a cyclist has to carry, the more weight in muscle it will be appropriate to have. Having too little muscle is a disadvantage. That’s where my wattage example comes in. A bottle of soda isn’t going to help anyone ride faster. But an extra pound worth of muscle might help a cyclist achieve higher wattage levels, provided mitochondrial density can be maintained.

This article provides a more articulate summation of my point:
http://alancouzens.blogspot.com/2010/01/importance-of-strength-to-endurance.html

By: Jesper Bondo Medhus

Jesper Bondo Medhus — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:37:44 +0000

Jamie, thanks for sharing your different view on strength training and hypertrophy.

I would like to explain a bit more why hypertrophy is not that attractive:

Type 2 muscle fibres are much more likely to grow. Thus hypertrophy training makes the cross sectional area of your type 2 muscle fibres larger. There is only slighty hypertrophy observed in type 1 muscle fibres.

As we know, type 1 muscle fibres are the primary source for force development in endurance events, thus we will not see any positive significant increments in performance due to hypertrophy. Remember, hypertrophy training does not produce any significant peripheral adaptations that improves endurance. Actually there might be some dilution of mitochondrias.

Hypertrophy will improve force production and increase your overall power, but that will only make you faster at anaerobic skills like sprints and short jumps. Hypertrophy will decrease your endurance skills.

Sorry, but your example does not make sense. What if he carried an extra 2l CocaCola and was able to push 350W / 5,0W/kg? Conclusion: Carrying an extra bottle of Cocacola would make him faster.

I guess not. I hope you can see my point.

I think plyometrics can be great way to train. Also I would suggest people who are more experienced with strength train to add eccentric strength exercises with overload weights 100-130% 1RM.

Finally, it’s worth to notice that cyclists and triathletes who are not strictly focusing on performance may have several benefits by adding hypertrophy training to their strength training. Also it’s worth remembering that it’s still uncertain whether strength training actually makes top cyclists better.

Best regards,

Jesper