Strength versus endurance - confused!

emmab0902
emmab0902 Posts: 2,338 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Correct me if I am wrong but I think I have read that 4-6 reps is best for strength, 6-10 for mass, and 10+ for endurance.

My trainer has me on 15 reps for 3 sets which I guess is for endurance for my swimming, athough I actually want to get stronger for both my muscles AND bone health. He possibly also has me on high reps for fat burning purposes!

What do you do if you want to achieve both strength AND endurance but not a lot of size (and yes I know as a female size would probably be hard to build anyway).

My shoulders SUCK and always have been my weak point and slowest part to make any progress on. They are also the one area I WOULD like some size added.

Advice???

Replies

  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I started New Rules a couple of weeks ago. It starts out with 2 sets of 15 reps, then you go down reps and up sets (and weight).
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    I don't know what's right, as I'm no expert. I work on 8-10 reps on shoulders arms and chest, simply because that 'feels' right to me. I am certainly not showing signs of bulking up, I've developed considerably in terms of strength, and that seems to be feeding into my other activities like running etc pretty well.

    I've got a dim feeling that, as with so many things that are fitness related, working out what works for you is the key?
  • gurlondrums
    gurlondrums Posts: 187
    I do P90X and according to Tony Horton, I believe 10-12 with bigger weights is to build mass and 12-15 with lighter weghts is for endurance or such. I can't think of his exact words though.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Correct me if I am wrong but I think I have read that 4-6 reps is best for strength, 6-10 for mass, and 10+ for endurance.

    This is correct. Usually you build one or the other. Spend a month working on endurance, then shift to the low end for strength for a month. Use it as part of varying your workout.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Correct me if I am wrong but I think I have read that 4-6 reps is best for strength, 6-10 for mass, and 10+ for endurance.

    This is correct. Usually you build one or the other. Spend a month working on endurance, then shift to the low end for strength for a month. Use it as part of varying your workout.

    Presumably this happens quite naturally as you work up the weights though? I work to about 10 when I'm really comfortable with a weight. When I go up a notch, my reps go down as my body adjusts, and then I gradually work my way back up to ten again... ?
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    I believe Tigersword is talking about periodisation training. The reps and sets are changed, which changes the amount you can lift as I've explained before in the triceps thread, not as your strength changes.
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,338 Member
    IronSmasher would you recommend mixing it up - doing low reps high weights sometimes and high reps lower weight other times? If so, do you mix it up by doing variations in a week, or is it better to do 4-6 weeks on one method then switch to another?
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    I follow a program for a minimum of three weeks (if I absolutely hate it) and a maxiumum of eight. The ones I stick to for eight weeks are ones that include an instruction to increase the weight by 2% each week.

    I usually change the plan entirely, to cover myself and to avoid bordom or gaps. I can't argue that it's necessary, and periodisation is probably all that's required to avoid plateau.
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,338 Member
    Sounds good. Althoug adding 2% to my weights would be adding a few grams lol.
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
    Correct me if I am wrong but I think I have read that 4-6 reps is best for strength, 6-10 for mass, and 10+ for endurance.
    This is correct...it has to do with the different types of muscle fibers. My trainer dumbed it down for me once to explain:
    ...the amount of time you spend on a set determines which muscle fibers are recruited most. They are actually used in sequence (type 2a, type 2b, type 1), so you can target specific fibers by following a standard cadence and working within a designated rep range.

    Type 2b fibers are the thickest and cause the most size growth (but as a female, size is something you do not have to worry about because of your lack of testosterone). Having larger cross sectional area (2b) burns more calories regularly. Lifting during a set time of (approximately) 40-70 seconds optimally recruits these 2b fibers. Therefore, if you're using a standard 3-5 second cadence per rep (taking into account that your last few reps will take longer because you're going for absolute failure), you will want to work within the rep range of 8-12. So always pick a weight that will have you working in this range for your goals.

    It is important that you always aim for positive failure in order to cause overcompensation. In other words: do not stop a set unless you can absolutely not complete another rep without assistance. This ensures that you work at your maximum at all times, and when you increase either the reps or weight in your next work out for that same muscle, you will be forcing overcompensation post-recovery.

    You are right that shoulders are difficult...I progress much slower with my shoulder exercises than I do with others. However, the definition I now see in my shoulders was so significant that I decided I could back down one of my exercises (trap bar shrugs) from weekly to biweekly because I'm happy with them the way they are.

    If you want to increase mass - which is what produces nice-looking, well-defined muscle - then you want to stay away from the endurance lifting. It doesn't recruit the proper fibers until the very end when it gets hard, & even then you're not stressing the muscles enough to force the growth you want. By bumping up the weight & lifting heavier & targeting an 8-12 rep range, you'll recruit the fast-twitch fibers from the very beginning. The result is more efficient strength training - faster results in less time.

    I found this article that seems to explain it quite simply: http://nealhallinan.com/blog/strengthtraining/muscle-fiber-recruitment/
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