Strength, endurance, mass - what if I want them all??

emmab0902
emmab0902 Posts: 2,338 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I know that these three goals require different approaches ie different weights and rep ranges, but what if your goals are a combination of these.

I am wanting to build size in my shoulders as well as functional strength, and essentially the elusive "definition" which i know is a lot dependent on reducing bodyfat.

How do you structure workouts if you have multiple goals.

Replies

  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    Ugh, can't you have an easy, short term goal for once???
  • clickmaster
    clickmaster Posts: 54 Member
    If you're interested in body sculpting you have the following choices.

    1. Add muscle
    2. Add fat
    3. Lose muscle
    4. Lose fat

    That's it. There is nothing else. Strength comes from adding muscle which comes from anaerobic exercise - low reps, big resistance Endurance comes from exercising the target muscles for long periods of time - high reps, low resistance. . Definition comes from losing fat for which diet is the key. For the poorly trained body, none of those goals are mutually exclusive. However, it is not possible to optimize a regimen for both strength and endurance for obvious reasons. So, there is a point during training where you will have to make a decision which you want more...strength or endurance. Can you have it all? Yes, but only to a limit and beyond that limit your training strategies will have to favor goals which do not conflict with each other.

    There are limits in everything we do and a point where we must make a decision as to what we want most. For example, the overweight person can diet to a point and look good. Beyond that point they may look haggard and too thin. Same for the anaerobic and aerobic trade-off. You can have it all but only to a point.

    Good luck and good health!!

    ♠
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