𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑

A movie that MOST bodybuilding enthusiasts (at least those of who were born in the 70’s-90’s) have watched is the docudrama “PUMPING IRON” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

The film was designed to promote the then underground and often stigmatized sport of BODYBUILDING and centered around the rivalry between the “KING” of bodybuilding Arnold and the talented but RAW Ferrigno.

𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 black and white clips of old school muscle men performing feats of strength and in the background, a song part of which went like this “𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐝!”

I find this to generally be true. Not in the ABSOLUTE SENSE of physical strength, not everyone has the aptitude or desire to be an athlete let alone a strength athlete.

However, almost EVERY MAN wants to prove himself and be respected by his peers in his area of endeavor whether that be in business, science, religion, politics or as a family man.

When it comes to STRENGTH TRAINING, men who are interested in the topic, often BALK at the idea of developing muscular endurance saying things like “anything over 10 reps is cardio” etc.

So, WHY, beyond health concerns, would someone interested in getting stronger want to develop their MUSCULAR and/or CARDIOVASCULAR fitness
AND why have I included muscular endurance as PILLAR ONE of the Hybrid Strength Framework?

That QUESTION is what I will be addressing in this post.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 men interested in developing strength tend to shy away from endurance work is the notion that aerobic exercise will NEGATIVELY impact their strength and size gains.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

The TRUTH is, that while running 50 or 60 miles/week will have negative impacts on testosterone and the eccentric loading will contribute to muscle breakdown which will detract from leg training intensity in the gym, MODERATE amounts of aerobic exercise can IN FACT enhance your strength, muscle and body composition goals.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡.

This means a HIGH CALORIE and high carbohydrate intake.

According to Angela Harter at California State University, athletes engaged in one hour/day of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise should consume ~2.5-3 grams of carbohydrate/lb of body weight.

A 200lb male strength athlete would burn ~388 calories in an hour-long lifting session. (3)

If you add an hour running to this that increases energy expenditure by about ~900 calories if running at a 10 minute/mile pace, more if running faster. (4)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝.

𝐋𝐨𝐰-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, technical sports, or skill-based activities (golf, etc.) 3-5 g/kg

𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲, some moderate-intensity endurance exercise, 1 hour a day 5-7 g/kg

𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, 1-3 hours a day 6-10 g/kg

𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 4-5 hours a day of moderate to high-intensity endurance exercise 8-12 g/kg

𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝐥𝐛 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟐𝟖𝟖 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.

Add to this his BMR of ~2000 calories/day (BW x 10cals/lb) and this guy should be eating ~ 3500 calories/day .6 – 1 gram or protein/lb of lean weight, 455-637 grams of carbs/day.

The remaining calories should come from a variety of HEALTHY FATS
Fatty Fish and Fish Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado, Grass Fed Butter, nuts and seeds etc.

3500 total calories – 2620 calories from carbs and protein = 880 calories from fat or about 100 grams of fat/day.

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.

In fact, it will not and the excess will be converted into glucose or excreted as excess nitrogen.

𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐞.

This is perhaps also the reason many men think that cardio will make them lose muscle.

Yes, it will make you lose muscle if you aren’t eating enough food and trying to fuel your workouts with protein instead of carbs and fat.

OK, so now that we have established that cardio/endurance work IS NOT going to kill your gains, lets take a look at some specific ways that it can CONTRIBUTE to your gains.

𝟏. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

𝟐. 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘

𝟑. 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

Too many guys rush the process when they decide they want to get in the gym and build some muscle.

They start heaving heavy weights around and checking their bench press PR every week.

While it makes sense that if you want to get big and strong you should lift weights that require a significant amount of strength, this approach is short-sighted and can in fact derail your long-term progress.

First of all, VOLUME or the total amount of weight lifted in a given session is a bigger driver of muscle growth than the amount of weight lifted/set.

𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄:

Deadlifting 300lbs for 5 sets of 5 reps will lead to a total volume of
7500 lbs.

On the other hand, Deadlifting 225 lbs for 4 sets of 10 reps will lead to a total volume of 9000 lbs.

Although Deadlifting IS NOT the best muscle-building exercise, you can see that performing more reps with a lighter weight will produce more volume which in turn contributes to more muscle growth.

Furthermore, lifting a lighter weight that you can actually control without contorting your body into all sorts of weird positions, will decrease your risk of injury and ensure that you are actually building and strengthening the muscles that you intended to build and strengthen.

When you do come around to lifting the heavier weights, you will be able to lift way more weight and do so with less risk of injury because using proper form has strengthened and developed the muscle throughout its entire length.

𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘

Weight lifting related injuries are more common among steroid users than natural athletes.

Some of the reasons for this are accelerated increases in muscle strength and size, increased competitiveness and decreased perception of pain which can cause lifters to push too far.

How this relates to why a natural lifter should begin with relatively modest weights for higher reps is due to the fact that steroid users often rupture tendons because tendons naturally grow stronger slower than muscles and the steroids enhances this.

By spending more time lifting at lighter load you not only increase your movement proficiency, you also decrease the likelihood of injury when you do start lifting heavy.

𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

Aerobic exercise improves the efficiency of the aerobic energy system, helping us to utilize fat as a fuel source and sparing glycogen.

This means that you will be using less muscle glycogen/glucose when you are training at submaximal loads which means you will have more of it in reserve when you get to your HEAVY working sets.

The LAST thing you want is to not be able to lift a heavy weight because of fatigue accumulated in your WARM-UP.

When we do regular aerobic exercise, we increase the amount of Mitochondria in our muscles.

More mitochondria in muscle cells means MORE ATP produced which means we will be able to do MORE WORK in the gym before fatigue sets in.

This of course with proper and sufficient nutrition will lead to increases in muscle SIZE and STRENGTH.

When you are well conditioned aerobically you will use less carbohydrate for energy which will help you get lean and retain muscle while running/biking etc.

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

Running and biking are excellent for building endurance in our lower body muscles.

However, bodyweight exercise is a great way to build functional CORE strength and increase FULL BODY muscular endurance i.e. the ability to sustain muscle contractions for 60 seconds or more.

As mentioned above, building endurance and perfecting form with high rep low intensity training can help keep your joints healthy and ensure you get the most out of higher intensity training.

Furthermore, most things in life and sport require a combination of strength and endurance.

It is very rare that you will ever be called upon to perform only one all out max effort in either sport or life.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑 #𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

It is the FOUNDATION upon which all future strength gains are built and what enables you to remain athletic and functional even as you are developing and progressing in the other three disciplines.

Unless you are a POWER LIFTER or PHYSIQUE competitor maintaining BALANCE between all FOUR disciplines is essential to longevity and optimal performance in your sport of choice.

Granted, the relative weight of each in a routine will come down to genetic factors and performance goals.

For example, a naturally, thick, heavily muscled individual will probably spend more time in the strength department.

A naturally lanky individual while still straining for strength will probably want to spend more time in the endurance department.

Wrestlers and fighters of all kinds will need a BLEND of all four but genetic predisposition as well as training phase will determine which discipline gets the MOST ATTENTION.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆.

This style of training enables you to achieve a STRONG, LEAN, and TONED physique with excellent stamina and mobility in just 20–30-minute strength workouts/day.

The problem with many popular fitness programs and the routines promoted in the majority of group exercise classes is that they spend EXCESSIVE amounts of time in ONLY ONE or TWO strength disciplines, usually muscular endurance with aerobic conditioning added in.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭.

IN REALITY, they are PRIMARILY getting better endurance but DOING LITTLE to develop lean muscle, strength, or power.

By STRATEGICALLY blending the minimum effective dose of ENDURANCE, strength, BODYBUILDING, and power training 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 STAMINA and SHEDDING excess body fat in only 20-30 minutes/day of dedicated strength training.

What kind of training do you most enjoy?

Endurance?

Strength?

Bodybuilding?

Speed & Power?

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰.

If you are interested in learning more about HBYRID STRENGTH training or if you have a specific AESTHETIC or PERFORMANCE goal you would like help achieving, shoot me a PM.

𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒:

1. https://pressbooks.calstate.edu/…/carbohydrate-and…/

2. https://www.acefitness.org/…/how-to-determine-the-best…/

3. https://www.strengthlog.com/calories-burned-lifting…/…

4. https://runrepeat.com/calories-burned-running…

See less

— in Eau Claire, WI.