COMPATIBILITY OF ADAPTIVE RESPONSES WITH COMBINING STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE TRAINING

Impairment in strength development has been demonstrated with combined strength and endurance training as compared with strength training al one. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combining conventional 3 d . wk(-1) strength and endurance training on the comp atibility of improving both VO2peak and strength performance simultane ously. Sedentary adult males, randomly assigned to one of three groups (N = 10 each), completed 10 wk of training. A strength-only (S) group performed eight weight-training exercises (4 sets/exercise, 5-7 repet itions/set), an endurance-only (E) group performed continuous cycle ex ercise (50 min at 70% heart rate reserve), and a combined (C) group pe rformed the same S and E exercise in a single session. S and C groups demonstrated similar increases (P < 0.0167) in 1RM squat (23% and 22%) and bench press (18% for both groups), in maximal isometric knee exte nsion torque (12% and 7%), in maximal vertical jump (6% and 9%), and i n fat-free mass (3% and 5%). E training did not induce changes in any of these variables. VO2peak (ml . kg(-1). min(-1)) increased (P < 0.01 ) similarily in both E (18%) and C (16%) groups. Results indicate 3 d . wk(-1) combined training can induce substantial concurrent and compa tible increases in VO2peak and strength performance.