Can You Get Faster and Stronger Simultaneously?

Strength & endurance, are both very relevant and necessary to getting better at Crossfit and to overall be a fitter human. But these two skills are two very different things & considered conflicting by many. And that really makes you wonder, is it truly unrealistic to work toward these goals simultaneously? 

Now with Hybrid athletes popping up everywhere and that makes many people wonder, Can you both get faster and strong at the same time?

This is the question I will attempt to answer in today’s post, and share some of my thoughts on this topic with you.

Quick And Dirty:

If you just want to know if its possible, then YES. Recent studies have shown how these two when done at the same time progress can be made and they can even positively impact one’s development & performance. So, to answer the question is YES, you can become faster & stronger at the same time but only with the proper, appropriate & suitable trainings & techniques.

What do you need to keep in mind?

The problem with doing both endurance and strength work at the same time, is that they are both very time- intensive and strenuous on the body. And if you do 100% of the recommended dose for BOTH simultaneously it is almost certainly going to be a disaster.

The trick to successfully becoming a Hybrid Athlete is to identify your key outcome goals, certain distance you want to improve, lift or bench mark. And then plan around that. For most people that means you prioritize your training around “core session” or “A Priority Sessions” that if done well will get you the results you desire.

If you try to train like a marathon runner and lift like an olympian strength athlete, the training will limit each other. Where if you moderate each to about 2-3 core sessions each week ,the two can complement each other, and you can get about 80% of the benefits of each training regime.

The order of which session comes first in the day in the case of double days or consecutive days before a rest day doesn’t really matter.

This is good news because you are free to work on a schedule more suitable for you. However, it is possible that you need to manage soreness and fatigue from your training in a way so the strength training for example does not limit you from pushing hard on certain endurance intervals and vise versa. You can manage this by spacing out your core sessions throughout the week.

It can be good to keep in mind that most athletes can recover from lower intensity endurance trainings such as running & cycling in less than 24 hours. But in terms of strength training, the physiological stress brought by training for 40-60 minutes could last longer than expected.

Another thing to keep in mind is proper fueling for performance, ensuring your CARB and PROTEIN intake is sufficient to support your recovery and adaptation to your training. Strength training demands proper carb and protein levels to hit the right intensity and the endurance training is very demanding on carb sources, so fueling the right things at the right time becomes vital to ensure success with this combination.

Good news is that if your goal is burn fats & perhaps lose weight, then, concurrent training will be helpful for you.

Overall, everything will boil down to whatever your sports or goals demand. As I always say, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to these types of things. How much you should train, how long you should run & how heavy you should carry will all come down to two thing – your ultimate goal and your previous experience with the module you choose.

I love hearing from HYBRID ATHLETES. So if you are contemplating this route for you, give me a nudge - let me know what you are upto!

Supporting all the way!

Coach Eik