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Is there a max to the max strength phase?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • November 7, 2016 at 5:07 pm #3396
    will cadell
    Participant

    Hi All,

    I’m in the base, max-strength phase right now. It occurs to me that doing a box step up with 180lbs on back on a bar is likely (a lot) more than I’m going to need to carry in the mountains. Obviously the intention is to create a machine that can carry a lower weight up a hill much further, but in reality is there a sensible max to max strength? Likewise, I just did a pull up with 100lbs hanging off a belt, which is cool but in reality is this just a fun party trick :)? Would I be better served by switching up the exercises at a certain point weight target to gett a more rounded strength?

    Thanks!

    w

  • Creator
    Topic

Posted In: General Training Discussion

  • Participant
    Shep on November 7, 2016 at 6:38 pm #3397

    I’m not sure where the point of negative returns is, but clearly you don’t want to increase muscle mass more than you increase your efficiency. In a different thread, Scott Johnston pointed out that for someone who is a football player getting into cycling, they clearly don’t want to do more weight training.

    Shep

    Inactive
    Anonymous on November 15, 2016 at 10:16 pm #3456

    Will:
    Great question. The point of an athlete increasing his or her max strength is only to allow them to convert that strength into a more sport specific type of strength. For most endurance sports, like mountaineering, that conversion will be to muscular endurance. While party tricks are cool athletes only strength train so that they can do their sport better. At some point you have to decide if you are strong enough. Most people can make some nice gains in an 8 week max program without putting on mass and then be well situated to convert that to ME. In your case if you are box stepping with 180 and pulling up with 100lbs I’d say you are strong enough in terms of the kind of basic strength a climber needs. Now you need to decide what your goal is. Mountaineering? Then go for ME conversion. Bouldering? Then go for power.

    Make sense?

    Scott

    Participant
    will cadell on November 21, 2016 at 1:54 pm #3504

    Thanks Shep & Scott, much appreciated!

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