Do you know the difference between strength and endurance? Believe it or not it is actually tricky, and because of that you might be mistaking one for the other. Here is a good way to help you visualize the concept.
Defining Strength And Endurance
Take a look at the chart below:
The line represents the fact that strength and endurance are on a spectrum, which means that they blend with each other. Strength is all the way on the left and defined as how much force you can produce. Endurance is on the right and defined as how long you can go. As you move to the left or to the right, you get closer to the corresponding characteristics.
Something to bear in mind here is that, because of the repetitions label, you might immediately visualize weight training. That’s the modality we most readily associate with repetitions. However, any activity can be considered in terms of repetitions. Running, for example, is simply a lot of repetitions of jumping. Cycling is a lot of repetitions of peddling. Climbing is a lot of repetitions of pulling (and pushing, if you are using your legs like you should). If you think about things that way, then you know where something like running goes on the chart—way out on the right. Lifting a very heavy weight one time, on the other hand, would go all the way on the left.
Putting It Together
So, does something like running strengthen your legs? Yes it does, but not very much. It goes way out on the right of the spectrum, so far in fact, that it’s effect on strength should be considered small. Does squatting the heaviest weight possible once improve your endurance? Maybe a little, but not anywhere close to as much as running. Heavy weight training goes all the way on the left and its effect on endurance should be considered small.
A Very Important Word On Strength Training
In weight lifting the spectrum between strength and endurance is fairly small. Twenty or more repetitions, as labled on the chart, is already high on the endurance side. In other words, lifting a weight twenty times will not make you particularly strong. Further, you’ll notice that in the middle of the chart you have six repetitions, which is closer to strength, and twelve repetitions, which is closer to endurance. That puts ten repetitions in the middle. This means, as a general rule of thumb, that if you are lifting something for ten reps you are really only halfway into strength building territory. If you really want to target strength, you need to get to a weight that has you lifting fewer than ten and, the closer you get to one repetition, the more strength it will be.
Both Are Good
None of this is to say that one thing is better than the other. Both endurance training and strength training are important, just be aware that they are not the same.