Are You Programming the Strength Endurance Phase Correctly?
I recently had a new client come into the studio looking for an exercise-specific consultation. He was in great shape but felt like he was stuck on his barbell bench press. I asked him a few questions about nutrition, how often he trains, and exercise frequency to rule out Functional Overreach (FOR) or Non-Functional Overreach (NFOR, Meeusen et al., 2013).
He was using the 5×5 method but had been on this program for close to six months! His other training days were also a bit haphazard in the programming and emphasis, a result of training with a much younger training partner.
Many popular “branded” strength training programs such as 5×5, Starting Strength, and 5/3/1 are focused on the top end of the strength curve. This stresses mostly myofibrillar hypertrophy with some sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. They don’t put much emphasis on building the energy delivery systems around, and within, the working muscle.
This requires significantly different training stress.
His was higher-end strength so I started him at the beginning of that periodization using the Endurance format.
Typically, the format uses 2-3 exercises in a circuit using Fractional Repetition Maximum (FRM). The FRM will be a portion of the 8-20 RM depending on the emphasis: if you bench 200 lbs x 12 reps then your FRM for Endurance is 200 x 3 reps. Your FRM for 200 x 16 reps would be 200 x 4, etc. Then, attempt 3 reps every 20-26 seconds per exercise for 10-15 rounds.
- His initial 5×5 weight was 185 lbs for the barbell bench press.
- His first Endurance session was 1 exercise (bench press), 155 lbs for 3 reps every 30 seconds to set a baseline. He completed 10 sets with growing fatigue at the end.
- His next session was a 3 exercise circuit with 160 lbs x 3 on a 25-second interval per exercise. He hit 15 rounds!
- After 4 weeks he was at 170 x 4 for 15 rounds using the 3 exercise circuit.
- Volume comparison by program
- 185×5, 5 sets is 25 reps in 20 minutes, no other exercises.
- 170×4, 15 rounds is 60 reps in 18 minutes, with 3 exercises!
As the energy delivery systems develop we will shift to a 4-week sarcoplasmic hypertrophy program. After that, we will move to a 4-week high-end strength phase and then a 2-week power and deload period before returning to Endurance. This is a very different approach to traditional programming so test it out for a few sessions before using it with your clients.
