Strength and Aerobic Training in the Same Session – Does the Order Matter?

The idea of programming can be a confusing one and as I discussed in a previous blog article, Concurrent Training: Strength and Aerobic Training at the Same Time?, both strength training and aerobic training apply different types of stress on the body and thus produce different molecular adaptations.

The big argument that always comes back is, “How practical is being able to always separate the two?”. Obviously we only have seven days in the week and with athletes needing to attend practice, competitions, and (if you are working with high school or college athletes) class, it can get really difficult to practically lay some of this stuff out as time is limited. Research happens in a much more controlled environment than the “real world” and sometimes we need to get creative with training structure.

What if we have to do Strength Training and Aerobic Training in the Same Session?

Performing strength training and conditioning tasks in the same session is a common way of prescribing training as it allows us to train several qualities in a time efficient manner. As I discussed in the Concurrent Training Article, the amount of focus you place on each task will be dependent on the goals of the training session, the phase of training and the athlete’s individual needs. One question that people often ask is, “Which should I do first? Conditioning or Strength Training?”. My reply to that is always, “It depends”.

A 2009 paper by Coffey and Hawley looked at successive bouts of strength and aerobic training during two different training session – one where the eight subjects performed strength training first and the other where the subjects performed aerobic training first.

Session 1

• Resistance Training: Leg Extensions – 8 sets x 5 reps @ 80% intensity; Rest = 3min
• 15min rest period
• Endurance Training: Cycling – 30min continuously at a power output of approximately 70% of the individuals VO2peak

Session 2 (2 weeks after Session 1)

• Endurance Training: Cycling – 30min continuously at a power output of approximately 70% of the individuals VO2peak
• 15min rest period
• Resistance Training: Leg Extensions – 8 sets x 5 reps @ 80% intensity; Rest = 3min

Key Findings

• When endurance training was performed before resistance training (Session 2) there was a decrease in genes specifically associated with hypertrophy; therefore, the anabolic effect of resistance training may be blunted.
• When resistance training is performed before endurance training (Session 1) there is potential to exacerbate inflammation and protein degradation
• The results of this study are consistent with other studies indicating that there is an interference effect that takes place when two types of different training modalities are performed in the same session (as discussed in the Concurrent Training Article)

Practical Application

It would appear that anyway you slice it you get some sort of negative effect. Do your conditioning before your resistance training and you blunt the anabolic response. Do your resistance training before your conditioning and you end up with greater amounts of inflammation and protein degradation.

Thus, to answer the question of, “Which should I do first?”, we have to take into consideration the individuals needs because, as I stated earlier, “It depends!”

When looking at the individual athlete and trying to understand their needs it is important to remember that most team sport athletes do not need to maximize their potential in one single area (strength or power) but rather need to be a little more well-rounded and possess the capacity to repeat explosive and powerful efforts over the course of a game.

Oftentimes, when testing an athlete, we will typically find that the athlete tends to be dominant in one physical aspect (IE, strength) and may be lacking in another (IE, conditioning or sport specific work capacity), thus, our training should reflect that athlete’s needs during certain training phases when we are trying to make improvements in specific qualities.

For example, For an athlete who is already strong, powerful, and posses a large amount of muscle mass, my goals of training may be to improve their general fitness and work capacity and maintain their strength and power. In this athlete I may choose to perform some conditioning work first in the session and follow that with a low volume strength session, as maintenance work, for a few weeks until I get the fitness changes that I want. For an athlete who possess great conditioning but lacks strength and power my goal in that first phase of training would be to perform the strength and power work first in the session, to prioritize that quality, and then perform some low volume conditioning (maintenance work) at the end of session.

Obviously the most ideal situation would be to break up the week, separate the qualities, and train them at the volumes and intensities necessary for the individual; however, this is not always possible. In the offseason, when there are less demands placed on the individual, you may be able to get away with this type of setup but as the season draws near you may need to get more creative with your programming and figure out how to prioritize specific qualities on the limited training days that are available to you.

Some of these concepts and ideas are covered in the latest DVD I recorded with Charlie Weingroff, and Joel Jamieson. The DVD comes out November 6th, but don’t forget that you can get on the pre-sale list and save $25. Sign up HERE!

patrick@optimumsportsperformance.com