Training Power or Endurance

Your power/endurance profile can give you a deep insight into the way to get the maximum results out of your training by adjusting to where you fall on the spectrum. For the purpose of this article we focus on mixed bias and what this means for you.

When you first see your power/endurance profile it is important to note that this spectrum does not suggest that you’ll be better at power sports than endurance sports or vice versa. It shows an indication of what your body is likely to adapt to in terms of body fat % decrease and muscle mass development from a genetically predisposed point of view.

In terms of response we mean: if you focused more on endurance activities you would improve/increase/maintain in muscle tone/very lean muscle mass with endurance based weight (high repetition weight) training and will have a greater fatigue resistance ability over a longer period of time. If you focused on power training- the response you would see is favourable muscle growth and great muscular speed, power and explosive development.

You’ll know that the insights that genetic testing can offer you can be invaluable in terms of your athletic fitness and training programme. You’re able to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach and tackle your training empowered by the knowledge about your genetic information that the DNA test gives you. The main aspect of the DNA fitness report includes an algorithm based on a combination of genes that tells you whether you respond better to power, endurance or mixed training. Get your DNA test kit now click here

What Does It Mean For Me?

Here we’ll be taking you through some of the best exercises to do if you’re a mixed responder but first, what exactly does this mixed response mean?

Mixed responders fall somewhere in-between the power and endurance scale, sometimes right or close to the middle. You’re more likely to respond to exercises that can be considered more standard but are varied over doing intense cardio training and lifting weights. It’s important to find an exercise regime that works for you and stick to it for the best results. High intensity training across-the-board is a great way to condition your body to reach peak athletic fitness.

Exercises

Crossfit – it is widely considered that full-body, challenging CrossFit exercises are the best way to target all of the muscle groups. CrossFit is known for pushing people’s limits while drawing from a number of exercises. It is a strength and conditioning system that is designed to promote both broad and targeted physical fitness. The system combines a wide variety of exercises to ensure that a total fitness level is achieved. It burns fat, is a great workout, always at high intensity. Examples of exercises include:

- Running

- Jumping

- Various weight lifting exercises

- Sprints

And some unconventional techniques such as:

- Tire flips

- Bodyweight squats

- Clapping push-ups

- Thrusters

- Steady rings that gymnasts normally use

Full body gym workouts/circuits are also a great way to keep that intensity high while focusing on making gains. It’s not so much about the repetitions but the fact that you’re engaging your body from a consistently new perspective.

Exercises include:

- Dumbbell bench press

- Rows

- Dips

- Leg press

- Super-sets (combining cable training with push-ups or lighter weights)

- cardio

- Raised lunges

- Squats

Hypertrophy Weight Lifting - Individuals with close to a 50/50 response to power and endurance would respond well to the hypertrophy range which is generally set between 8-12 reps. Those who have a great response to power would respond well to heavy weight resistance training of reps between 1-6, while those with a great response to endurance are likely to see great benefits and adaptations to higher repetition weight lifting set at 14 - 20 + reps per set therefore making the 8-12 rep range for those close to the 50/50 mark well suited, genetically, to see great adaptations.

Learn to know how best to understand your own Power/Endurance profile and you will quickly see gains in your health, fitness and sport, there is no one size fits all workout, so designing a custom plan based on your own DNA results and really benefit you like never before. Remember your results reflect your potential in that desired training phase not sporting potential, you can still be a great distance running even if your results show high power result profile, it's all about adaptive training.

Once you know your results we can design a 4 week plan based on your profile, this will help you get started and understand how to best implement your power and endurance training to reach your goals.

Get your DNA kit now and unlock your fitness and diet potential click here