Training for endurance and power

[wood]

I'd love to share ideas on this topic with you guys, and will use my own case study to start things off. This is not a bragging competition, I'm simply looking to improve.

Current state

I'm 183cm tall, weigh 67kg, have a fulltime office job and do 4-5 workout sessions per week (30-60 mins each). You might describe me as tall, lean-skinny, athletic. I have diabetes 1 (the one with insulin shots) and a slight loss of sensation in my feet which makes it risky to do stuff like MMA (kicks) and climbing. My sense of balance is less than optimal and my feet heal slower from injury. You won't be able to tell unless you know this stuff about me. No, I do not walk around like a drunk person

Endurance
I love running. I typically do a 10km in 50-55 mins every week. On a good day I'll hit the 45 minute mark. 21km is the longest competition run I've done, and my times are around the 1h 55m mark, so basically a 2 hour jog. Blood sugar management is a challenge on 15km+ runs and long hikes carrying weight.
Other exercises I do are low intensity boxing (working on technique), rowing, fishing for hours and daily life activities like carrying stuff around or have sex.
I do not enjoy cycling or skiing. I enjoy swimming, but climate is cold and swimming pools are expensive.

Power
Sprinting is fun and I love boxing. I can do 10 pullups at once, or 30-60 pushups, or 30-60 squats with 20kg on my back. I don't know how to better describe my current state here? Power and especially strength is what I lack. Weight (strength) training is abit boring to me but I try do it 1-2 times per week.

A typical week looks something like this, but I often switch up days.
Monday: strength upper body: 4-6 diff exercises, 5-20 reps x 3-6 sets
Tuesday: boxing vs heavy bag 35 mins
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 5-8km run plus some strength on lower body
Friday: rowing, boxing or weight lifting, depending what I feel like
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest or 10km+ run

Aspirations and goals

Endurance
Basically, I want to be able to:
- do long distance runs (10-42 km) every year
- continuously improve my race times
- complete a marathon (target: perhaps 3h 30m)
- avoid injury and hopefully do this at age 60 and beyond, along with mountain/forest hiking
- not end up hating running
- improve my endurance without it negatively affecting my strength/power.

Power
I want to be a decent sprinter and explosive fighter for various reasons. I've been mugged, attacked in a bar and lost sprint bets on the beach. With a different athletic build those events might have had different outcomes. Besides, you get a good looking physique from this type of training. Some specific goals that illustrate where I'd like to be in the next few years:
- gain maybe 3-8kg
- compete locally in amateur boxing
- win brawls and sprint bets should these occur vs random humans
- improve my power/strength without it negatively affecting my endurance

Other thoughts
I remember jacob stating something like "If I can't beat you up, I will outrun you - and vice versa". In an ideal world I'd be able to do both

My weekly routine works for me in that it is fairly enjoyable, has some degree of freedom, the intensity/workload doesn't exhaust me but I still see improvement. I've found a decent balance, but I'd like to see more improvement especially in my strength and power which I feel has stagnated a bit. Maybe I just need to push myself more. I've found some "power exercises" I'll do today, including kettlebells, squat jumps and power push ups. The "insanity workouts" found on youtube are also great, but not very enjoyable. Every now and then I find something new to try, but it is rarely fun enough that I include it in my weekly routine. Sometimes its just too intense, making me lose motivation over time.

Should I aim for fewer reps/sets and heavier weights? Am I correct thinking this will mainly improve my strength but not necessarily power?
I've seen boxers do "explosive strength training", doing more reps with lighter weights in a quick fashion. I'm thinking this improves power (?)
Which would be more recommended for me considering my goals? Would any of these negatively impact my endurance?

I've concluded that what's happening is that I've become fit to a level where what was previously very hard, but possible, is now easier for me. So my results have improved and I don't have to put in as much effort to stay on this plateau. In turn, this has become fun/enjoyable, but less intense. So maybe I just need to push harder for each percentage of improvement?

What do you guys do for endurance and power? Do you focus on one or both? Where do you pick up tips and inspiration? Do you train alone like me or in groups? Any sports you would recommend for power and endurance?

[ThisDinosaur]

Sounds like you'd like Crossfit. They post a workout of the day on their website.
Personally, the best results I've ever had for endurance and power was West Side for Skinny Bastards. Even though I was using it more for muscle mass.

[Riggerjack]

As a naturally heavy guy, I can't help much. But a few notes:
Boxers are pushing for speed with the lighter weight, rather than power.

Getting some balance disks is a great help for increasing activity at knee and below. A great way to add strength and endurance to the small muscles that are critical to balance and dexterity. I keep 2 at my desk, and use them at work.

I was running a crew of ex cons at my place last weekend, and of course, guys being guys, the war stories came out. Looking back at my choices when I was young, mine were pretty similar to theirs, I was just lucky.

Since you are using metric measurements, I assume bars where you are come with the possibilities for fights, but not much shooting (but knives are everywhere). Still, I have to say, stay out of bars and barfights. It never goes like it does in the movies, and there are better places to pick up scars with better stories to tell afterwards.

Boxing is great, but with the popularity of MMA, getting enough ground training to defend yourself is a good idea, and great for building core strength. Don't neglect the jump rope, everyone wants to hit the heavy bag, but 3 minutes in an amateur ring is a long time...

Good luck.

[FBeyer]

...specific goals that illustrate where I'd like to be in the next few years:
- gain maybe 3-8kg
...

As someone who is 10 cm shorter and 8 kg heavier than you: you should shoot for adding more than 8 kg.

The absolutely most grueling cardio I've come across is either snatches (if you only own one kettlebell) or clean and jerk with two kettlebells, also known as long cycle. It's absolutely beastly!

Try borrowing a set of 'bells from someone and see if you don't hate yourself after 5 minutes of long cycle. If you do, you should know you ought to go for 10 minutes...

[jennypenny]

Don't most pro athletes cycle through periods of strength training, agility training, and endurance training? Like 2-3 months at a time focused on each? That doesn't mean you ignore the others, but you wouldn't increase your strength training regime in the run up to a long distance race -- you'd be focused on endurance. It's hard to achieve more than one goal at a time. The trick is to maintain previous achievements while aiming for a new goal the next cycle.

[BRUTE]

if kicks are OK with the diabetes feet, brute recommends Muay Thai.

also at least one full (~6 month) cycle of powerlifting, Starting Strength or 5x5 Stronglifts come to mind. just to build some base strength. 60 squats per set w/ 20kg would bore brute too. how about 5 squats w/ 100kg?

at 63kg, 10 pull-ups is not a lot. brute would lean in the strength direction for 6-12 months, and then re-evaluate.

also everything Riggerjack said - violence is not as fun as it looks in the movies. human hands break easily when impacting human skulls or pavement. and even in the self-defense case, it's easiest to simply avoid legal implications. 30 second fight, and even if wood wins, there will likely be 6 months of court dates. not to speak of the knives and the friends who like to kick heads in.

[Dragline]

If you gain 10 kg, no one will mess with you, even if you are not that fit otherwise. At your height and weight, you look like somebody who can be picked on. (I used to have your physical characteristics back in the day.)

But if you want to do long runs, you'll remain thin and not muscular. Its just a tradeoff. If you want to gain strength/weight, you'll probably need to eat more and rest more.

[jacob]

There's something called the Stillman equation that shows the optimal runner weight for a given distance.

https://runbundle.com/tools/stillman-weight-calculator

It'll tell you whether you're a long-distance runner, middle-distance, hurdler, sprinter, non-runner, or a fat-ass. Not that you can't do/be the others, but you'll be slower than someone who's weight optimized. Your stats peg you as a long-distance runner.

I presume you're deliberately differentiating between strength(=force [Newton]) and power (=force*speed [Watts]). Power is generally what requires/creates hypertrophy. If you want to optimize for something in between power and endurance, you will be looking at Insanity type workouts (track and field stuff). (Similar stuff is seen in tapout, rushfit, or p90x.) You're talking light weights (maybe 5-10kg dumbbells) but you're looking a fullbody movements like thrusters, burpees, etc. and it's not for reps. It's 1 minute of this. Followed by 1 minute of that. For half an hour. Almost no breaks. This is what I do. Stillman shows me as just below sprinter.

That form of training spills into endurance and power but you won't get super-strong from them and nor will it help you run 20km which is more of a low-intensity stamina problem. You'll look like a [track and field] athlete or a fighter or soldier. Not a weightlifter. Not a human twig.

If you're regularly turning your legs into hamburger with long runs ... getting anywhere with max 1 rep feats of strength is going to be very hard.

More power will make you heavier which will slow you down on the distance run. Carrying the extra weight is simply more work and the extra muscles have zero benefit for the speeds involved in running 5km+. Borrow a 10kg weight vest and go run 10km and see how that works for you. There's no way around that. There's a reason there are no competitive marathon runners weighing 85kg.

As for sports. Hockey is great for power. You're practically doing 30 second wind sprints with 15lbs of gear on you (once it gets sweat soaked) over and over. Fishing is not exercise. It's easy to find the "correct" sports. Just look for athletes with your desired height/weight ratio and pick from that sample. If you don't end up looking the same, it's because you're not working as hard as they are. (That's a lot to ask anyway.)

[BRUTE]

It's easy to find the "correct" sports. Just look for athletes with your desired height/weight ratio and pick from that sample. If you don't end up looking the same, it's because you're not working as hard as they are. (That's a lot to ask anyway.)

what if the sport is merely a mechanism for selecting a certain body/phenotype? obvious NBA example is obvious.

[jacob]

Wait, what?! Are you saying that shooting hoops won't make me taller? I demand a refund!

[Dragline]

For some reason this reminded me of "The Undoing Project", where it said Amos Tversky used to shoot compulsively even though he did not know how to shoot.

[wood]

I'm very enthusiastic about some of the ideas posted here:
- Crossfit is something I'd like to try. Joining a group is expensive here, but I suppose I could do this alone using tree branches and whatnot right?
- Balance discs: have them and use them infrequently.
- Jump rope: forgot to mention that I end 1-2 of my workouts doing 500-1000 skips. Great stuff.
- Kettlebells: have one, but only use it for a 10-minute routine maybe once a month for spicingthings up.
- Any sport involving kicks is a bad idea for my feet

I avoid brawls but I have been pushed into a corner where defending one self was the only option available. I refuse to avoid bars just because of this. It has happened once in my life and I've visited bars hundreds of times. I do believe knowing how to defend one self can be a healthy boost for self confidence.

Don't most pro athletes cycle through periods of strength training, agility training, and endurance training? Like 2-3 months at a time focused on each? That doesn't mean you ignore the others, but you wouldn't increase your strength training regime in the run up to a long distance race -- you'd be focused on endurance. It's hard to achieve more than one goal at a time. The trick is to maintain previous achievements while aiming for a new goal the next cycle.

This might be an excellent idea for me. Strength during winter, endurance during summer. But how to strike that balance where when training for strength you still maintain endurance? Individual differences? I guess half the fun is finding this out for oneself.

That form of training [insanity workouts] spills into endurance and power but you won't get super-strong from them and nor will it help you run 20km which is more of a low-intensity stamina problem. You'll look like a [track and field] athlete or a fighter or soldier. Not a weightlifter. Not a human twig.

It looks like my aspirations for strength and power will lead to serious challenges in improving my long distance running. I'm thinking of getting less ambitious with endurance for now and just do my runs for enjoyment. After my half marathon in september

[BRUTE]

Crossfit is something I'd like to try. Joining a group is expensive here, but I suppose I could do this alone using tree branches and whatnot right?

doubtful. for the record, CrossFit is expensive everywhere. typically 2-3x the price of a normal gym, but then all classes are small group classes.

while branches might be great for pull ups, there's more to CrossFit than pull ups. to do a reasonable CrossFit plan, wood would need at least an olympic barbell with weights (preferably bumper plates) and a squat rack.

[Jean]

Hiking up hills with an heavy backpack.
Or biking in a hilly area with a fixed gear. This will maximize work (power * time) your leg can do, and strong legs are the basics for any physical activity. Leg do the work, and arms just aply it in the right place.