Endurance versus strength - there has always been a competition between these two types of training, with their proponents positioning one training above the other and convinced that their type of training advances them physically more than the other. That's why you see the classic "pumpers" jogging less and passionate runners not so often with the weights in the gym.

Well-known sports that train endurance include jogging, swimming, rowing, cross-country skiing and cycling. Apart from training with weights in the gym, weightlifting and the triathlon belong to power sports. Furthermore, shot-putting can also be classified in this category.

But which training is most likely to benefit our body? Does one necessarily have to be better than the other? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

And most importantly, what is going on inside the body when we do endurance or strength training?

What is meant by endurance?

In general, endurance is defined as "the resistance of the organism to fatigue and/or the ability to recover quickly after exertion". Generally, however, when we talk about endurance in everyday life, we are referring to the stamina when doing something.

A distinction is made between short-term endurance, medium-term endurance and long-term endurance.

Because endurance training requires you to maintain a certain intensity for a longer period of time without tiring, it is no wonder that this type of training has many effects on the biological processes within our body.

These affect our muscles, cardiovascular system, hormones and nervous system, as well as our lungs and blood, among others.

Muscles

The muscle fibres are enlarged, the muscle blood flow improves and the muscle structure becomes firmer.

Energy

The number of mitochondria is increased. These are responsible for giving the body energy. Due to the increased number, our body is able to store more glycogen, fat and water. The body falls back on the stored fat reserves as soon as the energy storage from the muscles is used up and converts them into energy.

The consumption of fat reserves during endurance training is often the reason for a brief outbreak of blackheads or pimples, as harmful substances are emitted during this process.

Cardiovascular system

The strain on our heart during endurance sports trains and strengthens our heart muscle. This is important because the heart muscle supplies our body with blood. With every workout, the heart muscle manages to pump more blood through the body per beat. This is called an increased stroke volume.
It also means an improvement in the oxygen supply for our body, which in turn has a positive influence on physical and mental performance.

Hormones

Endurance training promotes hormone production in our body. This releases oestrogen and testosterone. Testosterone is mainly associated with men, but it is also important for women as it stimulates muscle growth and increases energy levels. Another hormone that is released is cortisol, which is also known as the "stress hormone". One consequence of endurance training is therefore improved stress management in everyday life, as your body has already learned how to deal with it. Another important point is the release of serotonin and endorphins - our happiness hormones. If you've ever been jogging, you may already be familiar with the effects of the latter, as it leads us to what's called a "runner's high". It fundamentally improves our mood.

Lungs

Endurance sports cause our breathing to improve. This happens because our lung circulation is promoted and we breathe more deeply as a result. As a result, our respiratory minute volume increases.

Blood

Endurance exercise lowers our blood pressure and improves the flow properties of the blood. It also increases the number of erythrocytes (red blood cells), the red blood pigment haemoglobin and antibodies. As a result, viruses and other foreign bodies in our blood can be destroyed more quickly. Endurance sports therefore strengthen our immune system.

Nervous system

Regular endurance training ensures that activity in our sympathetic nervous system (responsible for performance) decreases and increases in our parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for rest and recovery). When this distribution applies to the nervous system, it helps us to calm unrest, such as sleep disorders and other psychological tensions.

What is strength in sport?

Strength is the ability of the nerve-muscle system to overcome, counteract or hold resistance against gravity through muscle contraction. A distinction is made between maximum strength, rapid strength, reactivity and strength endurance.

In strength training, there are two terms that you should definitely know: Hypertrophy (the thickening of existing muscle fibres/the increase in muscle cross-section) and hyperplasia (the new formation of muscle fibres).

This type of training is mostly used in the fitness, rehabilitation and health sectors.

Muscles

Strength training primarily increases the muscle cross-section. The strain on the muscle causes a change in the muscle fibres and thus evokes an adaptation reaction of the body. As a protection for future loads, the number of sarcomeres increases in the regeneration phase (a muscle fibre consists of several sarcomeres). The newly formed sarcomeres then coexist with the already existing ones. This results in an increase in muscle cross-section, as the individual muscle fibres are enlarged by the new sarcomeres. However, an increase in muscle cross-section can also be achieved through sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. 

Reactions in the body after strength training

Immediately after training, the body's own reactions start in the regeneration process. These processes require a lot of energy and consequently consume many calories. Adenosine trine and creatinine phosphate, which are formed for these processes, serve as energy suppliers. Shortly afterwards, the formation of the red blood pigment (haemoglobin) and the muscle protein myglobin begins. Another process in our body after strength training is the conversion of proteins into amino acid compounds. These are important for our body as they are responsible for energy gain in the mitochondria and cell regeneration.

Musculoskeletal system 

1. protection

Through strength training, our tendons and ligaments adapt to increased stress and become both stronger and more resilient. Strong muscles also serve as protection for our joints, tendons and ligaments and therefore prevent injuries and falls - which is seen as an advantage especially in old age.

2. bones

Building up and maintaining our bone substance is supported by regular strength training. This is why this type of training is especially important for osteoporosis (bone loss) and is often used as a treatment for it.

3. attitude

By stabilising the spine, posture problems are prevented. The interaction of the trunk, abdominal and back muscles compensates for muscular imbalances that arise in everyday life.

Immune system

By regularly using our muscles, we train our immune system. What happens is that a whole range of whole-body reactions are evoked. These include reactions in our metabolic and hormonal systems. Anti-inflammatory messenger substances and adrenaline are released, which stimulate the formation of immune cells in the blood. Accordingly, strength athletes are less likely to have colds, as this strengthens the body's own defences more and more.

Blood sugar

Strength training ensures that the blood sugar level in the blood is kept low. This happens through the absorption of sugar in the muscle cells. Exercising the muscles reduces insulin sensitivity, which helps prevent type 2 diabetes.

Cardiovascular system

Strength training lowers our heart rate and thus also our blood pressure. But be careful, this only happens if you train correctly and without forced breathing. Otherwise it can be dangerous.

As a result, the risk of cardiovascular disease is lower.

Psyche

Strength training helps us to relieve stress, counteracts anxiety and depression and promotes our self-awareness through the regular with our bodies on a regular basis. This is caused, among other things, by the release of serotonin and the increased endorphin levels. We gain more confidence in our strength and become more self-assured. A strengthened musculoskeletal system makes it easier to cope with everyday life. Lugging heavy shopping or coping with stressful situations will no longer be such a challenge. challenge. Accordingly, this type of training helps us to cope with everyday situations and factors and promotes our general performance.

Rejuvenation of the body

In general, it can be said that strength training is particularly effective in keeping one's body young, as the muscle build-up achieved through it - if carried out in the long term - stabilises our body and can protect it from age-related accidents. In addition, our connective tissue is tightened.

Even though both forms of training have very positive effects on our bodies, there are still disadvantages. Two factors are particularly noticeable with endurance training. On the one hand, it is often associated with a high time commitment that not everyone can meet. Secondly, there are certain risk factors that lead to joint and muscle problems. In strength training, incorrect exercises can lead to poor posture and incorrect strain. In addition, the rather monotonous exercises are not suitable for everyone, which can quickly become boring for some people.

A combination of the two forms of training is indeed ideal. By the way, the assumption that endurance training causes muscle atrophy is a misconception if you train properly. This means as much as avoiding too high a calorie deficit and overtraining. For this reason, if you want to build muscle, you should only do endurance sports in moderation. On the other hand, endurance athletes should not do without strength training, as the muscles they build up protect their joints, tendons and ligaments. Endurance athletes should also not neglect their back muscles. A stable spine can prevent pain and damage, as it is very stressed during running.