If a weightlifter adds thirty minutes of intense cycling every other day to her training, what is the greatest effect on performance?

If a weightlifter adds thirty minutes of intense cycling every other day to her training, what is the greatest effect on performance?

• A. Endurance gains will be enhanced
• B. Muscular hypertrophy will dramatically increase
• C. Technique will deteriorate
• D. Power gains will be compromised

Answer: (D)

Engaging in high-intensity endurance work alongside heavy lifting creates interference between adaptations for endurance and power. Endurance training tends to shift the body's signaling toward mitochondrial and vascular changes and uses energy pathways that can dampen the neuromuscular adaptations key for power development. The added fatigue and reduced recovery time from cycling every other day limit the quality and intensity of strength and power sessions, making maximal power gains the most likely to suffer. Endurance gains may still occur, but the dominant negative effect in this setup is on power, so power gains will be compromised.

Engaging in high-intensity endurance work alongside heavy lifting creates interference between adaptations for endurance and power. Endurance training tends to shift the body's signaling toward mitochondrial and vascular changes and uses energy pathways that can dampen the neuromuscular adaptations key for power development. The added fatigue and reduced recovery time from cycling every other day limit the quality and intensity of strength and power sessions, making maximal power gains the most likely to suffer. Endurance gains may still occur, but the dominant negative effect in this setup is on power, so power gains will be compromised.