Strength or Endurance?

How important is strength in GS? What is the optimal balance between strength and endurance? How important is pure endurance in this sport? These questions are discussed in the article from Rostov Federation of Girevoy Sport http://www.fgsrostov.aaanet.ru/Rudnev.Lopatin.doc. Both of its authors, Lopatin and Rudnev, are Masters of Sports of International Class in GS.*

According to the authors of the article, most GS authorities agree that multiple repetitions in girevoy sport are realized by developing strength endurance. As far as strength is concerned, researches involved in GS are unanimous in their opinion that developing strength is necessary up to certain “sufficient” level. Voropaev in his studies came to the conclusion that strength level of elite gireviks is similar to that of 2nd rank weightlifters. In Voropaev’s opinion, this is that “sufficient” level. However, there are different weight categories, and the difference in strength between lightweight and heavyweight athletes is significant. In other words, according to this opinion, in order to lift 32 kg bells, athletes below 60 kg and those above 90 kg have to develop strength that is quite different for their bodyweight!

There is a table in the book by Vorotyncev which reflects approximate strength requirements for gireviks. One of the authors of the article, Lopatin, compared his own strength with the number in the table. His bodyweight is in the 60 – 65 kg category.

Bench press
Required – 80 kg
Lopatin – 65 kg

Deadlift
Required – 110 kg
Lopatin – 90 kg

Squat
Required – 110 kg
Lopatin – 80 kg

Pressing 32 kg bell
Required – 1-2 times
Lopatin – 0 times

Running 3000m
Required – Junior ranking
Lopatin – Adult ranking

For the record, Lopatin is the Russian record holder in biathlon – 166 points – and long cycle – 61 reps (http://www.girevoirybinsk.narod.ru/records.html) . Record holder could not pass the test from the text book!

The authors insist that there is no research regarding strength component of girevoy sport. They also say that barbell squats do not reflect the model of jerk in GS and therefore cannot be used as a test. That’s why it is not surprising that light athletes who are capable to get the KMS numbers for the category below 80 kg cannot squat 110 kg. The mechanism of effort in GS is explosive, acceleration of the kettlebells in order to get them to certain height. At the same time the amplitude of the second dip is much less than in weightlifting, and the duration of the cycle much shorter. As the rule, strong and easily fatigued muscle fibers are not included in the lifts, and instead the work is performed by slow and fast fibers with good endurance. It is clear, therefore, that in GS the most important factor is the strength of endurance fibers, and tests should be conducted accordingly.

Lifts in GS are achieved by synchronization of endurance fibers, and this is determined not by the strength of the nerve impulse, but by its frequency. That is why hypertrophy is much less pronounced in gireviks compared to weightlifters. Moreover, because of the duration of the competition in GS oxidative processes dominate over glycolytic.

According to many researches, strength used in GS is below 70% of maximal, and strength component in GS is not decisive. Strength endurance, of course, is one of the most important qualities for gireviks. However, some clarification is needed.

Strength endurance in its pure sense means performing movements without breaks, and according to some authors, not more than for 40 repetitions. In GS pauses between reps can reach 10-20 seconds, and number of reps is often above one hundred. In these conditions processes of recovery become important. The higher the rate of restorative processes, the higher the rate of lifting. I.e. the rate that allows using all 10 minutes of competition set. Athletes who have strength-speed qualities (strength endurance) developed show good results in max rep sets for 30-60 seconds. In this case the work is performed during uninterrupted muscular contraction, and the tempo is 30-40 reps per minute. Main source of energy during such work is the reserve of glycogen in muscles. However in 5 minute tests these athletes are inferior to those with well developed endurance, and definitely inferior in 10 minute sets. Therefore strength endurance is not the decisive factor in GS as it only allows performing sets at high tempo for 1-3 minutes. That is why it is rather necessary to focus on special endurance, or endurance to work with pauses between repetitions sufficient for restoration for the next repetition. These pauses determine the tempo of the lifts, and it is exceeding this optimal tempo that is the cause of fatigue and premature termination of the set, and not insufficient strength endurance, willpower or motivation.

It is clear from the above that competition tempo is strictly individual and depends on the weight category of the athlete, his qualification and the stage of training micro- and macrocycle. In any case, the tempo must ensure work for 10 minutes of competition set. According to the opinion of Zatsiorsky stable rate of performance is important for achieving results in cyclical sports.

Fast tempo leads to premature fatigue thus involving ineffective white fibers in lifts, and large part of the energy is produced by glycolytic pathways (wasteful) that produces oxygen debt. That’s why the work stops and no willpower can resist fatigue. Attempts to determine optimal tempo without taking into account the strain put on the functional systems of the body are erroneous.

The authors of the article state that they agree with the advocates of carefully using interval training methods. The most effective way of training slow fibers is stable or oxidative method of training. This regime is achieved when working at the level of 80-90% of VO2 Max, or heart rate around 170-180 rep minute. During competition, however the heart rate may reach 190/min, therefore it is necessary to include work of such intensity in the training program.

In summary, general tendency in the development of GS today is in preference to general endurance and, based on it, special endurance; and not the development of strength and strength endurance, as claimed in some textbooks on GS. The evidence for it is the fact that skiers, long distance runners, rowers show higher results in girevoy sport at the institution where the authors of the article teach.

The end of the article. I am not sure what to make of it. It always seemed to me that developing maximal strength would help boosting the numbers up. After all, 10RM is related to 1RM, and logically you those who can jerk 200 kg would make more reps with a pair of 24s than those whose max is 100kg. According to the gentlemen from the Russian Far East it is not so. They insist that endurance is the primary determinant of success in GS. I am blown away by the fact that former endurance athletes achieve the most in this sport as opposed to weightlifters and other primarily strength oriented sportsmen. In any case, this is the point of view opposite to the conventional, and if it is correct then many gireviks – especially amateurs like me - might be training in not the most efficient way.


*Развитие силы и силовой выносливости в гиревом спорте. Преподаватели кафедры физической подготовки и спорта Дальневосточного военного института. Лопатин Е.В., мастер спорта России международного класса по гиревому спорту, Руднев С.Л., мастер спорта России международного класса по гиревому спорту.