Research Impact: High-repetition strength training (HRST) is resistance training that involves loads that are ≤67% of an individual’s one-repetition maximum for ≥12 repetitions and is typically performed using short rest periods of ≤30 seconds. HRST is traditionally prescribed to enhance performance in competitive endurance athletes. The findings of this review and meta-analysis indicate that HRST does not result in improved performance over a 4- to 12-week period, and the results seem to be similar to low-repetition strength training (LRST). The majority of studies involved recreational endurance athletes and had a mean duration of 8 weeks, which is a limitation of the findings. However, HRST may be a useful training methodology for endurance athletes during preseason training (when sports-specific training volumes are traditionally still accumulating), as an alternative to aerobic training, as a resistance training program for athletes with a low training age, and as a potential method of improving biomechanics during high-intensity activities. Caution is advised when incorporating HRST into an endurance athlete’s training program because of the high physiological (blood lactate concentrations of >8.8 Mm) and perceptual (RPE values of ≥17) demands of a session.
Nugent, F.J., Flanagan, E.P., Darragh, I., Daly, L. and Warrington, G.D., 2022. The Effects of High-Repetition Strength Training on Performance in Competitive Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (In press). (IF = 3.929; Q2; Sport Sciences; R = 25/88). DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004217
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