Gregory Chandler--Muscle Building and Endurance

An age-old question is can one promote muscle building and endurance at the same time.  Many take the view that muscle building and endurance are not mutually exclusive. 

Many athletes such as cyclists, long distance runners, and swimmers sometimes worry about a possible loss of endurance when one adds weight training to their programs.  However, most studies have shown that maximal oxygen consumption is not affected by weight training, despite the decrease in the number of mitochondria per square millimeter of muscle tissue that occurs because of the increase in muscle size produced by strength training.  Myoglobin, an important oxygen-transport protein molecule, is maintained in muscles that increase in size, and this preserves oxygen transport from capillaries to mitochondria even when diffusion distance is increased. 

The conclusion is that one can build muscle power without destroying endurance. 

GREGORY CHANDLER, Attorney at Law