While working out the week, I noticed a slight drop off in the weight I was able to bench. I have only been lifting for about a year but have made some significant gains (thanks to Mag-10 and tribex). I actually had to do my reps 10 lbs. lighter than usual on Thursday. I was just having trouble getting it lifted. One of the guys I train with said I should do more cardio. He also said that because I don’t do alot of cardio, that that’s why I’m showing a drop in strength. I thought that sounded ridiculous and need a little back up (or enlightenment) on the subject. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Flame me if you must.
I’m not sure if you’re stating that your strength is dropping steadily or that it just dropped on one day. If it is a one day thing then don’t let it get to you. We all have bad days due to CNS fatigue, lack of recovery, lack of motivation, or just plain old tiredness.
Is this problem ongoing or was it just once?
This was the first time. When I first started training, I did 30 minutes of cardio - 3 days a week. Over the last 3 months, I’ve been working on gaining mass so I cut out the cardio all together. I wasn’t too worried about the small loss in strength. I was more concerned about what I was told regarding the loss being associated with lack of cardio training. I sounds odd to me. I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about. I knew someone here could shine a little light on the subject. I figured it was fatigue.
I personally believe in the idea of doing some cardio during a period where mass gain is the priority. However, your notion is correct in that endurance type training can decrease strength.
What the person who spoke to could have been speaking about was the lack of delivery of nutrients/hormones due to cardiovascular training. Mind you, I doubt that this is the case and he was probably just spouting something he read in Muscle and Fitness.