Strength-Endurance

Recently on .net there was some arguing about endurance v. strength, with some people claiming that anything but maximal loads were only training endurance, which set others off, as they began to delve into hypothetical examples(rock-climbing, specifically) This got me thinking, and though i didn't post my thoughts, i felt like writing this down, as it is a component of my training that i'm seeking to improve in.

The examples that were used were comparing the ability to hold onto a difficult hold in rock-climbing(just the ability to hold; a sort of 1 rm effort) and holding onto holds of different difficulty for longer periods of time. Some people were claiming that a person who can hold onto hold x will be stronger than a person who cannot. I agreed with this point, because i think of that limit capability as a true measure of strength; just being able to do it. Not for how long the person can hold on. Then the people who came up with this idea decided that to hold onto that same difficult hold x for a longer time means that the climber is stronger. I feel this isn't correct, and here's why. The way i see things, after a 1rm effort, everything becomes a matter of endurance. The difference between what i'm saying and what people were arguing about is that I am taking into account the varying levels of intensity.

To create a visual idea, think of a tree with branches at different heights, with each height acting as a "level". Each level's branches are harder to hold onto than the ones below it. Now imagine that someone is trying to hold onto the highest branch they can for the longest period of time. With these levels representing different amounts of intensity, then at each level, to hold on, the person requires the ability to endure at a higher intensity level.

This is my idea for training; if you press 100lbs twice, then you are developing the endurance to lift that 100lbs more than 1 time. You aren't training strength, you are training strength-endurance. Now i understand that strength gains would come from this sort of training, but in terms of just abstract ideas, i still see this as a form of strength-endurance training.

Anyway, how this affects me is that i am trying to develop my ability to endure at very high levels of intensity to advance my parkour, bouldering, handbalancing, and other movements. A while back i was reading through Blane's old training regime, and i noticed that he would train his endurance, but with additional weight attached to him. Eventually i realized that he was increasing his endurance on a higher plane of intensity.

pictures from stock photo and slopeypete
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slopeypete/274670081/