Browse > Home / Events & Conferences, Fitness Testing / Strength and Endurance = STREND Fitness Challenge

Strength and Endurance = STREND Fitness Challenge

July 30, 2009 by Jimson Lee

What is the STREND Fitness Challenge?

Basically, it is when running a 5K alone just isn’t enough.

This is a 6 event decathlon that combines strength and endurance.

It’s the total repetitions of 5 exercises divided by run time in minutes (the 6th and final event), plus there is a strict recovery between events (3 minutes).

STREND Events

  1. Bench press  (start time = 0)
  2. Pull ups (t = 3 min)
  3. Shoulder press (t = 6 min)
  4. Close grip chins (t = 9 min)
  5. Dips (t = 12 min)
  6. 3 mile run.  (t = 15 min)

In the STREND event, the repetitions are STRICT to form, no pausing, and one maximal set to failure.  You begin each discipline every 3 minutes thus Event #6 (or the 3 mile run) starts exactly 15 minutes after the start of the Bench press.

For Men, the weights are bodyweight and 50% of bodyweight on shoulder press.

For Women, it’s 60% of bodyweight for the bench press, and 30% bodyweight for the shoulder press.

This competition doesn’t allow any opportunities for size or weight advantage of the athletes.  It’s all relative to your own bodyweight.

But is two or three minutes enough to recover from muscular failure?

Ye Old Elite Standards

Like the Decathlon points system, scoring changes with time.

This is where you use 115% of bodyweight on Bench, pull ups and chins, 120% on Dips and 60% bodyweight on rear military shoulder press.  Of course, Pull ups, Chins and Dips require a weight vest.

This sounds like quite a challenge!

But to be honest, the 3 mile run scares the hell out of me!  For me, anything over 400 meters, I take a taxi.

Typical Scores

A score anywhere from 5.00 to 6.00 is considered very good, as you are looking at about 120 total reps, plus a time of 20 minutes for 3 miles.  That’s 120/20 = 6.00.  Cut your 3 mile time by one minute (19:00) and you are looking at 120/19 = 6.32 which will usually win the competition.

Even if you did 20 reps for each exercise, and a 20 min run, that’s 100/20 = 5.00.

I’ll write more about upcoming future events in case you are interested and try to have special guest star Matt Bogdanowicz comment on some training tips.

Complete Speed Training

Post to Twitter

Tagged:

, , , ,

Share and Enjoy

Related Posts:

Free Speedendurance.com Newsletter:

Sign up for the free Speedendurance.com newsletter. It contains a quick summary of the best articles since the last newsletter, product reviews and discounts to various sports related vendors, and it may contain controversial topics that I cannot post publicly on this Blog. Your email address will be kept confidential and won't be shared. Easily unsubscribe at any time. Newsletters are sent about twice a month.

Subscribe to Monthly Newsletter Via Email
Name:
Email:

Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under Events & Conferences, Fitness Testing 

Comments

3 Responses to “Strength and Endurance = STREND Fitness Challenge”

  1. Fred on July 30th, 2009 8:42 am

    I love the concept. Even though it’s not up for debate, I would reduce the 3 mile run to a 3K run. I shudder to think of what my anemic score would be for the Strend challange. 120 reps sounds like an overall impressive feat. What if I start with 12 reps and work my way up from there? lol

    Are the close grip chins done with the palms towards or away from the body?

  2. Jimson Lee on July 30th, 2009 2:00 pm

    @Fred - pull ups are palms facing away from the body. Chin ups face the body.

  3. STREND Fitness Challenge - September 12, 2009 | SpeedEndurance.com on August 10th, 2009 12:00 pm

    […] you are interested in trying out the STREND fitness challenge, there is one on Saturday September 12, 2009 in Livermore, California.  If you can run 5K […]

Got something to say?





`

CRM Help Desk Software