Is it true weightlifting is useless because it doesn't build stamina?

[ArnieKato]

I notice one of the reasons weightlifting is bashed by athletic types (particularly the military, track athletes and other practitioners of endurance sports, and martial artists) is that weightlifting only builds "brute strength" and not real power that matters for when doing truly strenuous and often important (commonly daily) tasks like moving furniture or farming,etc they believe that weightlifting does not build power for actual jobs.

One specific comment from a martial artist friend of mine pretty much sums up the common criticism towards weightlifting as a training method:

"Even if you get incredibly strong because of it, weightlifting ignores building endurance. The one physical attribute that matters the most when you're fighting or carrying heavy logs for miles to the next lumbering station, or for enduring military exercises or any athletic activity period. Weightlifting just focuses on building explosive power and not the power needed in the long term for many activities."

In fact this stigma that weightlifting only builds brute explosive power to carry a heavy object has gotten so ingraiend that many people who don't lift picture weightlifters has having so little stamina they can only carry 50 pounds for 3 reps or they can't carry a light 25 pound bag while marching for several miles. Many athletic types say:
Update : "Sure he can carry 1000 pounds but he can only lift it once and his stamina is so weak he can lift 100 pounds no more than 5 times because he focused on short explosive temporary power but he never build stamina for the long run".

or

"He won't last walking 1 mile with a 10 POUND bagpack because he only focused on lifting 5000 Pounds but did not focus on carrying even light weighted objects for long period".

Most recently I was with a friend of mine who is a dedicated weightlifter and we happen to encounter some acquaintance who are some redneck farmers, I heard them talking behind my friend's back back.

"He won't last until lunch time doing farm labor. He'll pass out despite having all those muscles and being immensely strong because his weightlifting just builds brute strength and not the endurance for working out in the fields".

It gotten so bad that even popular media portrays weightlifting as only giving temporary strength but not long-term endurance. Just watched a movie where there was armwrestling match where a nerdy waste defeated a jock who does weightlifting because he lacks stamina even though he almost beat the nerds during the first 5 seconds.

Recently I also saw a TV show where a well-to-do white jock gets stranded with hispanic farmers and quickly passes out or falls to the ground out of exhaustion because he wasn't used to manual labor. An episode earlier, they showed the jock lifting heavyweights.

I can't tell you how many comics and anime/manga shows a skinny guy who focuses on endurance sports easily beating a bodybuilder type in an extended wrestling match or how cartoons like Spongebob shows lifter doing only 1-5 rep.

I am curious how true is this stigma that weightlifting doesn't build any endurance strength? Doesn't this make weightlifting useless if this is true? How does weightlifting help for endurance based sports and activities like farming and cross country?

[thinkgreen]

Stop posting stupid ass threads.

[Duggalios]

All this awesome logical knowledge, I can feel the weightlifting from my shoulders...

"He won't last until lunch time doing farm labor. He'll pass out despite having all those muscles and being immensely strong because his weightlifting just builds brute strength and not the endurance for working out in the fields".

This is the best i've read for a while...just because you can deadlift the cows and arm curl the sheep, doesn't mean you can prune my daffodils.

[magician27]

i do only weightlifting and i can walk 10 miles or more with that 10 lb bag. you wont have as much endurance as an endurance athlete, but you will still have way more than an average joe who doesnt exercise. we dont need that much endurance in our daily life , but strength always help

[dmacdonal9]

Strength and endurance are different training goals. There is certainly some overlap, in that building your VO2 max has a carryover to intense lifting, and a bit of additional strength will benefit endurance athletes like runners and cyclists and such.

As a recreational lifter, I don't give a damn about endurance beyond a bare minimum, so I don't train for it. The little bit I get from lifting is all I need.

For some sports and activities, both are advantageous, and you need to strike a balance. MMA fighters for instance, are making a mistake if they focus too much on either endurance or strength. They need enough cardio to power the lean mass they're carrying, and that can be tricky.

[joen63]

People who feel threatened by a stronger person tend to immediately go to the following excuses, in this order

1: my functional strength is higher
If they get proven wrong here they go to
2:you must be juicing
If you can convince them that you're natty they'll go to the trump card
3:man I wish I had your genetics

Number three is a feigned compliment that really says "I'm still better than you because I have to work harder for less results because apparently god doesn't love me as much"

[tastan]

can you train for both. Hell yeah!!! I do bodybuilding and I run tough mudder. So far I've done two tough mudders and will be doing a 3rd one this year. I am also 230lbs and you can see that I am not small.
My friend is a bodybuilder who has a very physical job on a factory and he does better than most there.

[ConyPearl]

Its still more useful than sitting on your chair all day jacking off to spongebob and feeling intimated by all the people who lift in order to improve their lifestyle.

[chazzy1864]

[Khalicks]

People who feel threatened by a stronger person tend to immediately go to the following excuses, in this order

1: my functional strength is higher
If they get proven wrong here they go to
2:you must be juicing
If you can convince them that you're natty they'll go to the trump card
3:man I wish I had your genetics

Number three is a feigned compliment that really says "I'm still better than you because I have to work harder for less results because apparently god doesn't love me as much"

So true. I would only add the "Back in the day, I was quite the monster" option. It comes up from time to time.

[dougy08]

OP, pretty ignorant to base everything you know about something on Japanese cartoons that most skinny nerdy types who need heroes watch.

Free weights are pretty versatile tools. You name it free weights can help you reach your goals.

[Dan3317]

If it happened in the comics, it must be real life.

[DCSpartan]

People in the military, track and field athletes, and MMA athletes all lift weights. Sheesh.

[dougy08]

If it happened in the comics, it must be real life.

Maybe I'll try and learn about ethnic diversity by watching Family Guy and South Park.

[Dan3317]

Maybe I'll try and learn about ethnic diversity by watching Family Guy and South Park.

And make sure you get your news from The Onion, and nowhere else

[dougy08]

And make sure you get your news from The Onion, and nowhere else

Sounds like a completely fair and unbiased way to learn.

[davisj3537]

That's about enough of this nonsense. Closed.