Is the Interference Effect a Myth? with Dr Tom Jones

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Jul 14, 2025

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In this episode of The Progress Theory, host Dr Phil Price invites physiologist and researcher Dr Tom Jones from Northumbria University to discuss the intricacies of concurrent training. They delve into the concept of the interference effect—a phenomenon where endurance training can attenuate strength gains—and explore how various training modalities, intensities, and volumes can be manipulated to minimize this effect.

Dr Jones shares insights from his varied research experience across different sports, including his work with the Newcastle United Academy and the Swedish Winter Sports Research Center. The conversation touches on the real-world application of concurrent training principles, crucial mistakes to avoid, and the latest scientific understanding of acute molecular signalling.

Whether you're a coach, athlete, or fitness enthusiast, this episode offers valuable knowledge on optimising concurrent training for peak performance. Join us for a deep dive into the science of training with Dr Tom Jones on The Progress Theory!

In this episode, we discuss:

00:00 Introduction
03:51 Sports Research Journey Across Nations
08:46 "Concurrent Training Challenge in Football"
10:49 Concurrent Training: "It Depends" Dilemma
13:00 Aerobic Volume Limits Strength Gains
16:12 Interference Effect in Concurrent Training
19:56 mTOR and AMPK in Concurrent Training
25:53 Diet Control and Cycling Research
28:23 Aerobic Training's Interference on Strength
33:04 Managing Fatigue in Training Sessions
35:58 Understanding Technical Training Challenges
38:51 Concurrent Training Strategy Overview

Takeaways

🔹 Volume Matters: The greater the volume of aerobic training, the more likely it is to interfere with strength development. Understanding and managing training volumes are crucial for avoiding this interference effect.

🔹 Fatigue Management: Concurrent training requires careful programming. Avoiding residual fatigue from aerobic workouts can help optimise strength and power training sessions.

🔹 Effective Communication: A lack of appreciation for the physical demands of technical skills sessions can lead to common programming mistakes. Ensuring technical coaches understand these demands is vital for coherent training weeks aligned with specific mesocycle goals.

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The Science of Hybrid Training

It was originally thought that you could not effectively train for both strength and endurance at the same time because they required different adaptations which were not compatible with each other. It was claimed that ‘an interference effect’, blunted the adaptations for strength if you simultaneously trained for endurance. However, recent developments in sports which require both strength and endurance have really challenged this idea, with hybrid athletes producing impressive performances in both strength and endurance sports together. This had led scientists, coaches, and athletes to rethink what is humanly possible and suggests the interference effect is not as influential as originally thought. But what is a hybrid athlete? What is the ‘interference effect’? And how can we maximize our training to improve at the same time our strength and endurance performance? In this book, Dr Phil Price provides insight into the misconceptions surrounding strength and endurance training by distilling the past 50 years of research and drawing on the conversations he had with great scientists, coaches, and athletes on The Progress Theory podcast. This book is essential reading for hybrid athletes and coaches who are looking to understand the key training variables and their effect on the simultaneous development of strength and endurance performance.

Book

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