Why Should Endurance Athletes do Strength & Conditioning?

I think there are three main reasons why endurance athletes should be engaging in a targeted strength and conditioning program:

1.To improve endurance performance - elevating physical capacity to be greater than the demands of their sport.

S&C improves motor control, coordination, muscle fiber recruitment, and the ability to produce more force (into the ground or pedals). For endurance athletes this can lead to improvements in their:

• Economy (energy cost for a given speed/power output, or your fuel efficiency/miles-per-gallon)

• Peak power and anaerobic capacity (maximal sprints and hard efforts up to ~2 min)

• Endurance (ability to perform work for a sustained period while resisting fatigue)To reduce risk of injury - by training movements and muscles that their endurance training alone neglects and making them a more robust, well-rounded athlete. 

2. To reduce risk of injury - training movements and muscles that their endurance training alone neglects and making them a more robust, well-rounded athlete.

While we can’t predict or 100% prevent injuries, we know that a targeted S&C program can help strengthen weak/under-developed muscles, correct imbalances, improve mobility and posture, and reduce the chance of overuse injuries. Having stronger bones and tissues will also help make you more robust and resilient and less likely to break something every time you crash or fall hard on the trail.

Note that #1 & 2 are mutually reinforcing. 

3. Be more than the sport - helping them remain physically active and capable for life, now and into old age.

Perhaps the most important reason why endurance athletes should strength train is the same reason why everyone else should too, which is for quality of life outside of sport and for a greater level of independence, resiliency, and function into old age by helping us preserve muscle, strength, and power (all of which decrease with age).

The reality is you’re a human first and an athlete second. Even if you’re young and able and only care about your sport and performance now, at some point you’ll start to care when everything aches and you’re not able to lift your kids (or grandkids) over your head, take a knee to weed in the garden, go for a hike or play golf with your friends, or catch yourself when you trip over a curb and stumble. We do the notion of strength and conditioning a disservice when we look at it only through a performative lens (but will this make me faster?) because it truly can help our lives in so many ways. 

Are you an endurance athlete who wants to get started with strength and conditioning to help both your sport and your quality of life, but unsure where to begin? Send me a message and and let me help you get started!