The lack of races or events on the calendar makes the winter a great time to focus on being consistent with your training and building a solid base of strength and endurance. Here are 3 of my favorite training concepts to help you stay consistent with both your strength and endurance training this winter.

This is mostly just a reminder for myself, but maybe it will resonate with some of you who also struggle to find the right balance of rest and intensity during the winter.

My mom informed me that since I’m a personal trainer I should make a New Year’s post about goal setting. I’m a little late, but as far as I know you’re still allowed to set goals after January 1st, so here we go. I like to focus on setting two kinds of goals: Long-term goals and process goals. In my experience, having these two types of goals in place gives you the best chance of success and actually achieving what you want.

I have always loved programming and writing workouts ever since I started strength training 10+ years ago. I wanted to share some of my favorite workout “templates” that I use when designing workouts for both myself and athletes I work with. Hopefully these can give you some ideas on how to organize and plan your own strength workouts if you are feeling disorganized or unsure where to start.

We’ve reached that time of year when the cold weather has forced many of us to start doing some of our endurance training indoors. While the bike trainer and treadmill are a great way to maintain or even build fitness in the offseason, I still think it’s important to get outside once or twice a week to do your primary sport or activity. Here are some tips to make the most of your outdoor training this winter.

The best investment you can make as an endurance athlete for both performance and injury prevention is not a new bike or pair of shoes, but in your own body, and the untapped strength and movement potential already within you.

Pull ups are arguably one of the best upper body exercises out there for endurance athletes. I love seeing my clients get to the point where they can do them comfortably, even if it’s just a couple good reps. I wanted to share some tips and ideas to improve your pull ups, whether you just want to be able to do more of them or are working towards your first unassisted rep.

I think there are three main reasons why endurance athletes should be engaging in a targeted strength and conditioning program: To Improve their endurance performance, reduce their risk of injury, and (perhaps most importantly) to be more than the sport.

The changing leaves and cooler temperatures signal the beginning of the “off season” for many runners and cyclists, which is typically a period of reduced training stress and racing and more time spent resting or cross training. For many athletes this is a good time to do a mental and physical “reset” and reflect on how the last year of training and competition went.

The 9-mile Mount Greylock Time Trial has a little bit of everything. Big walls, fast rollers, punchy steep bits, and an unrelenting ascent to the highest point in Massachusetts. This was my first time riding up Greylock, and it was probably the toughest hour of riding I’ve ever done. Here are just some thoughts I had the morning after the event.

I first learned about 80/-10/+10 when I started strength training over 10 years ago, but I think the principle applies to endurance training as well. I’ve personally found it helpful for managing the emotional highs and lows that come with training and not getting too fixated on individual workouts, both the good and the bad.

I don’t share much about what I do in the gym, mostly because 1) it’s not too exciting/impressive 2) I’m not sure if anyone really cares. But maybe this will give you some ideas for your own strength workouts, or at least show that strength training need not be too complicated or complex.

These two phrases have been on my mind lately. The little actions we take on a daily or weekly basis (both the positive and the negative) seem insignificant or of little consequence in the moment. But when you zoom out and give things enough time to accumulate and combine with each other they can add up to something remarkable.

I’ve been experimenting with accommodating resistance (AR) recently by adding band tension to some of my usual lifts, so I figured I’d make an article about it. AR might seem like an advanced technique for elite athletes, but it’s something anyone can incorporate into their training, either to improve performance or add some novelty.

The single-leg RDL is often the next exercise progression for those who’ve mastered the hinge and double-leg RDL. But for some people it’s a pretty big jump from double to single-leg, and many spin their wheels and become frustrated by how hard they are to learn and progress beyond very light weight. If balance is the thing preventing you from learning or loading the single-leg RDL, you might want to try some supported variations.

A runner who does online strength training with me is planning to put together a home gym and asked for some equipment recommendations. This is my list of priority and preferred strength equipment for endurance athletes (and really most other people out there) who are looking to build a home gym.

The hex bar deadlift is one of my favorite exercises and my preferred deadlift variation both for myself and the individuals I work with. In my option, if you’re an endurance athlete looking for an exercise to develop lower body strength and power, then there aren’t many options better than the hex bar deadlift.  

Some people might assume that personal trainers have it all figured out and don’t struggle with anything related to health and fitness. Of course that’s not the case, and I think that many of us come into this field because we had to overcome a struggle or are currently dealing with an issue that has caused us a lot of emotional or physical pain. I know that was the case with me. Here are 5 areas I’ve personally struggled with on my fitness journey

Brad Stulberg had a post a couple of days ago about not getting too hung up on the inevitable ups and downs we all experience in life. Instead, we should focus on the “average,” and try to make it a little better over time. This principle applies to every area of life, but I think it’s especially relevant to exercise and training, since it’s easy to assign too much significance to “outlier” workouts and lose sight of the bigger picture.

When I first got into trail running and endurance sports I honestly made some questionable decisions when it came to my exercise fueling and nutrition. Thankfully I’ve come to realize how important fueling is for both health and performance in endurance sport. Here are some general tips and reminders for fueling as an endurance athlete.