Strength Training

There is no question that the topic of “strength training” for endurance athletes is a polarizing topic among runners and triathletes. The value related to improving performance and the benefits strength training provides in warding off injury is something we have always remained open-minded about. We continue to evaluate the benefits versus the costs. The runners and triathletes that we work with are often middle aged, age-group athletes. They love to swim, bike or run – sometimes we even have an athlete that likes to do all three. In our experience, we have found strength training to be a valuable part of their progress.

What has been the biggest value add we see?

The majority of the benefits we see from strength training, revolve around the benefits athletes get in stability, mobility and the relationship this has with injury prevention. The amount of injury issues related to running remains the biggest hurdle we find age-group athletes dealing with. And, an injured runner is most often – not running. Therefore, the performances begin to decline. A healthy and consistent runner, is always our first goal when incorporating strength training.

In addition to injury prevention, there is adequate evidence (in our opinion) that strength training can benefit running economy. The question that we have to ask ourselves, prior to adding strength training for this purpose, is if the necessary workouts to improve running economy are appropriate for that individual. And.. it truly is a decision that should be made on a case by case basis.

Some of our most popular posts on Strength Training

- Improve your running performance by adding strength training
- Improve running performance by 2 – 8%
- What type of strength training should a runner do?
- Dan Pfaff, fascia, movement and stretching

A three part discussion on the topic of running economy and aging, part 3 is there to specifically address strength and flexibility issues.

Part 1 – Are you too old to have good running economy?
Part 2 – Running Economy and Age – the other factors, body weight, experience and lactate
Part 3 – Running Economy and Age – flexibility and strength factors