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Strength
Training Guidelines for Endurance Athletes
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by:
Matt Russ
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You
can make great strides in your sport performance in the weight room.
Because strength training can break down a lot of muscle tissue I
recommend weight work be done in the foundation or base period. This
does not mean you will not continue to build strength throughout the
season. Hill running, slow cadence cycling work outs, and resisted swim
work outs are all forms of strength training that are specific to
disciplines. Weight training should smoothly transition into strength
training in your disciplines.
As your season progresses, and your intensity increases, weight work
can be detrimental to your more specific work outs and events. Your
legs may need up to 72 hours to fully recover from a weight work out.
This is a big block of the week to give up performance in other areas.
Just like your training plan your strength plan will go through
specific phases. Endurance athletes should not use body building plans
that are focused on muscle mass gains. This can actually be counter
productive for a distance athlete. Each phase will have a specific
purpose such as acclimation, hypertrophy, muscular endurance and power.
If you are weak on sprints and jumps, you may want to emphasize more
power training. If you are weak on climbs, muscular endurance is a good
focus. If you are generally weak, or new to strength training, I
recommend a slightly longer period with the weights. Shorter distance
athletes may want to emphasize more strength work for speed, while
longer distance athletes, that are more slow twitch, will not need as
much weight work.
Listen to your body and avoid overreaching yourself with the weights.
This is especially important in the very beginning of your plan. You
may feel the need to push yourself, but you may also not be walking
well the next day. This is due to micro trauma in the muscles or small
muscle tears. These tears have to heal up before you get stronger, so
take it easy. You may also find yourself more tired, and you may need
more sleep during the initial acclimation period. Make sure you refuel
after a strength work out just like you would any other.
Core strength is crucial to protecting your back during lifting. I
recommend using a variety of exercises to strengthen all core muscles
every other day. Core strength also will help with your running,
biking, and swimming ability. If your muscles are very sore, do not
overstretch them. This may re-injure the micro trauma that occurred
during training and slow the healing process. Light stretching and
recovery work is recommended. I do not use a weight belt. These belts
are for power lifter who wants to increase inter-abdominal pressure for
max lifts. They may actually make your back weaker. Do not use a belt
to exceed your limits. In fact you should be no where near this type of
lifting. I like to perform my core strength at the end of my work out.
Performing core exercises first may leave them too fatigued to properly
support you.
Choosing when to strength train is very important because it affects
your other work outs. I usually try to strength train after a rest day
early in the week. I make sure I do not have a critical or high stress
work out in the next few days following my leg work out. Again, this is
why weight work is best performed in the base or foundation period when
there are not a lot of break through work outs.
I generally only strength train my legs heavy one time per week. I may
do a lighter session at the end of the week. Strength training and
endurance training are like oil and water for the most part. They work
well when separated, but do not mix. With a heavy foundation load I do
not recommend strength training more than twice per week. You may
negatively affect your other training, or more likely over reach
yourself.
These are general guidelines. I will not recommend specific work outs.
I do recommend the core of your routine be compound or multi-joint
exercises such as the squat, lunge, dead lift, step up, and leg press.
The number one rule of strength training is switch up your routine.
Your body will acclimate quickly to the same routine week after week,
and growth will be retarded. Switch up your exercises each week. You
may want to get with a certified strength trainer to learn advanced
training techniques such as drop sets, compound sets, super sets, and
other methods. Try to use a pedal width stance on your exercises and
mimic the range of motion of running and cycling.
One exercise I will caution you on is the leg extension. Most people
use way to much weight on this exercise, which can put a lot of
pressure under the knee cap. This may lead to cartilage damage. Leg
extensions are a good exercise to warm up with. Use light to moderate
weight and lots of reps. You may want to perform this exercise in the
top 20 degrees range of motion. This helps strengthen your VMO or
innermost quad which plays a key role in patella tracking.
Finally, if you are unfamiliar with weight training and proper form I
highly recommend you get with a certified athletic trainer. Exercises
such as the squat, dead lift, and even leg press can easily injure you
if performed incorrectly. I could write an entire book on how to
perform these exercises, but if I am not standing next to you and
watching your form, you could still be performing them incorrectly. I
see and correct bad form from even experienced clients on a daily basis.
Phase I- Acclimation 4-8 weeks
Purpose: To gradually adjust your body to the stresses of strength
training. During this phase you will use light weight and high reps.
You may want to start of your first few weeks with very light weight or
body weight. Make sure you perform your exercises slowly and controlled.
Reps: 15-25
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery
Phase II Hypertrophy: 4-6 weeks
Purpose: To recruit maximum amount of fibers and promote muscle growth
and absolute strength. Make sure your first set is a light warm up set.
You will want to "pyramid" or increase the weight on each set while
lowering the reps. A typical rep scheme may look like this 12-10-8-6,
or 12-10-8. This phase has a good potential for injury, so be careful
and listen to your body. You can take your lifts to muscular failure
during this period. I recommend a spotter. Don't be surprised if the
first few weeks leave you very sore.
Reps: 6-12
Weight: Moderate to Heavy
Exercises: 3-6
Sets: 3-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery
Phase III Strength Endurance: 6-8 Weeks
Purpose: To train the ability to sustain repeated hard efforts, similar
to a steep climb. This phase will raise your lactate threshold and time
to exhaustion. You want to use moderate weight and slow controlled
motion. You can bring yourself to muscular failure but at a higher rep
range. I recommend that you raise your rep range slightly as you
progress.
Reps: 15-30
Weight: Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery
Phase IV Power: 3-6 weeks
Purpose: Power is force over time, or the ability to move the most
resistance in the shortest time period. This is necessary for jumps and
short sprints. Again, I recommend a trainer during this period because
of the potential for injury, and the creative knowledge needed for
power training. You will take each strength exercise and explode
upwards. Be careful on the eccentric phase (lowering). Try to picture a
spring that is slowly coiled until it is tensioned, then explodes. Go
light, especially in the beginning. This does not mean you will not
fatigue the muscles. I use a body weight for the first few weeks.
Reps: 8-20
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 4-6
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery
You have to view strength training as a tool box. You have to decide
which tools are right for you based on your body, and your event. I
personally am a smaller person, slow twitch, and my goals are usually
short events. This means more time in the weight room for me. If you
are a marathoner, you will need less strength work and less weight. If
you are a large muscled person, who has good short distance speed, yet
you are training for an IM event, I would focus less on hypertrophy and
more on strength endurance for climbing.
About the Author
Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes around
the country and internationally. He currently holds licenses by USAT,
USATF, and is an Expert level USAC coach. Matt has coached athletes for
CTS (Carmichael Training Systems), is an Ultrafit Associate. Visit
www.thesportfactory.com for more information.
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