Strength and core training can be of great benefit to the endurance athlete if the right exercises are chosen, and if the session reflects the needs of the athlete.
There are five main reasons why most athletes do not benefit from strength training, three relating to people who do not include it, and two for people who do include it;
“There is no spare to time for strength training”
We agree that an age group triathlete does not have enough time to schedule a dedicated strength session. However, strength training can be incorporated at the end of a swim, bike or run session for five to ten minutes, once or twice a week. Two to three exercises performed for three to five sets can produce significant results if the correct exercises are performed.
“Strength training is irrelevant”
Effective strength training can increase muscular force, endurance and power, decreases risk of injury and improves posture. It also decelerates the wasting effects of aging which begin in your mid twenties! A strong body is more likely to perform better, absorb hard training without attracting injury, and maintain a more efficient technique when fatigued.
“Weight training affects my racing”
The aim of strength training should be to achieve its aims without affecting following sessions or race performances. By resting more between exercises and keeping the number of sets to a minimum, fatigue should be limited. Strength sessions should also be avoided or rescheduled around an upcoming event.
Choose the right exercises
We constantly see people using knee extension, shoulder press, bench press and adductor machines, and a variety of exercises which train muscles in isolation. As the body works in a coordinated, integrated and multi joint capacity, we choose to train it that way. A single leg squat has infinitely more relevance to an athlete than a knee extension machine ever will. Core training refers to deep postural muscles in and around the waist which most completely unaware of. Weak core muscles lead to poor energy transfer, bad posture, and can lead to long term back problems, muscle tightness and lower limb injuries. Core exercises must engage the deep abdominal and spinal muscles, and often involve low intensity, unstable exercises, not the common choice of exercises (eg, sit ups) which rely on dynamic external muscle groups.
Train to the correct intensity
To achieve an increase in muscular performance, the muscle has to be stressed significantly hard to cause trauma and therefore adaptation. You should be aiming to work to failure, not when it starts to feel uncomfortable. The number of maximum repetitions (RM) also needs to be relevant to what you are trying to achieve;
- 4 - 6 RM Strength
- 8 - 12 RM Hypertrophy
- >15 RM Musuclar endurance
A well designed, periodised strength program would achieve maximum gains with the minimum training time. As the saying goes; “Train the movement, not he muscle”.
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