Physio Talk: Strength Training For Endurance Athletes

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rsz_4derek_griffin_1With the popularity of triathlons and other endurance sports growing and growing, Dr Derek Griffin gives advice on how to prepare…

1. Background

Recent scientific evidence has shown that overuse sport injuries can be reduced by as much as 50% with the addition of strength training. Despite this, it is common for endurance athletes to not incorporate strength training as part of their overall training programme.

This is especially so for recreational athletes. Athletes instead more commonly focus on flexibility and mobility routines (stretching, foam rolling etc.), although there is little scientific evidence to suggest that such interventions reduces the risk of injury.

Adequate flexibility is of course required to meet the demand of the sport or activity in question; however the belief that “more is better” is not supported by the research.

2. Benefits of strength training for the endurance athlete

As mentioned above, strength training has the potential to reduce the risk of sustaining an overuse injury. An overuse injury is an injury of gradual onset that is typical of the majority of injuries sustained in running, swimming and cycling.

Strength training increases the ability of our body tissues to withstand load. There is also mounting scientific evidence that strength training improve sporting performance.

Apart from the obvious increase in muscle strength following strength training, there are many other changes that can improve performance. Many people will already be aware of the existence of different muscle fiber types which may be broadly classified as endurance and/or strength fibers.

Type I fibers are our “endurance fibers” which take considerable time to fatigue.

Type 2A fibers are similar but are able to produce more force making them ideal for endurance activities. The studies to date have shown that following an appropriate strengthening programme (in addition to their usual training), there is an increase in the proportion of Type 2A fibers within the muscle.

This is an ideal adaptation as it will allow the athlete to generate more force while at the same time delaying the onset of fatigue. Strength training also improves our movement economy, increases our maximum speed and increases our lactate threshold. All these benefits combine to significantly improve performance.

3. Design of the strength training programme

It is important to emphasise that all strength training is in addition to usual endurance training. Strength training is not designed to replace regular endurance training.

Many athletes are concerned that strength training will result in increased muscle size and therefore negatively impact on their performance. It is clear from the studies that no increase in muscle bulk is observed when strength training is performed in addition to a significant amount of endurance training.

Prior to starting a strengthening programme, an athlete must ensure that any injuries, pain or pre-existing medical conditions have been assessed by a qualified healthcare professional.

It is preferable that athletes with little background in strength training make contact with a suitably qualified Chartered Physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach or fitness trainer. This will allow for appropriate guidance and monitoring in relation to the programme.

It is important to start your strength training at a low level and the priority initially should be to improve your technique and allow the body time to adapt to the load.

To begin with, a programme design with high repetition and low weight is preferred. However, it is important that athletes progress their training load, eventually aiming for higher load with less repetition. The scientific evidence to date suggests that higher weight (lower repetition) is necessary to maximise performance gains.

Exercise that target the main muscles used in the particular sport should be included. As little as two training sessions per week is often sufficient to result in positive changes. Strength training programme of at least 8-12 weeks are needed to see significant improvements in performance.

4. Summary

It is clear that strength training should be an integral part of any endurance athlete’s overall training programme. Strength training not only reduces the risk of sustaining an injury but it also results in performance gains.

It is best to have the programme supervised and monitored initially and any pre-existing injuries or conditions need to be addressed prior to starting any programme. Finally, keep it simple!

The evidence suggests that the simple exercises work best. You do not need “fancy” equipment and be careful not to simply go with the latest trend! My preference is for traditional, gym-based exercise programmes that are tailored specifically to the individual.

 Dr Derek Griffin is a Chartered Physiotherapist and academic with expertise in the management of chronic pain disorders and running-related injuries. He holds a PhD in Physiotherapy, which was funded by a prestigious scholarship awarded by the Irish Research Council. He is currently working as a lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Limerick and consults at Tralee Physiotherapy Clinic on a part-time basis. He can be contacted by telephone at 066-7128863 (Clinic tel no.) or by email at derekgriffinphysio@gmail.com.

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