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Body Building InformationStrength Training Guidelines for Endurance Athletes
by:
Matt Russ
You can do great strides in your sport performance in the weight room. Because strength training can break down a lot of muscle tissue I recommend weight activity be done in the foundation or base period. This makes not mean you wish not continue to build strength throughout the season. Hill running, slow cadence athletics
activity outs, and resisted swim activity outs are all forms of strength training that are specific to disciplines. Weight training should swimmingly
transition into strength training in your disciplines.
As your season progresses, and your intensity increases, weight activity can be harmful to your more specific activity outs and events. Your legs may need up to 72 hours to fully recover from a weight activity out. This is a big block of the week to give up performance in different areas. Simply like your training plan your strength plan wish go through specific phases. Endurance athletes should not use body building plans that are focused on muscle mass gains. This can really be counter productive for a distance athlete. Each phase wish have a specific intention 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 nice 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 activity for speed, patch longer distance athletes, that are more slow twitch, wish not need as more weight work.
Listen to your body and avoid bold
yourself with the weights. This is especially important in the really beginning of your plan. You may feel the need to push yourself, but you may as well not be walking well the next day. This is due to small
trauma in the muscles or small muscle tears. These tears have to heal up before you get stronger, so take it easy. You may as well find yourself more tired, and you may need more sleep during the initial acclimatisation period. Do sure you refuel after a strength activity out simply like you would-be any other.
Core strength is crucial to protective
your back during lifting. I recommend mistreatment a variety of exercises to strengthen all core muscles every different day. Core strength as well wish help with your running, biking, and swimming ability. If your muscles are really sore, do not injure them. This may re-injure the small
trauma that occurred during training and slow the healing process. Light stretching and recovery activity 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 really do your back weaker. Do not use a belt to exceed your limits. In fact you should be no wherever
near this type of lifting. I like to perform my core strength at the end of my activity out. Activity core exercises 1st may leave them too dog-tired to properly keep you.
Choosing once
to strength train is really important because it affects your different activity outs. I commonly try to strength train after a rest day early in the week. I do sure I do not have a critical or high stress activity out in the next few days following my leg activity out. Again, this is why weight activity is better performed in the base or foundation period once
there are not a lot of break through activity 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 activity well once
separated, but do not mix. With a heavy foundation load I do not recommend strength training more than double
per week. You may negatively affect your different training, or more likely over reach yourself.
These are general guidelines. I wish not recommend specific activity 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 wish acclimatise quickly to the same routine week after week, and growth wish be retarded. Switch up your exercises each week. You may want to get with a certified strength trainer to discover advanced training techniques such as drop sets, compound sets, super sets, and different methods. Try to use a pedal dimension
stance on your exercises and mimic the range of motion of running and cycling.
One exercise I wish caution you on is the leg extension. Most folk use way to more weight on this exercise, which can put a lot of pressure under the knee cap. This may lead to animal tissue
damage. Leg extensions are a nice 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 strange with weight training and proper form I extremely
recommend you get with a certified athletic trainer. Exercises such as the squat, dead lift, and even as 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 look your form, you could still be activity them incorrectly. I see and correct bad form from even as fully fledged clients on a daily basis.
Phase I- Acclimatisation 4-8 weeks
Purpose: To step by step
adjust your body to the stresses of strength training. During this phase you wish use light weight and high reps. You may want to start of your 1st few weeks with really light weight or body weight. Do 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 figure of fibers and promote muscle growth and absolute strength. Do sure your 1st set is a light warm up set. You wish want to "pyramid" or increase the weight on each set patch lowering the reps. A typical rep scheme may look like this 12-10-8-6, or 12-10-8. This phase has a nice 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 astonied if the 1st few weeks leave you really 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 continual hard efforts, similar to a steep climb. This phase wish raise your bottle-feed 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 come 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 noesis necessary for power training. You wish take each strength exercise and explode upwards. Be careful on the eccentric phase (lowering). Try to image a spring that is slowly convolute until it is tensioned, then explodes. Go light, especially in the beginning. This makes not mean you wish not fatigue the muscles. I use a body weight for the 1st 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 in person
am a smaller person, slow twitch, and my goals are commonly short events. This means more time in the weight room for me. If you are a marathoner, you wish need less strength activity and less weight. If you are a large muscled person, who has nice short distance speed, yet you are training for an IM event, I would-be focus less on hypertrophy and more on strength endurance for climbing.
Simply about the Author
Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes about the country and internationally. He presently
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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