‘Why do I need to strength train, I’m an endurance athlete”
Updated: Nov 6, 2019
The importance of strength training for endurance athletes cannot be overstated. It’s benefits include increased cycling and running economy as well as improved load tolerance of your soft tissues and bones which can correlate with reduced injury risk. Improving performance while becoming more resilient? Seems pretty neat to me.
As athletes, we are constantly toeing the line of what our body can do. The difference between optimal performance and overreaching is a fine balance. Because of this, no injuries are 100% preventable, but there are absolutely measures we can take in order to reduce our overall injury risk, and strength training is a key component to that.
From talking to athletes, the biggest reasons they don’t strength train is due to time and a lack of knowledge in how to start. Both of these are definitely legitimate concerns. As triathletes, a lot of our time is spent swimming, biking, and running (as it should be), but strength training needs to be the 4th discipline in which we focus.
Missing time due to injury is no fun. We lose fitness and can’t participate in the sports that we love. Consistency in training over a long period of time is a strong recipe for improved performance in endurance sports. Because of this, staying healthy and training intelligently is a key factor in achieving a solid result on race day.
Building a strong and resilient body is the foundation in which our desired race outcomes sit.
As the cold weather settles in on the Midwest and most people’s seasons are wrapping up, now is the perfect time to start making some deposits in our resilience account.
Don’t know where to start when it comes to strength training?
We are here to help. Email pmcsweeney@pro-activity.com or message us directly on instagram @pro-activity_ohio