So we’ve looked at why as endurance athletes we need strength training and how we can break it down into the 3 phases to get you to peak for the most important times in your season. Now we need to think about how to design the programme? Here are the key components we must consider:
The first and most important component of designing a strength training programme is that it must be a PROGRESSIVE programme.
• Start with the fundamentals.
• Make sure you are NOT repeating the same session over and over. Change is key for adaptation, so look to change the exercise, load, intensity and/or volume.
• Exercises or session structure should be changed every 4-6 weeks.
The strength training must be easily integrated around your endurance training.
• Keep your rest days as rest day. A rest day from your endurance training is not a rest day if you are strength training. Fatigue will accumulate!
• Use common sense!! If you are about to have an intense run/cycle don’t combine that with a heavy leg session. You will increase the chances of accumulated fatigue and/or injury.
• Don’t look at strength training as merely a pre or post season programme, run it alongside your endurance training.
Know your limits and keep it simple!
• If you are not experienced in strength training (even if you are a world class endurance athlete) start with the basics! You may progress more quickly, but nailing the fundamental exercises with perfect form is essential.
• Overly complex exercises are time consuming and will increase the chances of injury.
• Maintain variety but, if you are undergoing an intense endurance programme regular and short sessions will be effective if properly planned and executed.
• Maintain specificity! Never do an exercise for the sake of it, it must be guiding you to your goals.
How to progress your exercises
• From Phase 1 through to phase 3 (see previous blog), look to move your exercises from simple to complex, isolated to coordinated and generally lower intensity to higher intensity.
The exercises you chose must be individual to you
• Your programme must accommodate any weaknesses in your movement patterns, improve strength and reliance and they MUST MEET YOUR GOALS.
Progression of Sets and Reps
• Typically as endurance athletes we are trying to add strength and power without adding body mass. With that in mind we need to keep the reps higher without overloading on weight, or low with more weight and larger rest periods.
• In phase 1 complete most exercises in a circuit, focus on movement patterns with reps up to 12 and take shorter rest periods.
• Progress to adding load or weight to the exercise but keep the stress to a minimum by repetitions of no more than 5 or 6.
• As we progress through phases 2 and 3, weight and load increase but repetitions drop to between 3-6, with larger rest periods (5 minutes) and focus on good form!
• Each main set must be repeated fresh but, ancillary exercises may be performed in a circuit around this set.
