STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING FOR ENDURANCE TRAINING
Triathlon and running are strength-based sports. Of course
you need the cardiovascular fitness to supply oxygen to working muscles and
meet the energy demands of an activity but you also need the core strength and
muscular strength for movement economy, fatigue resistance and the ability to
still generate force when extremely fatigued.
In short, endurance sports specific strength and
conditioning is important because it:
-facilitates performance benefits (improves muscles ability
to produce force, improves muscles fatigue resistance, promotes more efficient
movement);
-promotes injury prevention.
I think strength and conditioning training for endurance
athletes can be broken into two categories:
1). CORE STRENGTH/STABILITY/ACTIVATION
This entails targeting the smaller muscles that attach to
and control the pelvis (not the prime movers) to facilitate low-level but long
duration activity in these muscles. This maintains pelvic position/alignment
for most efficient movement.
The goal is to turn on these muscles and keep them
activated, as well as strengthen them. Certain positions (eg. TT position on
our bike, sitting at a desk, etc) can lead to muscle inactivity (in the two
examples given due to posterior chain muscles being in a prolonged
lengthened/weakened position and also prolonged closing off of the hip angle).
The goal of core stability exercises is to strengthen and
activate these core muscles and keep them firing even when not in ideal
positions and alignments.
The muscle groups targeted are the deep abdominals, hip
flexors, gluts, lower back and to a lesser extent, the hamstrings.
I used to do my core routine 4-5 x per week, for about 30min,
although even doing a 20min session 2 x per week would be enough to make
noticeable improvements in your core stability in a relatively short period of
time.
You don’t need a gym or elaborate set up to effectively
perform these exercises. A basic home set up with mat, Swiss Ball, bands, step
and hand dumbbells will be enough and help facilitate consistency and
compliance.
These exercises always start with the most basic version of
a shape or static position (ie. isometric hold; eg. 3 x 30sec). Always focus on
“perfect” technique, so the correct muscles are targeted. As we become more
proficient, the difficulty of the exercises is progressed to further provide a
stimulus for improvement.
Progress from static/isometric holds to basic movements (eg.
alternating leg movements, etc that are specific and replicate movements in the
real world), to combined and more complex movements and eventually faster and
more ballistic movements.
My Recommended Starting Routine:
(Static holds; 4 x
30sec)
-Dead Bugs
-Hip Bridging
-Plank Position
-One-legged exercises (squats, step-ups, heel-touch in
front/out to the side/behind); 3 sets of 8 reps each leg.
2). GENERAL TRIATHLON STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
We can get stronger in the 3 disciplines of triathlon by
incorporating very specific strength training into our program (eg. swimming
with paddles, riding and running hills, hill repeats, low-
cadence/high-resistance bike strength efforts). This should be the starting
point for our strength training.
There are also a lot of exercises in the gym, where the
strength gains transfer really well into the real world of swim, bike and run.
This is also what I am referring to, this supplemental functional strength
training in the gym.
-General guidelines:
*2 times per week;
*3 sets, 8 reps per exercise;
*routine may include, front/back squats, inclined leg press,
hamstring curls, lunges, step ups, one-legged exercises (stepping up,
laterally, behind), sumo/lateral walk, straight-legged calf-raises (to name a
few).
There is also a bit of anecdotal evidence to suggest that doing
these strengthening exercises in the gym with lighter weight but significantly
increasing the number of repetitions (up to 50 for example) has great benefits
for endurance athletes. This is definitely something I also experimented with and
found it to be really beneficial.
These are very generalised guidelines. I recommend seeking
out an expert strengthening coach who has a lot of experience working with
endurance athletes.
An expert S and C coach would take an extensive history
(including performance issues, injuries, etc.) and perform an assessment to
identify individual areas of weakness or dysfunction. This then allows a very
personalised plan to be developed that takes into consideration all of these
aspects, as well as teaching the proper technique for each exercise, preparing
for specific events, progressing the plan, tapering and structuring the session
timing to complement all of the other training.
So what is the take home message: Any good endurance trainingprogram should
incorporate regular core stability/activation exercises and consistent sessions
that target improving the strength of our swimming, biking and running prime
movers.
Good luck!
Crowie
