Published on: 24-Jul-2024
The question of whether endurance athletes need strength training is as old as time.
But the truth is that endurance requires power for better functional performance
which can be achieved only through strength training. While most endurance
athletes focus all their energy on enhancing their stamina, it’s equally important to
increase power as well. So, if you’re a novice athlete looking for ways to improve
your power without sacrificing your stamina, here are some tips that you can use:
Set An Achievable Goal
Chances are that if you’re an endurance athlete, you may have not paid much attention to strength training during your training until now. Therefore starting from scratch will require you to create goals that don’t leave you disappointed. Tor instance, if you spend 3 hours a day on endurance training , try starting with 30 minutes a day on a half rack.
This will help you to enhance your muscle growth, and power without sacrificing your
stamina. You could also set a daily target of doing a particular strength training
exercise and review your performance at the end of the week. Initially you just have
to focus on building a habit of strength training rather than perfecting your form to
achieve long term success.
Make Strength Training A Part Of Your Fitness Routine
There are different types of strength training exercises that you can use to increase
your muscle strength as an endurance athlete. While weight training might seem like
the most obvious option, you should also include hollow hold, split squats, bicep
curls , kettlebell swing, and floor press to make the muscle strength workout routine
fun and interesting. You can start with lighter weights and make your way up to
heavier weights.
If you’re not used to strength training and want to give yourself more time to adjust to
the change, then you can start with strength training twice or three times a week.
Through progressive overload you’ll be able to increase your duration and intensity
of strength training gradually, resulting in more power without cutting down on your
stamina.
Keep Reducing Rest Periods
Once you get in the habit of strength training, you can start increasing your exercise
intensity and duration while cutting down on the amount of breaks that you may
need. For optimum results, your heart rate should be elevated so try to reduce the
rest between sets to 10 to 30 seconds.
The best way to keep rest periods to a minimum is by following circuit training sets.
Not only will the circuit training keep your heart rate elevated for longer periods but
you’ll also be able to train your muscles with a mix of both strength and muscle
endurance training. This will allow you to build power without sacrificing your stamina
as an endurance athlete.
Eat up!
To keep your stamina high as an endurance athlete, you need to have an
amalgamation of macronutrients. This includes consuming enough protein,
carbohydrates, and fats during your meals and even during snacking. Based on the
intensity of your workout for the day, you may need to alter your diet.
Since building power and muscle strength require a combination of exercise and the
right diet, try adding more lean protein to your diet to gain the best results. Super
foods such as eggs, salmon, lobsters, soybean, cottage cheese, quinoa, and
chickpeas can act as a great source of muscle strength when you’re strength training
to build power without stamina.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re a novice endurance athlete or a seasoned pro, developing muscle
strength is essential for reaching optimum levels of performance. While making
strength training a part of your regime will certainly help you, eating right and taking
care of your body will enhance your power without sacrificing your stamina. Happy
Training!
The post Strength Training for Endurance Athletes: Building Power Without Sacrificing Stamina appeared first on Sports Medicine Weekly By Dr. Brian Cole.