Importance of Strength Training for Endurance Athletes by Andy Levanti DPT, ATC

Runners like to run and cyclists like to ride their bikes but when you begin to discuss strength training they become less enthusiastic. Now take a recreational athlete who has limited time to devote to their sport, it’s even harder for them to take that time to work on strength training vs getting out on the trail or the road. As an avid mountain biker, I can attest to this, I’d much rather get out on the bike than be in my basement or the gym working on strength. However, benefits of strength training greatly outweigh the perceived loss of time spent running or riding. A good strength program added into your normal endurance training program can increase efficiency, improve your resilience to injury, and improve performance. 

Efficiency

Taking the time for strength training target muscle groups including core training will allow the body to move through endurance sports more efficiently. A strong core provides a base of stability for the limbs to move upon. If you have weak core muscles or are unable to stabilize your pelvis you are going to require more energy to produce the movements needed for running or cycling. Specific strengthening of target muscle groups also allows for greater muscle fiber recruitment while firing which will improve efficiency of movements. 

Resilience 

It’s fairly common that when an endurance athlete comes into the clinic with an injury it is due to overuse of a specific muscle group due to underutilization of another. Constantly performing the same task, be it running or cycling will continually use the same groups of muscles. Add in a biomechanical fault and these muscles will quickly become fatigued and increase your risk of injury. By adding in a strength program to target some of the muscle groups that might not be the dominant group for your sport but work in synergy with that group you can help decrease overuse injuries.  

Performance

An increase in performance is largely due to a combination of the prior benefits. A stronger, more efficient, and resilient person is going to be able to produce more powerful and meaningful movements keeping them in competition and allow them to perform at a higher level. Efficiency is key to performance in endurance sports, if you are wasting energy on unneeded movements or expending greater energy on required movement then performance is going to suffer. Resilience improves performance in all activities, if you are dealing with a nagging injury or pain while doing your sport you are not going to be able to perform at optimal level. 

At Complete Game Physical Therapy we treat all levels of athletes throughout the entire continuum of the rehab process. From nagging aches and pains to surgical rehabs we are here to help get you back doing what you love to do. For runners in particular we offer running gait analysis which can help identify faults in your form and allow you to provide you with needed corrective exercises. We also provide wellness movement screens to ensure that your body is moving properly and efficiently. With the results of the screen we are able to provide you with a set of corrective exercises to improve your mobility and keep your body moving the way it should. If you are are interested in a wellness movement screen or have any questions please contact us at 978-710-7204 or via email at alevanti@completegamept.com