How I Help Endurance Athletes (Runners, Swimmers, Triathletes, Cyclists)
For some, it's borne of chronic injuries that mean training is disrupted for long periods of time leading to inconsistent training cycles and performance frustrations.
For others they can feel/sense that their body isn't robust enough for their sport, they often have little niggles, aches and pains that don't become serious injuries but linger all the same.
The first thing I address is training age, volume, and intensity. For a lot of people, a bit of reflection on whether what they are asking of their body is appropriate in their sport goes a long way.
Training age is important because your body needs to adapt to the training stimulus of any new sport. If you suddenly start adding a lot of training when your body isn't used to it, inevitably for a lot of people they find their body just isn't ready.
Training Volume can manifest itself in endurance athletes as over training. The more and more is better mentality in endurance athletes is very common, especially in those newer to long distance/duration endurance events. Getting the balance right takes time and working out how much your body and mind can tolerate on top of your day-to-day life (work, family, having a social life etc) demands (which most people ignore!).
Alongside training volume comes adequate rest to recover from the training stimulus and become stronger, fitter and faster. I understand that it's so easy to become obsessed with your new sport but it's important to understand what happens to your body at rest.
Training Intensity, if all your training is at full force you are at some point probably going to burn out or overwork your body to the point that it eventually breaks down, especially if you are newer to that type of training. Finding the sweetspot of higher intensity training that gives you some stimulus to push your fitness and some training that maintains a strong aerobic base takes time! Professional endurance athletes do not do all their training as hard as they can, all the time, so you don't need to either.
High intensity endurance training comes with a high risk so it needs to be incorporated into training appropriately.
An example of how I have helped a runner (of many years) overcome recurring lower limb injuries and a lack of progress.
My clients training was very erratic due to a high pressure job. When she did have time/energy to run she felt the need to do as much as she could to make it count. She wasn't improving and felt that her running had completely plateaued.
Run Training
The first thing we discussed was the importance of little and often so that she got her running fix more frequently and in shorter timer periods.
We agreed that her non-negotiable would be 3 runs per week of 20 Minutes. If it was a good week she could do more but on her busiest weeks she would still block the minimum time and feel good about it. There was no emphasis on how hard she would run, she would go on feel and her energy levels.
Consistency is a vital component of progress with anything in life.
To measure progress, we decided that once a month she would go to Parkrun. The first time was to set the benchmark and thereafter it would tell us if her training was working or not.
Our other goal was to get to 12 weeks without injury.
I also took my client out to film her in normal time and slow motion to see if there was anything obvious in her run technique. She ran well but like a lot of runners, was heel striking a lot, so I gave her some cues to get her running more on her mid foot (not on the toes!) to ensure her foot landed a neutrally. I also suggested increasing her arm drive, using her elbows to drive behind the body and lifting her chest slightly.
I think unless clients are doing wild things with their body most people just need a couple of technique points to work on and then they are running just fine. Over time we added in new things to think about as she ran to improve her running posture and efficiency.
Strength Training
We agreed the focus would be on building robust legs and a strong core (something my client wanted to improve) but we would keep the sessions short and sweet and exercises she could do at home with minimal equipment.
My clients recurring injuries had been predominantly in her calves so that would feature in every session.
The programme was devised to be done on non-run days and never after a long run. Tired legs do not need a big stimulus the next day!
I also think that running is enough impact, especially in people who have had recurring injuries. I rarely programme plyometric exercises until a client has worked with me for at least 8 weeks and that they have been injury free for at least 12 weeks.
The first session looked like this:
3x20 Bodyweight Squats - 45 Seconds Rest
3x10es Stationary Split Squats - 45 Seconds Rest
3xMax Reps Single Leg Calf Raises (off a step) - 30 Seconds Rest
3x10es Box Step Ups - 45 Seconds Rest
3x15es Single Leg Deadlift - 45 Seconds Rest
4x20 Seated Ab tucks - 15 Seconds Rest
4x10 Lying Straight Leg Lifts - 15 Seconds Rest
This session was completed a minimum of once per week and if she had time and energy then twice was a bonus week.
As the weeks progressed and the exercises became easier, we added in dumbbells and progressed with those weights as she became stronger.
Your body doesn't need you to change the exercises, but it does require you keep on top of the intensity so that you continue to progress, so keep increasing the resistance each week if you can.
The Conclusion
The result of consistency of training was that my clients Parkrun improved month on month, she also realised she was capable of a much faster time simply with consistency. Her confidence really grew as a runner knowing she had unlocked some really helpful insights into her training.
She also noticed that the core work was making her feel stronger and that she was holding herself with better posture as she ran.
The magic number was 12 weeks without injury, which she also managed (the longest she had gone injury free in many years).
The valuable lessons for everyone are that your training doesn't always need to be harder to help you improve but it usually involves some thought about than the way you have done things in the past.
I hope that helps and if you have questions about strength training as an endurance athlete, please get in touch x
Disclaimer: I am not a physiotherapist and if I think a client has to see a physiotherapist, I have no qualms in referring them on. I have worked alongside many physiotherapists to ensure my clients are safe. Sometimes however, adapting training and making a client stronger is all that is required. I do not practice outside my scope and diagnose injuries.
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