Introducing strength training  to complement cardio training

Stronger muscles deliver more power and increase stability – increasing performance.

That doesn’t mean we need to have a bodybuilder physique, we need to be strong for our bodyweight and for the activities we undertake.

Resistance (or strength) training is important for all distances, it’s easy to link strength to something like sprinting as this is a fast, short and explosive activity.

Looking to the longer distances, Eliud Kipchoge who broke the 2 hour marathon mark undertakes resistance training to support his vast weekly running milage so it also helps at the other end of the spectrum.

So what should we be looking for?

  • Specific zones of stress
  • Interconnected and supporting muscles
  • Increase weekly workout intensity

Let’s drop into each of these areas for some detail.

Specific zones of stress – these are the areas that are taking the heat during the activity, so knees for running, ankles especially if we hit the trails or venture off road.

We need to look at how these are loaded and how to create additional workload that assists the joint(s) while under load during our chosen activity. Starting with bodyweight exercises focusing on stability and mobility. This could be balance exercises, lunging or single leg work such as toe and heel touches with either a box or trx.

Interconnected and supporting zones – so this follows on and is linked to specific zones of stress, ensuring that the upper and lower leg as well as our hips are providing support to the knee is important as this will reduce the stress that’s created or encountered.

This will be resistance based looking to improve the strength and endurance of the muscle groups, building upon the stability, mobility and balance we gain from above. Examples would include resistance leg work, so leg press, extension or curls, weighted squats or hip thrusts.

Increase weekly intensity – so if we are training 3 x per week, then fitting in another high intensity run probably isn’t going to be top of the list! We can however undertake another type of workout which doesn’t have the level of impact that running does.

We could undertake a resistance workout or a circuits class, these will help us increase our weekly work volume without the impact of our chosen main activity. Circuits would include many different shapes and movement types including the upper body helping you work up a sweat whilst evening out the load on your body – more on this next week.

If we were to look at this in a pyramid form (and we do for performance) it would have:

Movement at the base, this is our stability, balance and mobility we should have as wide a range as possible.

Strength and power on the second level, having the ability to deliver power or strength is only as good as the movement base we have.

Skill is at the top, we can have all the skill, but without the power, strength and underlying movement it won’t be fully realised.

Undertaking cross training allows us to increase our base and balance our pyramid, a well-balanced pyramid increases performance and decreases injury risk.

If you would like to discuss how we can help with strength training, speak to us on info@spikefitness.co.uk or 07597215652.

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