A quick discussion at the starting line of a triathlon or other endurance race, a review of any forum devoted to endurance sports, or an article in any running, cycling or triathlon magazine tends to expose you to the same standard strength training advice over and over again...
...sport-specificity dictates that endurance athletes don't need to be lifting heavy stuff... ...do high reps, low resistance for endurance and low reps, high resistance for strength... ...strength training will make an endurance athlete bulky... ...there's no evidence that strength training makes you faster... ...show me one professional endurance athlete who lifts heavy weights and is successful... ...and a host of other comments that my podcast guests and I delve into on today's show.
My first guest, Caleb Bazyler is one of the lead authors of the article Strength Training For Endurance Athletes: Theory To Practice. This up-to-date treatise of the latest, well, theories and practices, inspired me to get Caleb on the show, along with his sidekick Jacob Goodin, who helped create the plan in the article and edited some of the manuscript.
Caleb is currently completing his PhD at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) with the Department of Exercise and Sport Science in conjunction with the Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education. Jacob designs and implements programs for middle and long distance runners and is finishing his master's degree at ETSU.
Finally, my third guest on this show is Chris Taber, who is the strength and conditioning coach at ETSU. In our discussion, you'll discover:
-Why there's so much conflict among coaches about the role of strength training for endurance athletes...
-The exact mechanisms via which strength training could theoretically lead to enhanced endurance performance...
-Was the length of endurance performance taken into account in the studies you found (e.g. Ironman vs. a 5K run)...
-The important difference between two different types of strength training for endurance: HFLV and LFHV, and the effects of each on endurance training...
-The kind of strength training that you should do if you don't want to get bulky or gain too much muscle mass...
-What the ideal strength training workout scenario for an endurance athlete should look like...
-And much more!
Resources from this episode: -Weight Training For Triathlon: The Ultimate Guide (book by Ben Greenfield) -Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education Facebook page - a non-profit organization committed to service, research and coach education. We are also a designated Olympic Training Site.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about strength training for endurance athletes? Leave your thoughts at BenGreenfieldFitness.com!
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