endurance training Archives - Tucson Strength

5 Strength Training Mistakes Endurance Athletes Make

Admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 21:43:08 +0000

Endurance sport athletes are probably some of the most focused and dedicated group of athletes I have worked with. I know from the perspective of a strength coach to many of them, as well as a convert to the endurance sport over the past few years myself. As with many sports, strength training should be a part of most athlete’s training plans. The list of benefits include injury prevention, improved posture, improved power production, ability to push harder through rough and inclined terrain, as well as over all health. I am sure there are other things that most people can add in to this list.

The misinformation that circulates on the internet on blogs, popular websites, endurance coaches, and trainers on how to train endurance athletes is baffling. I know I am grouping all endurance athletes together, but this blog lays out many of the common mistakes across the board. MTB athletes need to do things different than road cyclists, and cyclists have some different needs than runners, and if you throw multi-sport in the mix we can even go further with looking at a needs analysis. There is however a common theme amongst these groups of how they are training. Here are some of the biggest mistakes I have seen endurance athletes in make with their strength training.

SKIPPING STRENGTH TRAINING ALL TOGETHER

Many times they find this isn’t the best plan of action after they have succumbed to 1 too many injuries or annoying aches and pains that are starting to interfere with their performance. Many athletes are afraid to bulk up, fearing it will interfere with their power to weight ratios. Here is the thing, without any muscle or strength there is no power production. Trying to lose more weight for many athletes just makes them less powerful at a lower weight. Also, a little extra stability, strength, and some muscle around those hip joints are are your friend on down hill runs and the hard pushes up hill whether it is running or cycling. Running creates 6x BW impact on your joints, a little muscle adds a lot of shock absorption. The improved posture and strengthening the posterior chain will have a huge impact on performance toward the end of a race for all endurance sports. The other big reason endurance athletes skip the strength work is because they feel it takes away from their time training in the sport. You need the right strategy and training plan to make it happen, but either make time to work on your strength or make time to be sidelined with an injury.

HIIT TRAINING IN THE GYM

I get it you love conditioning. Many endurance athletes love the hit of adrenaline that can come with the sport. The important thing to understand is that HIIT training is NOT strength training, even if you are doing it with weights. Lifting weights can and will increase your heart rate but that increase in HR doesn’t transfer over to improved cardiovascular endurance. Here is a more detailed article on the myth of HIIT I wrote. If you are an endurance athlete working on a solid endurance program you should be getting nearly all of your conditioning work in your training plan in your sport. Keep the gym for your strength work, not participating in random acts of exercise. Strength work trains a different energy system, so fast paced circuit training isn’t strength. If you are killing it in your sport training then add a bunch of HIIT Circuit training into your programming you will just continue to grind your body down and your cross training is now interfering with your performance, not adding to it. Just because it is fun, gets you sore, and your HR Elevated doesn’t mean it is effective. I have had too many endurance athletes come to me and want me to kick their ass with cardio or to get their muscles burning, because that is what they want. It’s not my job as a coach to give them what they want all the time, but rather give them what they need to improve in their sport. In the off season there is a argument for HIIT in the gym, but if you read the article I linked to above make sure your HIIT is actually HIIT and not just High Intensity training.

DOING HIGH REP ROUTINES WITH LIGHT WEIGHT

There is a time and place for higher rep training, but it isn’t all the time. I have done numerous searches online for strength programs for endurance athletes and nearly all them have full body circuits of 12-20 reps on everything. Yes, building strength-endurance(moving heavier weights for more repetitions) is important for power and improvement in sport, but strength is built in the 1-10 rep range with moderate to heavier weights. In order to have Strength-Endurance, a base of actual strength is needed.

If you don’t have a base of strength then you are just building up lactic acid in the muscle with those higher reps. This doesn’t mean endurance athletes need to train like powerlifters and there is not only one way to do it, but there is a science to building strength, and lifting in the 12-20 rep range consistently isn’t one of them.

DOING TEN THOUSAND DIFFERENT/FANCY EXERCISES

Unless you can do 10 or more strict and powerful Pushups, TRX Push-ups are useless. And the girl in the front is showing how to not engage the core.

Muscle confusion is not a thing, it is however awesome marketing. I cringe every time I see someone with no strength base doing elevated leg TRX lunges and TRX Pushups. Until someone masters the fundamentals nothing fancy is needed. Can you do 10 Strict pushups with awesome form? Can you do Pushups explosively or are they are grind with your body dipping at the hips. If you can’t you don’t need unbalanced pushups. Can you do loaded squats with good form with hips below parallel for multiple reps? I am pretty sure that doing them on the balanced ground is always more important than doing them while standing on a balance pad or adding jumps. As Coach Dan John made famous, the Push, Pull, Hinge, and Squat as being the most crucial aspects to master in a training program and I agree completely. With endurance athletes it is also crucial to focus on mastering single leg movements such as the single leg deadlift, lunge, and a controlled Step up(video). Whether its running or cycling we need both legs to to develop power and work. The ability to control these movements with mastery is where the magic happens in transferring over to injury prevention and balanced power production. Just doing single leg movements quickly with compensation will just amplify existing dysfunction. Taking the time to own these movements is crucial.

CORE TRAINING MISTAKES

It is no secret that the core is crucial to train, but how to train it is where the confusion lies. Sit-ups, twists, and flutter kicks can be useful for some people, but can actually cause more problems for others depending on injury history and their individual needs. Flutter kicks and sit ups are terrible for someone with significant anterior pelvic tilt, so all that “core” training is just making things worse. There have been tons of articles on what the core is, but it isn’t just the abs. The core involves the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and all the muscles in the hips. Training the core correctly also depends on having the requisite mobility and movement in the hips. Focusing on anti rotation and anti-flexion movements are a better addition for most athletes to utilize over movements that are flexion and rotational dependent.

The post 5 Strength Training Mistakes Endurance Athletes Make appeared first on Tucson Strength.

Why Running Sucks..

Admin — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:03:16 +0000

woman runner hold her injured leg on road

“You know I need to get into better shape. I use to be in such awesome shape. I should probably join a gym soon, but I should start with some cardio… You know to get in shape before I get in shape.” Opens closet finds old pair athletic shoes and hits the road. These are usually the thoughts and actions of someone says running sucks. The other crowd are exercise junkies that have ruined running for themselves or meathead lifters that can’t run and use it as an excuse as to why they are out of shape. In many cases the reason is the same. Usually, people overdo running and make a few key mistakes that ruin it for themselves. I am guilty of this myself and stopped running for almost a decade, until I learned what NOT TO do when it comes to running.

WHY YOU THINK YOU HATE RUNNING

Every time I get into running my (Enter joint of choice) hurts. I just can’t run anymore.
I have horrible shin splints or plantar fasciitis when I run.
It is just so hard, it never gets easier and I hate that feeling.
I read cardio makes you weak.
I will only run if something is chasing me.

HERE IS THE REAL WHY YOU HATE RUNNING.

You are probably doing it wrong. Lets break down each of the excuses running sucks and get to the bottom of this.

WHY YOU ARE GETTING INJURED AND SORE ALL THE TIME.

This could be due to numerous factors, but much of the time people start running way too hard, way too soon. Most people put their shoes on and go. It seems simple enough. We were born to run, right? Well yeah, but we weren’t born to sit on our asses for the past 10-30 years then run. There is a certain fitness level that should be achieved prior to running for inactive adults, and most people take off at a pace that is just too fast for them (even though it “feels” slow). The joints are not ready for the 6 x bodyweight impact running introduces to the system, and it can cause stress and injury. It’s not that running sucks, it’s that you are doing too much too soon and your body isn’t prepared. The hardest thing I had to swallow was my ego for a couple months. Running in slow motion can hurt your feelings, but at least it won’t hurt your body. Some need to walk before they run, or do intervals that are much much much slower than you think is practical. Yes, it can be embarrassingly slow, but that is what needs to happen for your body to adapt. This is the same reason people never get any faster at running. They are running at a speed that is just perfect for wearing them down, but not fast enough to increase performance. There is a science to this, and heading out the door to run isn’t going to achieve the success you want. That is why most people do it for a couple of weeks then stop and say, “running sucks”.

How to fix this

The quickest fix for overdoing it is to purchase a HR monitor and wear it religiously when you run. There are numerous online calculators to help, or you can hire a coach (highly recommended) to set your heart rate and program your runs. The simplest and quickest way to guesstimate this is take 220-Age= Max HR. Then, as a goal keep your HR between 70-77% of your max HR. You must be diligent, and yes for some people it means they may have to walk then run to keep it in this zone. If you keep allowing your HR to creep up, you will just train your body to have an elevated HR while you run. Running with a higher heart rate will make running feel hard ALL the time, and it increases your chance of overuse and injury. Let HR be your guide, not speed or distance. It is an objective bio-marker. Intervals and intensity can be added later, but building the aerobic base and training your HR to below goes a long way. Building the aerobic base is crucial.

SCRAP RUNNING FOR DISTANCE AND SPEED

The 2nd biggest mistake I made when I started running again was chasing a pace I felt was acceptable(completely arbitrary and subjective). I felt that I needed to run my miles in 10 minutes or less, or it wasn’t worth my time. The result was usually having to stop after 15-20 minutes because I was cooked and I felt defeated. I repeated this time after time and the runs became less and less enjoyable. The other mistake was setting a goal to achieve a certain distance each time I ran. After working with coach Gail Leveque she re-worked my running and endurance program. I ran for a certain amount of time each session and the only thing I could look at was my time and HR. It didn’t matter if I ran at a 8 min/mi pace or a 12min/mi pace. Sometimes my 40-minute run netted 3.4 miles, sometimes it was 4 miles, but each session was set based on my HR goal for a certain length of time. The result….

APRIL 2016, SABINO CANYON RUNOCTOBER 2016, SABINO CANYON RUN

I had done this hilly run numerous times with little improvement until I incorporated HR based low intensity running as the staple of my program. I gave up on distance or speed as my markers of success. My goal of the October run was to keep my average HR under 145bpm for the run. The results speak for themselves. Over a 4 minute PR with an Average Heart Rate of 14 bpm less… I wasn’t working as hard and I got faster! I wasn’t expecting such a dramatic shift. After the April run I was toast, after the run in October I had more energy than I knew what to do with which allowed me to train more that week, instead of taking multiple days off to recover.

You hate running because, your shoes suck .

This is huge. Most people grab their athletic shoes out of their closet and go for it. The problem is most shoes that you have worn to do you shopping/ yard work/ extra curricular activities in are probably worn out. To handle the impact of running you need solid running shoes and those shoes should only be used to run in, period. This means no going the mall and throwing on your running shoes. After the run put them in the closet and change shoes. That extra wear and tear ads up quickly.

One of the first things I ask people when they tell me they have “_____” pain when they run is “are you running in the right shoe?” Shoes don’t even have to be that old. If you just bought your shoes a few weeks ago from the mall most likely they are the wrong shoe. I know they match your running shorts and new headband, but running shoes come in a few different types based on your foot type and how you strike the ground. Get your shoe fit by a store that specializes in running shoes, but don’t get sucked into buying arch supports. Find the right shoe and you will notice a huge difference in how your body feels. Also, if you have been running pain-free for awhile and all of a sudden you feel your calf or knee hurt, the first place to look is your shoe. More than likely it is worn out. If you take it into a running store they will quickly be able to tell you if that is the case.

YOU THINK CARDIO MAKES YOU WEAK

fool macho man

Sure, if you are running hours per day and training to be an elite endurance athlete don’t necessarily expect to have huge squat numbers and win a ton of powerlifting meets. Unfortunately, this message was skewed and it turned into a chant of the uninformed and ignorant. Having and aerobic base is huge for recovery between sets and training sessions. You can still be strong and fit at the same time. Having an aerobic base will improve strength training sessions tremendously. Believe me, I was as an experienced powerlifter that felt like I had to wait 4 minutes between sets to recover. That is a sure sign you need more cardio in your life. running, rowing, or cycling for 30 minutes a couple times per week won’t crush your gainz and will most likely improve your life. I hear people say all the time, “I will only run if something is chasing me”. The real truth is if something is chasing you, you won’t be able to run and more than likely if you have to run from it, your big squat and bench aren’t going to save your life. Finding the balance between strength and conditioning is crucial. As with anything finding the balance is key for long term success. In this blog I cover more details on the balance between strength,endurance, health and performance.

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The Parallels of Strength and Endurance Sports

Admin — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 03:14:18 +0000

Since making the switch from powerlifting to triathlons, the transition hasn’t been as hard as I originally thought. Ok well, learning to swim for distance was pretty rough, and running is ….running, but It really has been a blast. The ability to train the different sports has been a great experience and has completely opened my mind about the human body, my abilities, and realizing that there is more to life than just lifting heavy all the time. The philosophies of the “how” to train for these sports are more similar than you would believe, and after thinking about things more deeply, these commonalities probably carry across most sports.

1/2 Marathon June 2016

551lbs Squat Oct, 2015

TRAIN WITH PURPOSE

The biggest reason I fell in love with Powerlifting was that I have a purpose with each training session. I mean a real purpose. Im not talking about the purpose of doing random acts of burpees and pull-ups until I’m tired. It is about being on a program that takes you to a goal. Each session progresses to the next one, and has a purpose. After weeks or months, each of those sessions take you to the day where you are ready to set a personal record and put your training to the test. Training for triathlons is identical in this manner. Sure, I could run, swim, and bike each week at random intensities and distances, but will that give me a specific outcome? As with both sports, it is easy to over do it. It isn’t rare to see a powerlifter tank an opener that they have hit in training. That usually happens when there isn’t a purpose to the training plan and I am sure the same goes for the endurance athlete that shows up the day of the race producing slower times than they have seen in training. Which takes me to my next point.

HIRING A COACH WILL IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

In powerlifting I can’t tell you the number of coaches I have had that have broken down my squat, deadlift, and bench press technique. Each coach I worked with helped me improve as a lifter. Without technical proficiency, the best program in the world isn’t going to help. I hired a swimming coach early on in my training and I am grateful I did. I could swim in a pool and not drown, but having professional instruction was the difference between me surviving and learning to be more confident and proficient in the water(still a work in progress). I see this all the time when people want to take on powerlifting or Olympic lifting and they say, well I squatted in high school, I don’t need coaching. Usually these are the guys that look jacked and crumble on the platform.

Having someone else to program for you is huge. I don’t care how awesome you think you are. Having someone that will get in your way to slow you down when you want to push when you shouldn’t, or help you push a little harder when your lazy is must. I find myself always erring on the side of doing too much even when I think I am not, and having someone to regulate that for me is a game changer. Also, someone who can analyze the situation for what it is rather than what I think it should be. Being a noob in triathlons, I have to trust that I just don’t know, but even in Powerlifting I usually had someone design my peaking programs for my meets, and I always performed better when that happened.

NEVER TRAIN TO FAILURE

This goes without saying and reiterates the last 2 points. As a powerlifting coach nothing upsets me more than to see someone fail a lift in training. It is the biggest sign of a novice lifter. It drives me nuts, ask my staff and athletes, and if it happens once in the gym it doesn’t happen a 2nd time. Training to failure in Powerlifting is a great way to tax the nervous system, increase the likelihood of injury, and get weaker. It is important to always leave something in the tank. Ninety Percent of my strength training was done between 70% and 80%, always keeping my reps low and explosive, and my volume moderate. If things were slowing down, or reps were a grind I either dropped the weight or called it a day.

A few days ago I was feeling less than stellar and my coach Gail told me to pay attention to my Heart Rate on my run, usually around 70-75% of max…(see the similarities?) She said if it isn’t dropping fast enough to call it quits because it could be a sign my nervous system was getting trashed. About 15 minutes into my run I knew something was up, and I called it quits. Though I don’t get grindy reps and sore muscles from the endurance training the nervous system gave me feedback in other ways and I had to learn to listen.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN MEANS YOU SHOULDN’T

When I was powerlifting my program would call to hit 405lbs for 6 reps and everything in me would want to go for 10 reps because it felt so good. Earlier in my powerlifting days I would push those limits. The funny things is when I would feel like a champion in a workout and do more than I was supposed to, it took me a really long time to realize why the following week the training sessions were not up to par. If the program called for 4 reps at 80% it means hit 4 reps at 80%. There is a plan, there is a reason, and pushing limits are a great way to make next weeks training not be so great or worse.

In my endurance training my coach has me focusing on my Heart Rate rather than speed. It is so hard some training sessions to say, “this feels awesome! I can go so much faster than this”! Doing this is a great way to not only train my HR to stay high, but also great way to burn out for the remainder of my sessions that week.

I had the privilege of being able to chat with Finnish Shot Putter and Gold Medalist in the 2000 Olympic Games, Arsi Harju, and he shared with me his only injuries came when he was feeling great and would have a great day of throwing. Instead of calling it quits when his training was done for the day if he would stay and push more to get some extra throws in because he felt great it, it would lead to an injury or a horrible rest of the week. He said “When you feel good save some for the next training session too.” Always remember, the goal isn’t to win the workout.

Olympic Gold Medalist Arsi Harju

80/10/10 RULE

Paul Carter in his powerlifting book Base Building breaks down training sessions something like this. 80% of your workouts should feel normal, nothing awesome, nothing bad, just right. 10% of the sessions you may feel like dog shit, and the other 10% you may feel like King Kong. The exact same can be said for my experience in with my swims, bikes and runs. Which leads me to the next point. If you are looking for an awesome book on strength training fundamentals you should get it..

YOU CAN’T GET GREAT AT EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME

Powerlifting is 3 lifts, Triathlons are 3 different sports. It is easy to get sucked into the mentality of wanting to see improvement week in and week out on every single aspect of your training. I remember for the longest time my Deadlift was stuck, it was actually stuck for over 1 year. In that time time frame I added nearly 90lbs to my squat. It was easy for me to be focused and pissed about my deadlift being stuck rather than realizing I put 90lbs on my squat! I am realizing the same goes for my current training regiment. There is only so much energy in each week and thinking all 3 sports will progress evenly on a linear path is unrealistic.

RESPECT THE SPORT

Nothing irritates me more than to see people showing up to a powerlifting meet with complete disrespect for the sport. What is disrespect? The person who shows up and decides to do a half squat on the platform, because they failed to know the actual requirements of the sport, or the person who doesn’t know how to stay with a lift and decides to ditch the weight on the spotters. It is the person that decides they are going to show up with no coaching and think that they got this. There are certain aspects of etiquette and knowing the rules that show that you have prepared and have respect for the sport you are undertaking. It has nothing to do with how strong or fast someone is when they show up for a competition, its that they prepared adequately for the event at hand. I tell my Powerlifters I don’t care if you are benching 125lbs or 425lbs, have you prepared appropriately with the intention of doing your best.

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