Strength training is still a neglected topic among endurance athletes. Rightly so? Dr. Toigo explains.

That means endurance

From a practical point of view, endurance performance can be understood in two ways:

1) The ability to cover the greatest possible distance in a given time or, conversely, to cover a given distance as quickly as possible. The former corresponds, for example, to the time trial on the cycling track, where the contenders for the hourly world record try to cover as many kilometers as possible in one hour. The second example can be found in road cycling (e.g. in the Tour de France), where riders have to cover a given distance as quickly as possible in an individual time trial.

2) You give the cyclist a constant mechanical power (mechanical power = work per time interval, measured in watts) and then measure how long it takes until the cyclist can no longer maintain this power or until he gives up.

Mechanical performance

In both cases, the cyclist who can maintain the greatest mechanical power over the longest possible period of time while tiring less than his opponents has the best cards in his hand. In other words, this corresponds to the car that is fastest at the highest speed in the green zone and also has a larger red speed range than the other models. For endurance athletes who are already well trained, strength training demonstrably improves the latter characteristic, namely driving in the physiological “red zone”. These examples can also be applied to all other endurance disciplines, e.g. running.

In the red zone

It has been scientifically proven that endurance athletes who do strength training in addition to their endurance training can increase their “red energy store”. This makes them more resistant to fatigue in the following competition conditions, for example: group start (triathlon: swim start), catching up with a group that has broken away, sudden headwind or inclines in the terrain, final sprint, defense or counter-offensive in the event of attacks by opponents.

However, strength training also has an indirect positive effect on endurance performance. Whole-body strength training can strengthen the trunk muscles neuromuscularly, which can delay or even prevent incorrect posture when practising the sport. These incorrect postures can lead to unwanted pain in sensitive areas (e.g. back pain when running), forcing you to give up even though you still have more than enough breath. For untrained endurance athletes, the advantage of strength training lies primarily in avoiding such neuromuscular weak points that could later become limited. For well-trained to very well-trained endurance athletes, strength training can directly improve endurance performance.

Push hard

Endurance trainers therefore benefit from regular strength training for all muscle groups, provided that they train correctly. According to the latest scientific findings, however, strength and endurance units should not be completed in the same training session, but on different days or on the same day in the morning and evening.

Does strength training make sense for endurance sports (swimming)?

© swim4u.ch / Source: Toigo 2014