In my last article, I discussed WHY it’s so important to implement strength training into your endurance training regime about 2-3x per week, especially during your preparation phase. Then I gave you a little preview of what such a resistance-training program would look like.

Well, in this installment, I’ll dive in deeper into HOW you can structure your very own strength training program that best suits your specific endurance training goals. We will be going over example training protocols for:

• Long-Distance Runners
• Cyclists
• Cross-Country Skiers
• Long-Distance Triathletes

After examining the rhyme and reason as to why these plans are structured the way they are, you’ll be able to copy these exact workouts to introduce yourself to the world of strength training. After you gain the necessary experience, you’ll be able to tailor any of these programs to your specific needs and preferences!

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Long-Distance Runners

A systematic review, which is a collection of many studies that are used in order to come to a conclusion, found that the most significant improvements found in running after strength training was best illustrated in time-trial performance, running economy, and surprisingly even VO2 max [1]. However, it’s important to note that improvements in VO2 max were only seen with explosive and reactive-strength training, which are essentially ways of training for both power and strength, as opposed to just strength.

This type of training consisted of sprinting, jumping, and strength training exercises. Examples of these types of exercises included

• Running sprints (5-10 sets of 30-150 meters each)
• Jumping exercises (calf jumps, hurdle jumps, squat jumps)
• Isolation exercises (knee extensions, knee flexions)

The primary principle that the subjects followed during this time was a focus on low loads and high-performance velocities [2].Because of this, if we want to primarily increase our VO2 max levels, which is the priority of many long-distance runners, then training for power first and strength second would be the best move here.

Example Training Program for Runners

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Time
Sprints	5	100 meters	30 seconds
Squat Jumps	2	15	30 seconds
Squats	2	15, 20	30 seconds
Knee Extensions	2	20	30 seconds
Knee Flexions	2	20	30 seconds

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Cyclists

Optimal training for cyclists is going to look quite a bit different than for what’s best for runners. This is due to the greater emphasis on lower musculature strength in cyclists compared to runners.

For cyclists, it’s best to participate in heavy-load strength training. More specifically, maximal velocity should be achieved by the athlete while in the concentric phase (the “lifting-up” phase), as opposed to pure explosive power throughout the entire lift. While a focus on power is still important, placing greater importance on strength will help cyclists to increase maximal velocity during each pedaling cycle.

Example Training Program for Cyclists

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Time
Front Squats	2-3	6-10	90 seconds
Single Leg Stiff-Legged Deadlift	2	8	60 seconds
Bulgarian Split Squat	2-3	8	60 seconds
Kettlebell Swings	2	15-20	30 seconds

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Cross-Country Skiing

The primary difference here with cross-country skiers is that they’re going to have to concentrate more so on upper-body strength as opposed to lower-body strength. Exercises that would be included in an optimal protocol are lat-pulldowns and triceps presses [4].

This aforementioned study primarily illustrated to us that strength training shows its improvements most in the double-poling performance of cross-country skiers, as well as time to exhaustion.  This is great news, as this proves to us that performance is able to be maintained even after long-duration exercise.

Since there isn’t nearly as much data available on strength training’s effects on cross-country skiers, practical considerations for sets and reps aren’t as apparent. However, given the nature of the sport, it can be safe to assume that moderate loading and rep ranges would be a well-tolerated. Cross-country skiing doesn’t require as much pure strength as cycling or as much explosiveness as running, so less emphasis can be placed on these variables during the strength training sessions.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Time
Lat Pulldowns	3	10	60 seconds
Dumbell Row	2 per arm	10	60 seconds
Bench Press	2	10-12	60 seconds
Squats	2	10-12	60 seconds
Triceps Pushdown	2	12-15	60 seconds

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Long-Distance Triathletes

For these types of athletes, the most significant improvements were found in peak treadmill velocity (VO2 max) following a maximal-strength training intervention [5]. Hopping power (to determine maximal mechanical power) and training economy were shown to improve in the group that performed strength training compared to the group that only performed endurance training.

The training protocol that would be most optimal for this type of athlete would be one that focused on primarily lower-body exercises, such as the leg press, squat, and leg extension, with occasional upper-body exercises thrown in. It’s important for these athletes to train quite heavy; in the 3-5 rep range most of the time, occasionally increasing the reps to avoid injury. These athletes need not be as explosive as the previously mentioned types of athletes. Rather, the focus on strength is more important.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest Time
Barbell Row	2	5	90 seconds
Lunges	3	6-8	60 seconds
Back Squat	2	5	90 seconds
Glute-Ham Raise	2	8	45 seconds
Dips	2	5-8	60 seconds

Important Consideration

It’s important to remember what the common theme is here. In order to increase your endurance performance with strength training, you must follow the theme of what’s called specificity. Basically, specificity is training that involves similar muscle groups and imitates the sports-specific movements of your particular activity [3]. The reasoning behind this is the adaptations that occur in the nervous system during training, as well as structural changes that happen inside the muscle fibers.

Conclusion

Now go give these programs a shot and see for yourself the benefits you’ll see from them. Again, as you become more accustomed to this type of training, you can gradually ramp up the difficulty level by increasing the weights, reps, sets, and decreasing the rest times. After that, you can start to experiment with different exercises so that you can see what works best for you.

Good luck!

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References

1.Beattie, K., Kenny, I., Lyons, M., & Carson, B. (2014). The effect of strength training on performance in endurance athletes. Sports Medicine, 44(6), 845-865. doi:10.1007/s40279-014-0157-y.

2.Mikkola, J., Rusko, H., Nummela, A., Pollari, T., & Häkkinen, K. (2007). Concurrent Endurance and Explosive Type Strength Training Improves Neuromuscular and Anaerobic Characteristics in Young Distance Runners. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 28(7), 602-611. doi:10.1055/s-2007-964849

3. Rønnestad, B. R., & Mujika, I. (2013). Optimizing strength training for running and cycling endurance performance: A review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(4), 603-612. doi:10.1111/sms.12104

4.Øfsteng, S., Sandbakk, Ø, Beekvelt, M. V., Hammarström, D., Kristoffersen, R., Hansen, J., . . . Rønnestad, B. R. (2017). Strength training improves double-poling performance after prolonged submaximal exercise in cross-country skiers. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(3), 893-904. doi:10.1111/sms.12990 5. Millet, G., Jaouen, B., Borrani, F., & Candou, R. (2002). Effects of concurrent endurance and strength training on running economy and .VO(2) kinetics. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 34(8), 1351-1359.

So, you’re looking to increase your cycling speed, your mile time, or improve whatever other endurance goals that you may have. You bring this up to your friend; a fellow cyclist. He tells you that he’s started to get more serious about lifting weights in the gym and has added a strength training routine to his cycling regimen. “But how would that improve your cycling ability?” you think to yourself. “That doesn’t make much sense.”

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Does Strength Training ACTUALLY Help With Your Cycling Abilities?

It actually makes quite a bit of sense. So much so that there are quite a few studies illustrating your friends’ case to be true. In one study of 19 elite female duathletes (meaning that they were both runners and cyclists), they were divided into two groups; either endurance training alone or endurance training combined with strength training. The strength training group performed lower-body exercises such as squats and leg presses, progressing to heavier weights as the 11-week study continued.

What this aforementioned study primarily discovered was that including strength training in conjunction with their endurance regimens was able to increase the athletes’ power output during 5-minute maximal cycling testing. Plus, this was performed in a fatigued state, as they had already performed both the strength training protocol as well as a 180-minute prolonged cycling session beforehand. Another related study with moderately-trained cyclists illustrated a significantly improved cycling economy and time to exhaustion after strength training. So we can definitely see here how strength training can help out with endurance performance!

Not so Fast, my Friend…

Although strength training is a great tool for us endurance athletes, it’s also not going to be your primary training focus. You should always prioritize your cycling-specific training over strength training. I say this because although significant parameters such as cycling economy and time to exhaustion were improved, more important endurance performance variables like VO2 max did not improve. They stayed exactly the same between both the study groups.

How About for Running?

There is much more data available about this than there is for cycling. In fact, there is so much evidence that authors of a 2018 paper were actually able to publish a systematic review on the topic. Basically, a systematic review is the combination of the results of similar studies within the same topic of examination.

Here, it was illustrated that for long-distance runners, running economy was improved by as much as 2-8% in 20 out of the 26 studies. Interestingly, this was seen in runners of all levels of experience; ranging from moderately-trained to elite-level athletes. And although adding strength training won’t improve your VO2 max as previously mentioned, it doesn’t hinder it either. This is a major plus, as there is a commonly misleading belief in the endurance athlete community that participating in strength training will cause a shift in adapting too much to non-aerobic training and will cause them to lose their endurance performance since these are two very different training stimuli. Fortunately, this doesn’t appear to be the case. The ability to train concurrently, meaning the utilization of two different training methods in order to reap the rewards of both, is definitely possible while mitigating any potential negative effects.

Inter-individual Variability

However, what we do have to keep in mind, just like with the cycling studies, is that inconsistencies do exist in the scientific literature. This is due to several hosts of factors, such as differences in a studies methodologies, which would be the way in which the researcher conducted the study. This would include things such as what variables they measured or what sort of training program they put them through. Also, science has a natural error associated with it due to the number of differences, or what we call in the scientific literature, “inter-individual variability”, between athletes. This is why researchers randomize subjects in their studies, however, although this may limit the effect that this variability plays, it still does exist to a slight degree.

Because of this, applying these previously mentioned strength training recommendations to your routine should be made with caution. Even though “the science” may say it works, everybody is unique and responds optimally to different things, so utilizing trial-and-error here is a must. But you’d be missing out if you didn’t at least try to apply strength training to your endurance routine for at least a 6-week time frame to truly see if it makes a difference in your performance.

How Do I Get Started?

I’d replicate what many of the studies in the systematic review used. In this way, you’d be using a training program that has been previously validated by researchers, which is what you want. This is what most of the studies in the systematic review used for their training programs:

Training Program Basics:

• 2-6 sets of 3-10 reps per exercise @ 70% of their 1-rep max
• 2-3x per week on average
• Utilize at least 1 multi-joint exercise, such as a squat or leg press
• Use a combination of both free weights and machines
• Utilized the concept of Progressive Overload, which basically states that you must increasingly challenge your body with each and every workout, such as by increasing weight and reps, decreasing rest time, etc.

I’d start out on the lower end of the set range, such as 2-3 sets for about 8-10 reps, which would allow you to work with lighter weights. In this way, you avoid burnout and you’re more likely to stick with the training program. Then, as you get stronger, you can progress from there.

Conclusion

So give this a shot. Chances are, as illustrated by the vast amount of scientific literature that’s available, it’ll help you improve your endurance performance more than your previously-held beliefs led you to think. The great thing about this is that it doesn’t take much additional time either; only 2-3x per week for about 45-60 minute sessions. This includes approximately 45-60 second rests between sets, so it won’t fatigue you too much, allowing you to keep up the same intensity in your endurance-specific training. Alright, now you’re armed with the tools, now go put it to good use. Let me know how it works out for you!

Looking for a strength and conditioning plan tailor made for endurance athletes? Check out our plan here!

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References

Blagrove, R. C., Howatson, G., & Hayes, P. R. (2017). Effects of Strength Training on the Physiological Determinants of Middle- and Long-Distance Running Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 48(5), 1117-1149. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0835-7

Sunde, A., Støren, Ø, Bjerkaas, M., Larsen, M. H., Hoff, J., & Helgerud, J. (2010). Maximal Strength Training Improves Cycling Economy in Competitive Cyclists. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(8), 2157-2165. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181aeb16a

Vikmoen, O., Rønnestad, B. R., Ellefsen, S., & Raastad, T. (2017). Heavy strength training improves running and cycling performance following prolonged submaximal work in well-trained female athletes. Physiological Reports, 5(5). doi:10.14814/phy2.13149