Why Endurance Athletes Need Real Strength Training
If you're an endurance athlete, you likely understand the importance of cardiovascular fitness in your sport. However, many endurance athletes don’t realize the value of incorporating strength training into their routine. Even when they do lift weights, they often fall into a common trap: turning a strength session into a pseudo-cardio workout.
The Mistake: Turning Strength Into Endurance
Endurance athletes tend to gravitate toward what they’re good at: high reps, low weight, short rest. But that’s not strength training.
Common signs you're turning a strength session into an endurance one:
Doing sets of 15+ reps with light weight
Taking minimal rest between sets (e.g., <30 seconds)
Choosing exercises that spike your heart rate more than they load your muscles
If your strength session feels like a spin class or a HIIT workout, you’re probably not getting the strength adaptations you need.
Why Strength Training Matters for Endurance Athletes
Strength training can feel unfamiliar and even uncomfortable for endurance-focused athletes. But it builds foundational qualities that improve your endurance performance:
1. Increased Muscle Efficiency
Strength training enhances neuromuscular coordination and motor unit recruitment. That means more power output with less effort—especially crucial during hill climbs, surges, or sprints.
2. Improved Neuromuscular Efficiency
The NSCA reports that “resistance training has a strong influence on an athlete’s neuromuscular function… resistance training can elevate the athlete’s lactate threshold, movement efficiency, and ability to engage in high-intensity activities”.
3. Injury Prevention
Depending on your sport there can be an uneven use of muscles during certain movement patterns. Strength training allows us to develop and strengthen muscles for all of your muscle groups. Lifting strengthens tendons, ligaments, and stabilizing muscles. That improves joint resilience and helps prevent overuse injuries that can be common in endurance sports.
4. Improves Power To Weight Ratio
When you build strength and or specially train power/plymetrics your power to weight ratio improves which allows you to produce more force with every stride whole also keeping an appropriate body composition for your sport.
Some Strength Training Guidelines
To facilitate a good strength training routine follow these principles:
Lift Heavy : Choose weights that challenge you in the 3–12 rep range.
Use Compound Movements: Squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses—these hit multiple muscle groups and improve overall strength.
Take Rest Seriously: 2–3 minutes between sets allows for recovery and maximizes strength gains.
Train 2x/week: Training two times a week helps increase frequency and consistency needed to support strength gains.
Sources:https://www.usatriathlon.org/articles/training-tips/importance-and-benefits-of-advanced-strength-training-for-endurance-athleteshttps://www.nsca.com/education/articles/kinetic-select/resistance-trainings-effect-on-endurance-performance/?srsltid=AfmBOop9NFRIDQbMPd_lxNDfWbduNO8maQCVCfXmS4Vj3Ho4XIjGNeeT