Where to fit in the strength work?

So if you’re a runner, cyclist, or triathlete, when is the best time to get some strength work in?

I think it’s worth acknowledging a few things.

First, your strength training will not, and should not, be optimal. You’re an endurance athlete. And as such your main focus should be running, cycling, swimming, or whatever discipline you choose.

If you’re doing it right, you’re either recovering from a difficult workout, or have recovered from said difficult workout…which probably means you’ve got another tough one on the horizon you’d like to be fresh for.

In an ideal world, to optimize strength development, you’d only lift only when your muscular and nervous systems are completely recovered. That just isn’t a reality for you.

This is probably a good time to qualify what I mean by “strength training.”

First, I do not mean core work, balance drills, foot strengthening, or other types of foo-foo thera-band exercises that all too often get lumped into the category of “strength.” That stuff is nice, and necessary, but you can kind of do that any time — it’s not true strength work.

I’m talking about lifting heavy and hard with the explicit intent of increasing maximum force output. Strength training requires focus and drive. It’s maximum or near-maximum effort. It’s taxing. It’s typically less than 6 reps. It should involve lot of rest between efforts. And it involves complex movements requiring a high degree of motor skill like squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull-ups, and pressing variations.

So now that we’ve got that covered, where do we stick the gym sessions? Save it for your easy days when you have more time? Prior to longer efforts to “pre-fatigue” the muscles”? Only do it in the off-season when you’re further away from competition?

Here’s the thing: Keep training polarized. Strength work can be thought of as just a more intense training session (Intensity being defined as a percentage of maximum effort, not as a measure of difficulty as is often done). Therefore in keeping with the principle of “keep you easy days easy, and your hard days hard”…it makes sense to bundle strength and speed/quality together.

But don’t lift right before the speed/quality workout. Doing so will screw with motor patterns and only lead to a suboptimal workout in your discipline of choice.

In an ideal world: Strength training after higher-intensity workouts provides the greatest opportunity for recovery before another difficult session.

If you aren’t a pro and can’t logistically pull this off, just do your best. Don’t let it interfere with key workouts, but protect your off days.

There are so many other points and “what if’s” to talk about with regards to this topic. But the main idea is to understand that true strength work is the ultimate expression of intensity, both metabolically and neurologically. Unless it’s the main focus of your training (which it likely isn’t), package that stuff together with your speed work, climbing, and other high-intensity sessions.