Hello Reader,

Welcome to Vol. 006 of The Endure EQ.

Every week you'll get a deep dive into a topic related to endurance training, maximizing your potential or reaching peak performance.

Let’s jump in.

How to start training for strength without sacrificing your endurance training

Strength training is important for all endurance athletes.

But it usually becomes a secondary focus and neglected in pursuit of more time for SBR. Having a short, consistent strength training routine will keep your body healthy while training for endurance. Make it a part of your training schedule and not an after thought.

By the end of this post you will understand when you should strength train, how you should train, what you should include and how to build your own program.

Why it’s important to have strength training

The #1 reason why you should include strength training it to be a faster triathlete.

Strength training is the easiest way to increase power & strength in sport and out of sport.

I have heard every excuse in the book out there on why NOT to include strength training:

“It takes away from endurance training.”
“It makes me too sore before running.”
“It is boring.”
“It takes too long.”

But the benefits for me outweigh every one of these concerns:

Bone and joint health
Carrying stuff with easy
Tendon and muscle resilience
Feeling incredibly strong
Injury prevention

You’re putting your body through a lot of endurance training. To minimize risk of injury you will want to add in some strength training to build resilience in your muscles, tendons, and bones.

You can’t go wrong getting strong.

When to do it in relation to your endurance training

The biggest question with strength training is when to do it in relation to endurance training.

And there are few different options.

There appears to be a small interference effect when training both strength and endurance. Meaning you might not be able to maximize both at the same time.

So, a good rule of thumb is: Train the more important one first.

If in season, do your endurance training first followed by strength

If out of season and prioritizing body composition changes or physique then do strength first and follow with endurance training.

Plan your strength within your regular training schedule making it easy to complete.

Some options I like:

Perform after a swim (if your pool has a gym)
First thing in the AM; PM session easy endurance
Right after an easy endurance session

Balancing each is the challenge.

But remember, endurance and strength compliment each other. Building more strength will help you train more and train faster. Both big goals for most endurance athletes.

Adjusting your sessions through the season

Your strength workouts don’t need to look the same the entire way though the season.

Make minor adjustments throughout the season:

Sustainable = strength & muscle building
Race prep = maintain & strong movements
Race ready = body weight & movement verity

Over the season you can and should adjust your workouts to meet your overall goals. Let one take priority early season and decrease strength as you prepare to race.

What exercises are most important

Movement patterns over exercises

There are no ‘perfect’ exercises specifically for triathlon. You should look to include exercises that fall into the key 7 movement patterns.

This will build a well-rounded program.

The big 7 patterns: - Push - Pull - Squat - Hinge - Carry - Lunge - Rotation/Anti-rotation

The EE Strength Stack

Hitting these patterns consistently will set you up with a good program.

In addition to those exercises, here are a few exercises that all triathletes would benefit from using. Making sure we take care of shoulders, core stability/rotation, and glutes.

The EE Strength Stack:

Single-leg hip hinge
Glute bridge
Shoulder external rotation
Bear Press
Side Plank Clam Shell
Wall Stars

Single-leg exercises

The last type of movement to consider is single-leg exercises. As triathletes there are many times we are training with out body weight on one leg.

One example is the single leg deadlift which works on your hinging ability but also work on glute, hamstring and trunk strength.

You also get the added benefit of balance when training with single-leg exercises. These will quickly show you if there are any side to side differences in your strength.

Try to include some single-leg progressions.

Session formats for you to try

Now that you have too many exercises to do, let’s talk about how to arrange them into a workout.

2 formats I use:

With either option, start with 2 sessions per training week. But you can easily increase this to 3 or 4 depending on what your goals are.

Repeat these sessions for 3-5 weeks before adding in new exercises or switching exercises around.

Reps, sets and how hard to work

Reps and sets

There are many different ways to program your sessions to maximize strength.

If you are just starting out aim for:

3-4 sets
8-12 reps

This range will allow you to build strength and not be in a range that you could injure yourself.

If you truly want to maximize strength you will need higher loads and lower reps.

There are slightly different ranges for strength, hypertrophy and power. The above will safely get you started with strength training.

How hard to work: Rule of 2’s

Figuring out how hard to train for strength is tough.

You can use RPE as a guide. Strength training should be around 6-7 to build strength.

You also want to be pushing close to fatigue.

You can use the Rule of 2 as a guide:

On the last set if you can do more than 2 reps for 2 consecutive workouts then you need to increase the weight on the next session.

This use’s the principle of overload and makes sure you are adding enough load to build strength.

How to build your first strength workout and complete it within your triathlon training schedule

Step 1: Pick your preferred format

Chose one of the 2 formats and templates:

Tri-sets
Upper/lower split

Tri-sets are a little quicker to perform, while upper/lower split will give you a more comprehensive program.

Step 2: Add in specific movements and exercises

Using the lists above pick exercises or movements that fit into each of the templates.

Don’t be afraid to add in any other exercises you like. (IG is a great source of inspiration if you know where to add the exercises.)

You now have 2-4 workouts ready to go.

Step 3: Decide on reps and sets

I recommend you start here first:

3-4 sets
8-12 reps

Adjust this if you have different goals. Lower reps/higher weight will build more strength. More reps and pushing to fatigue will build muscle.

Step 4: Determine your starting weight

For your first session, pick a weight that feels 6-7 RPE.

After the first week narrow down your weights using 70% of your max or the rule of 2’s.

It’s perfectly okay to go lighter the first few sessions while you learn the patterns.

Step 5: Track progress with lifting

Set a method of tracking your weights, reps and sets so that you can measure progress. Measuring what you lift will help you build strength by continually progressing.

I love TrainHeroic to build and track my strength workouts.

Step 6: Adjust through your season

After 5-6 weeks you can start to swap out exercises. Maintain a similar pattern to your workouts so it is familiar.

As you get closer to race day you can drop sets and weight to allow for more rest for your body.

I usually do body-weight work in the 2 weeks prior to race-day.

Get started today.

Following these steps will get you started with strength training. Look to build the habit of training before optimizing. There are many 'optimal' ways to strength train but the one that works is consistently showing up.

Recap:

Strength training is important for all endurance athletes for tissue resilience, power and performance.
You can start with as little as 2 workouts per week and see gains in your performance.
Tailor your strength training to your seasonal and personal goals.

Thank you for being here!

- Chandler

When you’re ready here are 3 ways that Excel Endurance by Chandler Scott can help you:

Join our free community: find more resources, ask questions, and share workout ideas. Join Community
EE Training Squad: Monthly sustainable training and access to on-demand race programs. Join Squad
1-1 Coaching: Take your training to the next level with 1-1 access to Chandler. Coaching Request

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The Endure EQ Vol. 006 | how to start training for strength without sacrificing your endurance training