Right now, large chunk of world’s population is stuck at home. Gyms are closed and some are not even allowed to leave for a run. How awful! I am lucky in that I have a bike set up on an indoor trainer, so my fitness won’t all just go away. I thought though that this is a great moment to discuss importance of getting some strength training in. It’s a great moment to incorporate that into your life, since your options for cardio are limited. You should also have extra time, since you don’t have to commute. Well, unless you have kids at home. But that’s a whole another story (and go to my daughter’s page, NataliasFitness.com to deal with that 😉).
Since you’re probably stuck inside (like majority of us are), here is a pretty picture of the great outdoors (I will be adding them sporadically and off-topic, just so you have something nice to look at):
When you ask the internet if you should or should not lift weights when you’re training for endurance races, you will end up saying ‘I’m sorry I asked’. I know I sure had that feeling! There are two camps at a vicious war on each side of this fight and both have some reasonable arguments and scientific studies to throw at you. I did learn a couple of things though.
First off, if you are an endurance athlete, you are unlikely to get bulky. Doing your regular long runs, rides or swims will keep your muscle from growing huge. Well, that’s good news, since nobody wants to carry extra pounds up those hills on a bike! We don’t spend all that money on getting our bikes lighter just to make ourselves heavy!
However, replacing your endurance training sessions with weight lifting will compromise your performance during races. Well, that makes sense. It’s also not great if you lift so much that your muscle is always overly fatigued and damaged. That will compromise your ability to experience full benefits of core training sessions. Need for rest & recovery still holds true.
I have read some studies that when they made professional athletes add strength training to their routine, there was no improvement. What’s more, cyclists got slower. Woah! Not cool!
Yeah, those were the pros though. For amateurs (like myself), strength training did improve overall fitness. Speaking of improving overall fitness: this is where the real deal with strength training is hiding. Weightlifting (if done right) leads to stronger joints and ligaments. Based on personal experiences: it can also help you straighten out various imbalances in your muscle tone and help you keep correct running/ biking/ swimming form. I have a damaged hip from ages ago and general tendency to hurt myself in rather creative ways. With Diana (my personal trainer and goddess of all things fitness), we have been working on fixing all those issues. And guess what? Answer is most of the time lifting weights. At correct loads. With correct form. Very specific exercises. It made me stronger and faster. What’s more important: it helps me get over various issues faster.
So what’s the verdict? Weightlifting can be your ally in endurance training, as long as you do it the right way.
I hope you enjoyed variety of outdoor pics, too! I have been browsing IG a lot for those, since I miss being outside.