Strength & Conditioning Phase II
Max Strength Phase
What are we doing in this block of Tralee Triathlon Club’s Strength & Conditioning classes with Nisus Fitness? Joe O’Connor explains all.
Joe O’Connor instructing on correct form.
“This phase is the Max Strength phase and the area that so many endurance athletes overlook or even fear. Most endurance athletes are comfortable lifting light weights in an attempt to increase muscular endurance. I often pose the question,
“Do you think lifting those little weights for 20 reps is somehow going to represent the endurance benefits of your long bike ride, that lung bursting hill run or those endless laps in the pool?”
The answer is usually a confused “Ah Ha” moment followed by “I suppose not!”.
What are we doing in this phase?
The reality is that endurance athletes should aim to become stronger in the gym and work on the areas that are not trained by their endurance schedule. So once the body has adapted to the new stimulus (as in Phase 1: Anatomical Adaptation), it is time to challenge the athletes strength base in a range between 4 and 6 repetitions. At the moment we will be doing 4-6RM which means: “If you cant lift it 4 times, it’s too heavy. If you can easily lift it past 6 reps, its too light”. Also, for a muscle to grow (Hypertrophy) the optimal rep range is 8-12RM. We are not looking for muscle growth, we don’t need to bring extra weight around, we need greater Power to Weight ratios. For this we need force (strength) as power is equal to Force x Velocity.
Why are we doing this ?
So the purpose of this phase is to make each triathlete stronger across all disciplines. If an athlete can generate more force they can become more powerful:
“Again, Power is equal to Force multiplied by Velocity”.
It is often the case that the Triathlete (or Runner/Cyclist/Swimmer) will not yield the desired results from their tempo rides, speed run sessions or sprint swims when an insufficient force (strength) base exists or in general terms they are not strong enough to see the benefits of their discipline specific speed work. When endurance athletes get stronger in the big compound lifts such as deadlifts, lunges and squats they become more efficient bio-mechanically as well as numerous studies showing stronger athletes get injured less.
What’s next?
Phase 3 looks at converting this new found strength to power and you guessed it, we will be adding velocity to our training in the form of plyometric based movements and systems such as contrast training. By time Phase 3 ends we will see the beginning of the duathlon season and a real opportunity to unleash the new strong you in 2015.”
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