Do I need to strength train if I already complete “strength endurance” sessions?
Specific to endurance training, coaches and athletes may prescribe ‘strength-endurance’ sessions to improve strength, such as swimming with paddles, cycling in a big gear, or running hills. During these ‘strength-endurance’ sessions, an athlete will complete hundreds or even thousands of repetitions for each of these movements (eg. if a runner runs uphill at a cadence of 170 steps per minute for 2 minutes, they will complete 340 repetitions and may repeat this multiple times in a session). These ‘strength’ parameters do not conform with more traditional strength training prescription and therefore do not encompass strength training, despite the implementation of these sessions with the goal of ‘improving strength.’ Therefore, technically, ‘strength-endurance’ sessions are still classified as endurance training sessions, rather than strength training sessions.
It is important to note that certain levels of mechanical loading are required to create improvements in neuromuscular efficiency to improve endurance athletic performance. Improvements in some of these neuromuscular factors have only been observed in response to strength training, further supporting the need to include appropriate strength training for optimal performance in endurance athletes.
For example, a study examining the additional completion of a 90-minute low cadence session (40rpm at 73-82% of heart rate maximum) 2x per week for 12 weeks did not increase either aerobic capacity, cycling performance or leg strength. In comparison, the control group who completed the same session but at a freely chosen cadence improved both their aerobic capacity and cycling performance.
This does not mean however that low cadence or ‘strength-endurance’ sessions do not have their place in endurance training. Other studies have shown that the inclusion of low cadence cycling (closer to 60rpm) has been associated with increases in testosterone, maximal oxygen uptake and uphill and flat 20-minute time-trials. Rather, it is important to acknowledge that strength training traditionally performed in a gym and ‘strength-endurance’ sessions work in varying ways improve an athletes performance. Both can be included in a well-rounded endurance athlete’s program for optimal performance improvements.
Supporting literature:
Luckin-Baldwin, K. M., Badenhorst, C. E., Cripps, A. J., Landers, G. J., Merrells, R. J., Bulsara, M. K., & Hoyne, G. F. (2022) Strength Training for Long-Distance Triathletes: Theory to Practice. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 44(1) 1-14. DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000660
Nimmerichter, A., Eston, R., Bachl, N., & Williams, C. (2012). Effects of low and high cadence interval training on power output in flat and uphill cycling time-trials. European journal of applied physiology, 112(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-1957-5
Kristoffersen, M., Gundersen, H., Leirdal, S., & Iversen, V. V. (2014). Low cadence interval training at moderate intensity does not improve cycling performance in highly trained veteran cyclists. Frontiers in physiology, 5, 34. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00034
Paton, C. D., Hopkins, W. G., & Cook, C. (2009). Effects of low- vs. high-cadence interval training on cycling performance. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 23(6), 1758–1763. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b3f1d3
