Become a Stronger Triathlete With Heavy Weight Lifting
It is now well established that strength training is not only a helpful add-on for endurance athletes but also an integral part of a well-balanced training program. It’s important for injury prevention and a fantastic performance booster. However, there are still some myths that must be busted surrounding the topic of strength training. There continues to be a pervasive narrative that endurance athletes, runners, cyclists, etc., should mimic the way they train for their sport in the gym, i.e., a high number of repetitions and a low weight. We now know that lifting heavy with lower reps, and heavy is personal for every athlete, can be tremendously beneficial for endurance athletes of all ages and backgrounds. Today, we will explore how you can incorporate heavy lifting into your strength training regime. We will also examine the reasons why heavy lifting can be such a great performance catalyst for endurance athletes.
Let’s get rolling:
The Purple Patch Strength Program
Strength training is one of the Purple Patch Pillars of Performance. We incorporate year-long strength training programs into all of our athletes’ schedules. Spending time resistance training will improve postural fitness and allow every athlete to perform their sport more efficiently and, therefore, move faster. Additionally, lifting weights strengthens everything from your muscles and bones to your tendons and ligaments -- everything necessary to make the levers in your body run smoothly and powerfully.
However, our program is not simply ‘go to the gym a few times a week.’ It is structured both short-term and long-term, and, crucially, changes according to athletes’ racing schedules. Long story short, strength development is prioritized pre and post-season while maintenance and stability work is prioritized in-season. Of course, depending on the individual, there can be some shift in when heavier lifting is prescribed. It is dependent mainly on personal experience levels and reaction to the weight lifting stimulus.
‘Heavy’ Lifting
Let’s address the elephant in the room, heavy lifting. What do I mean by ‘heavy?’ Like most things, it’s personal. Heavy for one person can be entirely different from heavy for another. From a technical perspective, heavy simply means enough weight (force) to break down muscle fibers for them to be rebuilt stronger. In terms of numbers, if you are performing 8 repetitions of an exercise, the final one or two repetitions should feel like an 8 out of 10 in RPE. At Purple Patch, we are sticklers for good form. If you can’t lift it without jeopardizing your form, it’s too heavy.
Why Lift Heavy
We as triathletes are regularly engaging in a cycle of quick, light reps, e.g., the pedal stroke, the stride, and the swim stroke. By slowing down these movements and focusing on the muscles that drive them, we can enhance coordination. Efficiency is key in endurance events. We are always aiming to go faster while expending less energy. Beyond this, there are numerous biological adaptations caused exclusively by lifting heavy:
Build Muscle: Muscle growth and maintenance are especially important for female athletes and athletes in their later years. These groups traditionally find it difficult to retain and build muscle, and heavy lifting can remedy this.
Increase Power Production and Postural Fitness: Increasing power production is a no-brainer, and it doesn’t only apply to cycling. And, postural fitness is the backbone of efficiency. You need a solid and balanced core to maintain optimal swimming, pedaling, and running for extended periods.
Reduce Injury Risk: Lifting heavy is especially helpful to remove the imbalances that commonly lead to overuse injuries.
Improve Body Composition: As has already been noted, heavy lifting builds muscle effectively, and muscle burns fat. The less fat we carry (up to a point), the faster we can move.
Optimize Sleep: You weren’t expecting this were you. Heavy lifting does not necessarily lead to better sleep because it makes you tired, but it benefits the quality of your sleep. This is due to:
The release of high quantities of adenosine, causing drowsiness.
The anabolic process of muscle synthesis releases hormones that cause the body to slow down activity and thus allow it to resynthesize muscles and help you sleep deeply.
Improved measures in Endothelial function improve blood vessel dilation and lead to improved circulation, lower blood pressure, better immune response, and, ultimately, relax the body.
Heavy lifting can elevate your athletic performance and general well-being, but, as with most things, there are risks involved. If you are an inexperienced lifter or suffering from an injury exacerbated by weight lifting, you should proceed with caution when it comes to heavier loads. If necessary, you may have to avoid heavy lifting. However, this does not mean you cannot engage in a different, lighter load-based strength program.
Heavy Lifting Will Not Make You Slow
A common misconception in the endurance community is that spending too much time in the gym will bulk you up and slow you down. Allow me to debunk this outdated, and misinformed opinion:
The stimulus required to build significant muscle requires supporting strength and recovery work that endurance athletes don’t commonly engage in (nor should they). Additionally, the large volume of low-stress aerobic activity incorporated into endurance athletes’ schedules will prevent muscle hypertrophy (growth).
The length of a program required to build significant muscle is longer than the time we dedicate to heavy lifting during our post-season.
In a similar vein, the weights we lift in-season are lighter and, therefore, will not create excess fatigue that interferes with other training.
Finally, say you do build some extra muscle. Is it the end of the world, and will it actually make you slower? No and no, quite the opposite. Long-distance endurance athletes can benefit tremendously from putting on some muscle mass in the postseason, especially, if they have an extended race season. The extra mass can make athletes more resilient, and, contrary to what the media tells you, being light does not always mean fast.
Example Workouts and Exercises
Many of our athletes are juggling full-time jobs, families, and an already packed training schedule. So, how can they possibly have time for a year-long strength program too? Well, below, I’ve outlined several of the most time-efficient exercises you should focus on if you’ve only got 30 or 40 minutes to spare:
Deadlift: The best all-around exercise for triathletes. It works full-body and is an excellent posture trainer.
Front Squat: Good for spinal strength but not overly stressful for the spine, which the back squat can be. It is also great for the core and the famous triple extension muscles, the ankles, knees, and hips.
Pull Up: A simple yet difficult exercise, perfect for both activating and strengthening the swimming muscles.
Reverse Lunge: The best exercise for total leg strength. It is especially beneficial for hip extension and single-leg triple extension.
Hang Clean: Another full-body exercise, slightly more complicated than the deadlift but better for explosive power, coordination, and posture.
Overhead Press: Another simple but effective upper body exercise that’s good for mobility and strength in the swim.
Ready to Start
A full year-round, progressive, video-based strength and conditioning program is integrated into every Purple Patch training program. Whether coached individually, a part of Squad or leveraging the Purple Patch Strength Program, you can incorporate smart strength training into your performance life. This time of year provides an excellent opportunity to prepare your body for the coming season of performance. With Matt Dixon, the Purple Patch coaches, and the entire community of Purple Patch athletes all on the strength journey, you are sure to benefit from the global support, community, and accountability that it brings. Join us!