Should Runners and Cyclists Strength Train Year Round?

Many runners and cyclists see the cold winter months as a good time to get in the gym in order to build some strength and address injuries and imbalances that accumulated during the previous year of running or riding. 

But with the spring and warmer weather fast approaching, the tendency often to greatly reduce or even completely cease from strength training until winter returns and the cold weather forces them back indoors. While a reduction in gym time can certainly be part of the plan as you increase your endurance training and prepare for early season races, it's important to still carve out some time during the week to maintain the strength you worked hard to build during the winter months.

Unfortunately we don’t get to keep what we neglect to train for extended periods of time. You wouldn’t take 9 months off from running or cycling and expect to not lose any fitness. The same is true for strength training. The qualities you developed during the off season with strength training (strength, muscle, explosiveness, fatigue resistance, load tolerance, etc.) won’t stay with you through the late summer and fall if you stop doing it in March. This is why it’s important to keep dosing it in as regularly as possible, year-round, if it’s to have its desired effect for performance and injury prevention. 

Thankfully it doesn’t take much to maintain the strength qualities you’ve developed during the winter months, and you’ll find it takes a lot less time and energy to maintain what you’ve built than it took to build it in the first place. Assuming you’ve built a solid foundation of movement and strength, even just a minimum dose of one or two short, focused strength sessions a week can suffice during a busy period of racing or endurance training.

So don’t let those weights collect too much dust this spring! 

Want to learn about how to schedule your strength alongside your endurance training this year? Shoot me a message and let’s make 2024 your strongest one yet!