The biggest mistake I see in runners and cyclists' strength training

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TRAINING BREAKDOWN

“Don’t let your strength work become your fifth run/ride of the week.

By Emma O’Toole

Hello and welcome to our 50th BUILT TO ENDURE newsletter edition, we’ve got another 30 or so in the archives, but I just wanted to say thank you for your time in reading these newsletters and supporting a small business. Each newsletter is roughly 1,000 words and it is me writing every one, I hope you’ve been enjoying the content!

In today’s newsletter, we’re diving into why your strength sessions shouldn’t just feel like another run or ride. Strength training has a very different role to play in your performance and treating it like another cardio activity means you’re not getting the benefits you want.

I’ll explain why understanding the purpose behind your strength work is key, and why it should never just replicate your running or cycling training

Let’s get into it.

Why different matters

Long run. Lactate threshold. Recovery ride. VO2 intervals. Tempo session.
You know each one serves a specific purpose*:
Different intensity → Different stimulus → Different outcome.

So why would your strength training look like just another conditioning session?

(*unsure on this? refer a friend to this newsletter and get the cheatbook on training zones- see end of this email).

Strength work isn’t meant to feel like more endurance training. If it does, it’s probably not doing its job. We get structure in our running and cycling because we’ve learned that random sessions lead to random results.

Yet so many everyday runners and cyclists walk into the gym, or pick up the weights at home and… wing it… aiming to get their heart pumping and sweat dripping as that’s what they’re used to from their endurance training. These ‘strength sessions’ look more like circuit HIIT style bootcamps with no clear focus, no long-term progression; they’re just moving for the sake of moving.

And then they wonder why nothing’s improving, or worse, why they keep getting injured.

Different workouts, different outcomes.

You wouldn’t go out and do a threshold run when the goal is recovery.
You wouldn’t do back-to-back long run/rides during your taper before the race.

The same logic applies with your strength training.

Every session should have a clear purpose. It might be to build strength, power, stability, or tissue resilience. This is why if your strength session feel like a sweaty bootcamp, you're blurring the lines between training systems. You're asking your body to “get stronger” but not actually giving it the stimulus it needs to do so.

The purpose of strength training

Let’s just quickly revisit what strength training is actually for:

• Building force production

• Improving endurance economy

• Strengthening joints, tendons, and connective tissue

• Improving neuromuscular coordination (better movement = better performance)

• Reducing injury risk

• Supporting recovery and resilience

It’s not there to spike your heart rate, it’s not there to make you sweat buckets and it’s not supposed to “feel like another run/bike workout.”

It’s there to make you a better runner or cyclist.

Train, don’t chase soreness and fatigue.

When strength training is done well, it can feel a bit underwhelming, especially if you're used to equating exhaustion with effort.

That’s a mindset shift many endurance athletes need to make.

Getting stronger means lifting with intent, being purposeful with your movement and weight choices, resting between sets, tracking progress over weeks and months and not hammering yourself into the ground every time you touch a dumbbell aligning a “good session” with one that leaves with shaky legs and stumbling down the stairs for the next couple of days.

You wouldn't do Vo2 max intervals with no rest, so treat strength training any differently?

Know your purpose

Every session you do should serve a purpose, just like with your running/riding. This is even more important with the plethora of free strength training plans out there.

Before you embark on a strength workout, ask yourself:

• What adaptation am I chasing?

• Does this support my running or riding goals?

• Am I just doing this for the sake of feeling like I’ve done something?

Even the free strength training plans I offer may not be right for you right now. Let’s take the example of a cyclist who has been strength training on and off for the last 12 months and has recently spend 4 weeks doing that free plan. This cyclist is now likely ready to progress, to introduce loads, to challenge their body in a different way to what that plan offers. It’s been a great starting point, but now they’re ready for more- they’re chasing a different adaptation to support their cycling goals.

A solid strength training programme has you moving with control, intent, consistency and it builds progressively just as in our BUILT TO RUN OVER 30 and BUILT TO RIDE OVER 30 twelve week strength training programme.

Don’t let your strength work become your fifth run/ride of the week.
Let it be what it’s supposed to be: the thing that keeps you moving, performing, and progressing for the long haul.

Want help making your strength work more strategic? That’s exactly what I do.

Let me know and I’ll show you how to build a plan that actually works, please reply to this email, or get in touch here, I do actually read every single one and it is me replying to you, not ChatGPT.

Don’t forget to also check out our fantastic free community for ongoing support and help with your training.

Have a great Sunday!

Emma

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