I’ve been doing a lot of research and writing lately as I’ve got a series of articles I’m working on for Running Times online, so I thought I’d take a break from the heavy science based articles and running form and give you visual learners something slightly different. I’ve covered the topic of the importance of strength endurance training and non-specific lactate training in depth before (here and here among other places).  To help summarize the process of developing strength endurance, I’d like to share a powerpoint presentation I’ve given in the past.  It goes through why we need to develop strength endurance and then a 5 step process in how to accomplish that goal.  Hopefully you find it useful.

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    8 Comments

    1. Bill Blancett on August 18, 2010 at 5:23 pm

      Hey man I digg this stuff!

      Bill

    2. Ben on August 19, 2010 at 1:40 am

      Steve,
      Thanks for posting this. I've been incorporating a lot of information from previous posts into my training this summer. It's really cool to see that I've been doing it mostly right and how to continue to improve upon it.
      Thanks again!

    3. Evan on August 19, 2010 at 2:28 pm

      Steve this post is great, but I do have a question about it i'd like for you to answer.
      if this is the proper way to lift and do strength training for distance runners is there any appropriate place for high rep training on dynamic -exercises such as lunges, band work, crunches, etc.?

    4. Matt on August 20, 2010 at 4:13 am

      nice presentation. Really interested in how the long run fits in. Has anyone shown that when we go over a certain length-time that the total pool of fibers recruited is greater as some of the ST become fatigued?

    5. Anonymous on August 20, 2010 at 5:05 pm

      in regards to matt, the book ''explosive running'' addresses that and many other topics, it may be hard to find a copy though. but to answer your question that has been proved to happen through the studies in that book

    6. stevemagness on August 20, 2010 at 6:30 pm

      Thanks for the comments, glad ya'll found it useful.

      Evan- There's a use for almost every training type. High-rep dynamic work serves as a great, and sometimes necessary, base of work to do before doing any complex/heavy lifting. It's also useful for exercises aimed at the core, where max strength or neural attributes aren't as important when running.

      Matt- I'm not a fan of the Dr. Yessis' book explosive running. A lot of bad info in it in my opinion. But to answer your question, the long run is a great way to work on general strength endurance. In particular, a long run the day after a hard workout. You'll have residual fatigue from the workout forcing the long run to work on slightly different fibers.

      As far as muscle recruitment and long runs, it's a hot topic because some don't feel like you can violate the size principle, but my feeling is that yes at the end of long runs, the harder to recruit fibers cycle in and help with the work.

      The problem is there's no way to directly measure it. If we look at glycogen depletion studies that take muscle biopsies, at the end of long runs FT fibers are significantly depleted, showing that it's likely these fibers were active. Similarly, muscle EMG studies show an increase in activity at the end of longer/fatiguing runs.

    7. Anonymous on September 3, 2010 at 1:33 am

      Steve, what is your impression of the AIS stretching that for example Phil Wharton promotes?

    8. Anonymous on September 11, 2010 at 4:47 pm

      thanks steve for excellent article.
      when would you incoparate the different types of strength endurance training in a training program?
      do you think there should be different phases for example kick workouts in the comp/racing phase, general hill ciruit in the base/pre comp and hill sprints throughout the training program?

      many thanks

      chris

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