Are you over 35 years of age? Do you have a limited amount of training time? Do you want to reverse — or at least slow down — as many aspects of the aging process as possible? Are you an endurance athlete looking for an extra edge? Do you want to boost power, reduce fatigue, guard against injury and increase your late-race energy reserves?
Well, who doesn’t? And strength training can be the tool to help you accomplish each of these universally sought-after benefits. In fact, strength, or resistance, training is one of the most commonly overlooked means to improve endurance athletic performance.
All too many triathletes sacrifice strength training in favor of additional swim, bike or run sessions. This is unwise. In fact, a well-executed strength-training program can allow you to carve up to 25 percent out of your swim, bike and run volume while improving performance and enjoying better race-day results.
I fought going to the gym for years until I reached my mid-30s. Suddenly, speed work started to look more like steady-state training, and I could no longer override a lack of power on climbs with desire. My race performances started to suffer. I could see that even with a huge volume of miles out on the roads, my fitness was not what it was in my 20s.
Adding resistance training was the next step, but I had a problem. I had no idea how to design and integrate a strength program into triathlon training. I was also intimidated by the gym because I felt like the scrawny weakling on the beach compared to the hulks pushing around weights that would crush me. So there I was, the Ironman champion, embarrassed to go into the gym.
But my desire to win was even stronger than my embarrassment. I was introduced to a top strength coach, a woman named Diane Buchta. She led me through an entire season of weights, focusing on building overall body strength and, eventually, muscular speed.
The results were dramatic. In the first full season I used [a strength program] I won the Triple Crown of Triathlon: the Nice International Triathlon, the Zofingen duathlon, and the Hawaii IRONMAN.
Mark Allen on Strength Training
February 25, 2018
Fitness fitness, running, strength training Leave a comment
Running and Shooting Demographics
October 1, 2017
Promotion cardio, fitness, participation rates, road race, running, Running USA Leave a comment
Running USA reported on road race participation numbers.
2016 State of the Sport – U.S. Road Race Trends
The second running boom appears to be backing off as runners retreat from non-traditional races.
More
Preparation
September 5, 2016
Fitness, Shooting fitness, tactical training Leave a comment
A nice quote from Greg Everett. This applies equally to problems in fitness training and tactical training.
“Being prepared for any random task is not the same thing as preparing randomly for any task.”
P90X3 Results
May 15, 2015
Fitness fitness, P90X, physical training, Tony Horton Leave a comment
Four Buzzfeed staffers follow P90X3 for three months and report on their “gains.”
https://www.yahoo.com/health/we-worked-out-for-90-days-straight-and-this-is-118867976882.html
TL;DR
Starting advice to the 150 pound, 11% BF, 22 BMI male was there was “no need” to gain muscle mass or size, though it was suggested to the 140 pound, 8.8% BF male to gain a bit.
Results of 90 days were a few pounds lost among the females and a slight increase in size on the small male who is now almost 150 pounds (9 pounds gained) after three months. No report on any actual fitness or performance metric was taken or mentioned.
Rifle Shooting May Predict Your Lifespan
November 13, 2014
ConventionalShooter, Fitness bench rest, Claudio Gil Araujo, Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic, Discover Magazine, European Journal of Cardiology, fitness, Sitting-Rising Test 5 Comments
Simple Sitting Test Predicts How Long You’ll Live
Flexibility, balance and muscle strength are key indicators of longevity.
by Becky Lang
Discover Magazine November 2013
http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/05-sit-down
Brazilian physician Claudio Gil Araujo noticed long ago patients having trouble with motions such as bending down to pick up something off the floor or easily rising from a seated position indicated a loss of muscle, balance, and flexibility, all which indicate an increased chance of mortality.
Araujo eventually developed a simple test requiring no equipment called the Sitting-Rising Test. In a study published in the European Journal of Cardiology, Araujo had more than 2,000 patients ages 51 to 80 at at Clinimex Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro take the SRT. The study concluded that people scoring less then eight points on the SRT were twice as likely to die within the next six years compared with those scoring higher and scoring scored three points or less indicated a 500% increased chance of dying within the same period compared with those scoring more than eight points. Each point increase in SRT score was associated with a 21 percent decrease in mortality from all causes.
To perform the SRT, sit down on the ground. Using no support is a perfect score of five. Using your hands or forearms on the ground or your body to help is a one point deduction for each contact. Appearing to lose balance is a half point. Then stand up, with the same scoring and deductions. Add them together for total score.
These illustrations from Discover Magazine shows how to perform the Sitting-Rising Test (SRT).
If you imagine a rifle in that woman’s hands, you’ll notice she basically assumed a cross leg sitting position. Being able to get smoothly into and out of a sitting position with a rifle in your hands and using minimal to no support to do so yields a high SRT score. As with your marksmanship, shooting seated from a bench is also harmful to your health.
Medical professionals have spoken. An ability to get into and out of rifle shooting positions indicates a maintenance of sufficient muscle, flexibility, and balance for a long, healthy life. Dry practice and live fire regularly from field shooting positions. It’s for your health!
More:
http://startingstrength.com/training/modifying-the-program-for-geezers
Some research indicates strength training may be more effective for heart health and overall health than cardio, especially for older people.
https://knowridge.com/2018/11/for-older-people-weight-training-is-more-important-than-cardio-exercise/
https://nypost.com/2018/11/19/lifting-weights-is-better-for-your-heart-than-cardio-study/
