Endurance And Strength

Endurance is king. Praised as one of the highest of qualities by Buddha, St. Paul and social leaders such as Gandhi and the Reverend Martin Luther King. The ability to endure is inspiring in the breadth of what can be achieved in its nurturing. I have always been drawn to stories of great endurance and eager to test my own abilities to endure. From early outings of hiking, running and climbing to the sport of kettlebell lifting and now ultra running physical endurance has been a way of life for me. And the lessons we learn through physical means can rightly be applied to the emotional, mental and spiritual. As for the physical - here's what I have learned:
To endure we must be strong.
Seems simple doesn't it?
No explanation needed?
Maybe.
Yet it seems that many if not most endurance athletes tend to skip the strength training aspect or short change if they do hit the gym. Often I see endurance athletes take the same mentality to their strength training and do endless reps with a very light weight. Here's the thing with repetitions - we get enough reps running. What we need is strength. Not powerlifting strength, not bodybuilding strength or physique - just simple strength to allow us to run and move strong and do what we do best - endure. I'm a big fan of Pavel Tsatsouline's work, especially Power To The People and Easy Strength (along with Dan John) it's a very simple, low volume approach to strength that won't break an athlete or leave them too sore to perform their activity or sport. I use this approach with deadlifts and overhead press and throw in some extra stuff for fun (kettlebell swings, snatches, pullups, curls) 15-20 minutes and I'm done and out the door for my run. Of course this is only one approach - legendary running coach Percy Cerrutty has a great training circuit that can be found on line as does modern Triathlon guru Phillip Maffatone. The key is simple, effective and low volume. Endurance will always be king. And the stronger we are - the greater we endure.