In the last two articles we have covered the theory behind strength training for endurance performance and outlined what endurance athletes should focus on during their base strength phase to gain ‘indirect performance gains’. Now that you have completed a general base strength programme (Part 2) your body is ready to take on some higher intensity strength training. The research indicates that it is this phase of your strength training that will give you the biggest direct ga

In part 1 of Strength Training for Endurance Performance I presented some of the research evidence about gym based strength training for endurance athletes. Today I want to outline some practical steps that will allow you to get into the gym and train ‘smarter’ so you too can start improving your performance. As we discovered in the last article here is a large amount of evidence supporting the use of low repetition, high weight training along with plyometrics to improve endu

Find out what it was like to sleep out in the mountains in a glorified rubbish bag. In most multisport, adventure and mountain bike races these days there is a list of compulsory gear that has to be carried in the case of an emergency (thermals, waterproofs, hat, gloves, survival bag etc). These are things I have carried around in my pack for years without any major use apart from putting on a thermal and jacket when wet and cold. In January this year I got out into the hills