My name is Casey Adams, owner, trainer and coach at Aspen Pro Fitness in Snowmass Village Colorado. I live and work with an interesting population of fast witted, ambitious, high energy people of all ages who choose to live at high altitude. Our community promotes races and activities that include hiking, running, skiing and biking up four separate mountains… as fast you can… many times a year! These events do not require you to be a top level athlete, but demand strength and endurance.
I’ve learned so much about the balance of Strength and Endurance coaching for athletes of all levels due to my years of racing, teaching, coaching and being coached. The results are the same:
It’s paramount to have a balance of strength and endurance to keep up!
What does strength and endurance or conditioning look like for my training plan or weekly workouts?
Regardless if you are an elite athlete, recreational athlete or fitness enthusiast; strength and endurance are key to your overall health. You need a plan! I’ve found it best to break up your annual training based on your geographic region and work from there. The winter is a fantastic time to focus on Strength training. We’re inside more, the gym is a great place on cold days and shorter workouts are more appealing. I target all the major muscle groups in a progression and include cardio days in between weight sessions during this time period.
As Winter loosens its grip, my coaching foundation moves from weight training (to produce strength and force production) to include more bouts of cardio with increased duration while dosing intensity throughout the week. In Aspen and Snowmass Village Colorado I coach athletes and fitness enthusiasts in this phase until mid-May.
Beautiful snowy Winters give way to Spring and clients can now begin to bike, run and hike outdoors. We increase duration in the Spring while backing off on strength duration to match the efforts of the legs and lungs.
Especially in June, July and August are the prime racing months and the time to extend your efforts outside if you choose. This is when you’ll realize if all that hard work paid off.
Can Your legs keep up with your lungs?
Are you breathing too hard during an early season bike ride?
Do your legs hurt or slow down while your breath remains steady?
If either are the case, we need to correct the imbalance. There are many terms used to refer to strength and cardio, power and conditioning, strength and endurance.
What is important is that these two elements are work together. If you would like to learn more about and strength and endurance coaching contact me at Aspenprofitness.com and let’s start the conversation!
