In my first post, I discussed Assessment and Goal setting for Endurance Athletes. This Article will look and common mobility limitations in Endurance Athletes, and how to correct them. Remember not all Athletes will have all these limitations, they may move well already, or be tight in other areas. Don’t begin corrections until after an assessment has been made. Once that has been done, here are some things you might see:

Let’s take a joint by joint approach from the ground up: Ankles.

The Issue:  I find a lot of limitations in the Athletes ability to dorsi-flex and plantar-flex. (Pull the foot up or down) This can restrict proper foot strike and reduce the power coming the calf muscles and the Achilles Tendon.

The Fix:  

Stretch and Roll!  Most runners stretch their Gastrocnemius (the bigger, more prominent muscle of the Calf) but they neglect the Soleus that lies underneath it. Because the Soleus attaches below the knee joint, it is best stretched with a bent knee.

Stand in front of a wall in a lunge stance, the toes of your front foot should be aprox. six inches from the wall. Keeping the Heel of your front foot down, push your knee forward towards the wall, hold for 1 sec.  Repeat 12 times.   You can also drive the knee  towards the big toe to bring the stretch more the outside of your leg, or drive the knee towards the little toe to bring the stretch more inside.

Roll the lower leg aggressively using a massage stick or a foam roller, paying special attention to the sticky spots (the ones that hurt most).  Spend at least 60 seconds per leg.    I like to alternate rolling and stretching for 2-3 sets to really open everything up!

Muscles for Mileage: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes.  

By Josh Rossi BA. CSCS. HFS

The following is the first in multi-part series focusing on training Endurance Athletes, from the perspective of a Strength and Conditioning Coach.  My goal is make this series helpful to both Athletes and Coaches.

Part 1: Goal Setting and Assessment

Strength training, when correctly applied can make the endurance athlete faster and more durable.  A well informed Strength and Conditioning Coach should be will be able to make an endurance athlete more powerful, and capable of handling greater training volume with fewer injuries.  However, this can be a long process, and will require the commitment of both the Athlete and the Coach.

The first meeting between the Strength Coach (SC) and the Endurance Athlete (EA) should focus on Goal Setting, and Assessment.

Goal Setting is particularly important to EA’s because of the limited number of ‘A’ level competitions they participate in each year.  Although the number of races varies greatly between athletes and sports, it is a safe assumption that EA’s with more modest goals will compete more often, and EA’s with elite ambitions will focus on just a few races each year, often peaking for a single big race.  Where the athlete is in their season will be a major factor in the role of the Strength Coach.  This will be discussed in further detail later.  When setting goals, both the SC and EA should work to keep them ‘SMART”.  (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).   Once SMART goals have been set, the SC should begin a physical assessment.

A Strength Coach has many assessment tools, but if the goal is to quickly get useful information, only two are needed.  The first is a Functional Movement Screen (FMS)  The second is video analysis of the runners stride, both in profile and down the line.  A High Definition High speed camera is ideal, as it will allow frame by frame viewing of the landing phase. Results of both test should be gone over with the athlete, because and educated athlete will develop greater self awareness and see changes faster.  After going over the results of both assessments, the SC is now prepared to develop a program.

There are six aspects of training that every program should cover: Mobility, Stability, Strength, Power, Elasticity, and Mechanics.  While the needs of each individual athlete will vary greatly depending on a number of factors, all of the six aspects must be included on some level. 

End of Part 1.  Part 2 will discuss Mobility, with a specific focus on Runners and Cyclist.

 

MESQUITE, NEVADA

Ryan Steenberg advances to Round 7 in the RE/MAX Long Drive World Championship
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