Strength For Endurance Podcast

This week it's an in-house chat as Kriss is joined by his wife (and one of the people behind the scenes at SFE) Polly. Kriss and Polly talk openly about their journey together through sports performance, how they navigated injuries and more recently overcame their fertility struggles. There is no such thing as a perfect relationship, it takes work, communication and sacrifice. And appreciating the...

We're not always able to see what's coming and if we are do we always listen to it? Sudden injuries happen that are out of our control but there are also circumstances and certain injuries that can be prevented and often the body has a clever way of telling us it's time to back off. Today we discuss a few warning signs that we should be mindful of as athletes if we want to navigate a more pain-fre...

What you should be able to do in terms of strength? Lower body, upper body, core - how strong do they need to be if you want to perform at your best across multiple distances, time after time, without pain or injury? And then how do you go about testing this? We look at whether you can tick all the boxes. If not….there's work to do - but that also means you've got more potential to give out on the...

It's well known that lower-body injuries are an epidemic within the endurance community, but is it just something you need to accept if you want to run, ride or hike the trails? We discuss where most people go wrong, why your current treatment isn't working and how learning more about your body can be an invaluable resource if you want to keep training and racing year after year with confidence.

How do you train for a 100-mile running race whilst holding down a full-time job and making sure you're present for your young family? Not to mention staying injury-free along the way. We're joined by client Ben Kohler this week, as he talks us through his mental and physical preparation for this year's Swiss Alps 100. With a self-confessed 'addictive' personality that many of you will relate to B...

Today's episode is likely to resonate with those of you who aren't necessarily looking for a podium finish or a qualifying time yet you want to be the strongest, healthiest version of yourself so that you can keep doing things you love. In a world of comparison and endless competition sometimes it's important to remind ourselves why we set these physical challenges for ourselves, what benefit will...

We've likely all heard of periodisation by now but what exactly does it mean and how can we apply the rules to our own individual training, especially when we're looking at getting the most benefit from our strength training? This week Kriss takes you through a really valuable task that will allow you to evaluate and re-organise your training and racing year and where exactly different phases of y...

This week we are lucky to be joined by client Chris who shares his SFE story so far. With a frustrating calf injury stalling his progress and preparation for his upcoming event, Chris tells us what surprised him as a late adopter of strength training, how it's been an anchor in terms of staying positive and the newfound patience he's had to embrace towards his training. A relatable journey that wi...

Developing successful programming takes knowledge, expertise and time and that's what's gone into building our latest program. Today Kriss shares his thoughts and reasoning into why we wanted to develop something accessible to all, explains a little bit about the journey you'll go through once you get started and then how this lays the foundations for our more complex programming down the line. So...

We've had a few weeks off from the podcast, but we're back and the release of our new Standards Program is just around the corner. This week will also be lucky enough to share with you an awesome client success story. A big shout out to Amy who was kind enough to sit down and talk about her wins, challenges and the lessons she's learnt during the first part of her training pathway with us as she n...

Getting your taper right in the lead up to an event can be the difference between successful performance and a miscalculated blow-up. How much you should back off, how far out from an event and what to do in terms of strength training are all major factors. We look at some key considerations to help you start thinking about your own taper plans.

If you're in a position where you are coming back from a recent injury or you are building up your training volume and intensity for a particular race, we need to see this as a journey you're about to embark on. What is vital during this journey, to ensure we get to your desired goal, is making sure that several things are taken into consideration accordingly. As your rehab or your training builds...

Completing an Ultra-Distance race is no mean feat. Whether it's your first or fiftieth event ensuring that you are prepared for what you are about to do will be the key to success (or failure). In this episode, Kriss looks at our strength training approach when it comes to working with ultra-distance athletes. What are the physical, mental and psychological requirements needed and how do we achiev...

Today we are joined by Kim Collison an elite level ultra-distance runner and running coach who lives in the Lake District. Kim boasts one of the most impressive running CV's out there, claiming a number of ultra-distance records and titles across the UK and overseas. In more recent years this included the Lakeland 24 hour Fell Record and in 2021 the Paddy Buckley round in Wales in a time of 16 hou...

Andy Blow is a Sports Scientist and the founder of Precision Hydration. Andy was formerly an elite-level triathlete who can count a couple of top-10 IRONMAN finishes and an Xterra Age-Group World title to his name. It was during his racing career that he discovered how individualised fluid and electrolyte replacement can make such a big difference to performance, and this led to him setting up pre...

This week we're joined by 5 x Iron distance Champion, Professional Triathlete Laura Siddall. Born and raised in the UK Laura has since experienced life as an athlete in many countries, from Australia to San Francisco, New Zealand and now her current base of Girona, Spain. But as a self-confessed 'nomadic' athlete it's not all perfect weather, enviable training environments and learning languages o...

Strength & Conditioning isn't just a nice addition to an athletes training plan. It's so much more than the '1% gain' that you often hear it being referred to. It is fundamental to your success, whether it's preventing you from getting into trouble or helping you get out. In today's episode Kriss explains how we use strength training as a vehicle to overcome many common issues that you might face,...

This week Kriss is joined by friend, client and professional, Dr Ruth Wilde.   Ruth is an Integrative Medicine Doctor with a background in Emergency Medicine and General Practice, with 17 years service in the military.   Through her own experience of injury and then struggle with chronic pain, she has come to understand more about the factors that underpin our individual experiences of health and...

With the abundance and variety of training options we have access to these days, it can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting to try everything. But is this smart if you have specific goals you want to achieve?   In today's episode, Kriss discusses what to consider when choosing your strength train modality, how to filter your options and set yourself up for the best possible chance of success.

Whether it's injury, a health problem or a life-changing event, being told you can't participate in your sport for any length of time is a tough thing to hear and process rationally. But others have come through it and so will you. What you need now are some key action steps that you can put in place to reset, reframe and rebuild in a way that means you not only come back, but that you come back a...

For most endurance athletes time is a precious commodity. Regularly clients approach us who are training upwards of 15-20 hours a week, whilst also trying to hold down a full-time job and spend time with their families. Often this leads to corners being cut or sessions being squeezed in throughout the week, without much benefit. Today's episode asks the question of concurrent training and whether...

In this episode, Kriss looks into the possible reasons that you might not be addressing, what you can do to make positive change and get back to doing the sport you love.

We're really excited to bring you today's podcast episode with the incredibly knowledgeable England Athletics Running Coach Tom Craggs. As the England Athletics Road Running Manager & Marathon Lead Toms role is to support road running clubs, athletes and coaches in England through a range of different projects including a national masters competition programme and various other club and coach deve...

Do you sometimes think that because you aren't competiting at an elite level in your sport that it's not necessary to worry about certain performance variables? Well ironically this could be what's holding you back. In today's episode, Kriss focuses on this in a little more depth, identifying b3 key variables that could really take your training performance to where you want it to be, helping mana...

Todays guest is Sports Physiologist Esther Goldsmith who works as part of an expert multi-disciplinary team at Orecco, a world-leading company supporting elite sportsmen and women to optimise their health and performance Aswell as her work with Chelsea Women's Football Club and many international sports stars Esther is in an integral part of the Fitrwoman App which enables all women to track their...