Strength For Endurance Podcast

It's common to have periods of time in our lives where training takes a back seat, whether its due to sickness, injury, work or family commitments. But it's how you come back to training, how you reintroduce training volume and intensity that really matters. Too hard, too soon and it's not uncommon for 'the wheels to fall off'. But approached the right way with patience, strategy and gradual progr...

One of the most common mistakes we see runners make is innocently dropping their strength and conditioning as their running volume and intensity increases. This leaves the individual 'hoping' that their body will be able to tolerate the ever increasing demands and carry them through the rest of the year. Unfortunately more often than not this leads to overtraining, and injuries start to creep in....

Cross training can often be one of the most under-utilised variables within an endurance training plan and something many of us could integrate more. Why?  Managing training load, preventing injury, increasing aerobic capcity, speed, power and strength - cross training can provide an ideal environment for performance gains when integrated appropriately. Listen in as Kriss shares a few consideratio...

Todays guest Taylor Doyle joined us at SFE with the goal of riding The Pan Celtic Magnum Opus (2024), a self-navigated cycling challenge taking riders through Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany - a distance of over 2000miles.  Building strength for this goal event had it's own challenges - New to strength and conditioning, a recent ACL rupture and her life 'on the road' m...

Many of you will have days where you are doing more that one training session. Maybe you're a multisport athlete, you might  be doubling up your S&C with something else or you're looking to build running volume for some longer distance events.  Today we look a little closer at how to go about these double days effectively. What your fuelling looks like, the intensity of the sessions, the importanc...

These days we have an abundance of information and ideas available at our finger tips, especially if you use social media channels or Youtube. But often it can be hard to know who to trust and what information is actually relevant to you. In todays episode Kriss discusses this in more detail and explains why developing your own 'information filter' will benefit your training, injury recovery and p...

As humans we're creatures of habit.  We find something we like, it works and we stick to it.  This is great.....until it's not. Plateau hits or improvements stall and we can even find ourselves going backwards.  But often we overlook that it might be our approach that needs changing. Today Kriss discusses the signs to look out for - signs it's time for change…..change for the better. (00:00) Intro...

If you've been listening to this channel for a while now you'll know were big believers in having a individualised approach to your training. So exercises that are showcased as "the best…..the number one exercise…..the only exercise for…." always need be approached with a bit of caution and logic. However there are some strengthexercise that really ARE great for the majority of individuals, and th...

We've all been there - you've woken up and things don't feel 100%, maybe your calf is niggling, you're feeling exhausted after a big week at work and minimal sleep or you feeling like you're coming down with something.  Most of us will have that little voice inside us that say's "Should I train today?" But how do you make the decision whether to pull back or push on through?  Listen in as Kriss wo...

Two of the most important elements of training that often get ignored - How you warm up and recover from every training session. These are non-negotiables that'll help to prevent injury, move past injury, improve your skill set and develop power, speed and endurance. But they are often neglected due to being time poor or not fully understanding what the best exercises are. In todays episode Kriss...

For many of us in the endurance community the sports we love to do are central to our lifestyles, they are part of our every day and the thought of an off season can be fairly daunting. Today Kriss looks at why the 'off season' (or period of significant de-load as he likes to call it) is so important, how it can be managed and why it varies from person to person.  (00:00) Introduction to The Stren...

One of the biggest miscinceptions amongst endurance athletes is  the notion that you do not need to develop upper body strength for running and cycling performance. Listen in as Kriss dispells this myth and showcases the significant performance gains that can be achieved from being stronger through your upper body.  (00:00) Introduction to The Strength for Endurance Podcast (00:41) The Importance...

When rehabilitating an injury, one of the most important variables to be managing is the amount of training you're continuing to do.  This variable will literally make or break the success of your recovery, as too little of the necessary work won't create enough stimulus and too much will likely overload you. Listen in as Kriss discusses the balance necessary to optimise rehab, the pysychological...

GLP-1 weightloss medication has seen a surge of popularity within the general population over the last few years, and has so far shown success for many individuals seeking weightloss. But the desire for significant weightloss might not be the first thing you think of when working with endurance athletes, runners, cyclists and triathletes.  However as our guest today Nicola Marsh explains, her work...

Zone 2, steady state training is deceptive. If you're someone who wants to run long, you'll know that building your aerobic engine is an essentail part of your training. But what many people don't understand is that they also need to build resilience in their body.  And this comes by incorporating qualities like power, speed and intensity into your training. The body builds strength in response to...

We've all heard the saying, but what does it mean when it comes to our training?  Listen in as Kriss breaks down numerous examples of where people thought they were doing the right thing, but in fact were missing the clear details that allowed them to get back on track and see improvements quuickly. (00:00) Introduction: The Devil is in the Details (00:08) Understanding Endurance Performance Chall...

A very talented athlete, Amy has been an SFE member for a number of years now. After navigating a number of setbacks during this time, she has successfully built herself back up to to being able to take on the Lakeland 100 this year, shaving an impressive 8+ hours off her previous attempt.   Listen in to this emotional but inspiring story, that many of you will relate to - navigating the highs and...

Kriss is joined again by Stu Holliday, Sport & Exercise Psychologist from Endurance Mind Coaching. Stu works with a range of clients of all abilities, has worked with a number of clients here at SFE and currently supports the British Olympic Swimming Team. You can find out more about Stu's background by revisiting the first episode we did with Stu here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0m2FmlKm5Cq...

Are you someone who has found running at a later stage? If so, did you grow up playing any other sports?  Will you previous sporting history matter in terms of your future running potential, training tolerance or resistance to injury? Tune in as Kriss discusses the importance of considering this in more detail and what you need to factor in when starting running later on. (0:00) Intro & Podcast Pu...

Hip pain spans a wide range of causes, levels of severity and recovery timelines. From chronic overuse injuries to acute trauma, and contributing factors including low energy availability and excess volumes of endurance training - issues around the hip are complex. In todays episode Kriss deep dives into his coaching experience and importantly the success that the team at SFE have had when support...

Long time SFE member Peter is passionate about ultra distance adventures - whether it's hiking, cycling, skiing or running.  Today he joins us to talk about his most recent challenge - The Haute Route Pyrenees, which traverses the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Coast. Peters planned route would take him along 840km of varying terrain, include 60,000m of elevation, and take a predi...

A pro-activate approach to lower back & SI Joint pain If you've ever experienced lower back pain or SI Joint pain you'll know how debilitating it can be. It can halt your training and any progress you have made in it's tracks - and seemingly out of the blue.  It's time to flip your mindset and restore confidence in your body. In todays episode Kriss talks us through the logical and successful appr...

We've got a great episode for you today, as Kriss is joined by recently crowned National Cross Country Mountain Bike Champion, Phil Pearce. Phil has had a fascinating journey up to this point, that has been built upon raw talent, pure grit and sheer determination.  Being self coached, chasing Strava segments and riding 'all out' on his commute to work - his results started to get noticed by Britis...

Many of us will have jobs that are physically demanding in their nature from gardeners and builders, to farmers and hospitality staff, the list goes on... High step counts, repetitive physical tasks or constant lifting - this type of work places a high demand on our body. So are we considering this load when we undertake a high volume endurance training program? Some of the best endurance athletes...

In the majority of other sports, S&C is an equally valued component of athletic performance. The associated benefits it has on performance and the biggest risks if not. So why in the broad spectrum of endurance sport is S&C still so diluted and undervalued?  Following a recent ultra-running "masterclas"s, where the experienced presenter downplayed the need for S&C into one 20 minute session a week...