Talking with Coach Al Painter about using strenth training with endurance athletes.

One of the things I love about strength training is that it has such a powerful affect on every type of athlete. Far from something that only benefits those who rely on strength and power, even endurance athletes need it in their program.

However, one of the knocks against strength training for mountain biking is that it is really only for Downhillers and Freeriders. A lot of riders know that they should be doing it but pass it up in favor of more cardio training since they need endurance more than strength.

Or so they think.

The truth is that even Triathletes and Century Road Riders find that adding some smart strength and mobility training to their overall program delivers much better results than just adding more and more riding and cardio training.

In this new edition of the MTB Strength Coach Podcast I talk with fellow strength coach Al Painter of Integrate Performance Fitness. Coach Al works with mainly triathletes and century road cyclists, as well as some mountain bikers, using a lot of the same principles and influences I do.

What Coach Al and his clients have found is that getting stronger has helped them ride longer, faster and avoid a lot of the overuse injuries that traditionally plague riders who log as many miles as they do.

It is an interesting look at how someone applies a lot of the things I talk about to true endurance athletes and how a lot of mountain bikers who see themselves as “endurance athletes” can learn something from their experience.

Coach Al and I cover a lot of ground on this podcast, including…

- Flat pedals, how they require a different pedaling style than clipless pedals and how that helps your pedal stroke when you do use clipless pedals. BTW, Coach Al rides clipless pedals most of the time but has found using flats to help his overall riding so he has some really interesting insights into the whole subject.

- Using diagonal patterns in training to reset the system. Too much sitting turns things off and these exercises are the best way to get them turned back on.

- How strength training helps reduce injuries while also improving endurance.

- How training the foot will help improve performance and reduce aches and pains.

- Some of our common influences and how we are able to apply them to our programs for different types of athletes.

- Plus much more…

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Until next time…

Ride Strong,

James Wilson

MTB Strength Training Systems