I’m looking for some help with strength and conditioning. In general, I don’t love strength training, I love s/b/r, but with age I started to get more and more injuries. Also due to sedentary work and rest I’m having typical lower and high back issues even without training.
So it’s not a secret that strength and conditioning is supposed to help with that. However, all my attempts to self-coach failed. In fact in the last year, my 3 small injuries all happened in a gym, not in during running, biking or swimming
So, I’m looking for some professional help to get in a healthy and robust shape. At this point I’m ready to consider anything: weights, yoga, stretching, Pilates, plyometrics, whatever helps.
I live in Boston, US so there are probably options here, I just want to find out what types of coaching are on a market.
Which of the following options exist and make sense:
Read Triathlete Bible/some canned program that included weight training and just follow it. Tried, didn’t work, I’m probably too stupid for it.
Listen to advice on Slowtwitch, like Strength Training Recommendations. Well, advice like “I’ve been doing tris since 1931, never had injuries; all I do is some kettlebells every morning and green tea” are nice, but I’m probably too stupid (or weak) to follow those either
In-person coaching. How does it work, do I have to come to their place 2-3 times a week or they do like 1 time per week in-house and some homework. How much usually good one cost?
Online coaching, I assume it’s a thing. How does it work, do they use Zoom to see how I’m doing? How much does it cost? Did anybody use it to their advantage
Running/Tri coaches that include strength training. Not just “go do 30 min in a gym”, but I need to know what to do exactly. My quad hurts, I periodically throw my back and one of the shoulders get injured as well.
I like the “garage strength” training videos on youtube. obviously start off with light weights and if you dont feel any torque being out put by you then up the weights
For two years I had a mix of 3 and 4. I hired a strength coach, would do an in person session with her at her gym every 6-8 months to double check form and the rest of the time she would give me programming in 4 week blocks which I would give her feedback on, and she’d adjust mid-block if necessary. She had an option where you could pay extra and film your workouts and she’d give technique reviews based on that but I preferred the occasional in person session.
I am now doing 5. My cycling coach periodises my lifting based on what I’m doing for my riding. I’m only about 2-3 months in so too early to have strong opinions but overall it’s working well.
I assume based on your post your are not currently working with a coach of any kind correct?
A good coach will plan strength as a component of the plan as a whole depending on your goals and needs.
S/b/r and strength shouldnt be treated separate they should be planned intentionally together, that means specifics (not just do 30min as you said)
You will simply get more out of it if its all planned intentionally.
Likewise they will have tools for you to check form. My athletes all have access to a private video library of mevement demos and explanations and send me videos of their movements regularly/face time when it works out to check in and make sure movement is good.
Occasionally, an athletes form is bad enough they need hands on corection initialy, in those case a reoutable personal trainer who knows your goals and is willing to coordinate with your coach is a good investment.
I suggest finding a physical therapist or trainer that is knowledgeable about endurance sports to work with in person. They can help you find where you need specific focus and to get form down with exercises (should be plenty in Boston as it’s a big running town). Once you do that, you may be able to transition to working on your own…
Once you are comfortable, a good coach should be able to specifically program your strength workouts in the context of your training program so it all makes sense for you.
Next year I age-up to 65-69ag. For several years, I’ve watched the strength videos about using body-weight only, etc. But I never felt like I was getting anything of real value out of the strength training.
I then contacted a retired high school strength coach to help get me started. His a couple of years older than me, so he understands what an old body can and cannot do. He set me up on a program mostly using bands, with some weights for things like squats. After four weeks of working out twice a week in his garage, he sent me a link to buy my own bands and weights, and sent me off to do it myself in my own garage.
The first value to me was learning the number of reps and sets I needed (which I didn’t know if I should do 2x10 at full out, 2x10 without a struggle or 1x50). The second value (and most important I think) was learning how to do the steps. What is a IATG exercise and how do I do that? How do I do a Hungarian squat compared to a lumberjack squat? How do I do these exercises without hurting myself?
Maybe you could find someone like this around you?
I do online coaching for strength work. It’s geared more towards mountain biking, but the foundation is all there. Jen loads 3 strength workouts per week, and they’re build in month long blocks (1 week deloading, 2 weeks build, 1-2 weeks peak). All of the exercises are linked to YouTube videos for form instruction and you can send Jen video of your work for feedback. It’s a great value, at $40/month (with a 6 month commitment). I’ve been doing this program for almost a year now and have noticed a LOT of gains from it.
I do #4 and it works well for me. Coach sets me up with 4 weeks of workouts at a time through the Train Heroic app. They have video demonstrations for each exercise in the app. I do the workouts at home with my own equipment. Cost is about $10/session, but includes weekly in-person coached running workouts and an online community with other educational content.
Dr. Alex Harrison (active on this forum) used to sell a strength training template for endurance athletes. It was the best one for triathletes I’ve ever seen. You could try contacting him on this forum.
It sounds like you might need a coach for motivation and accountability? Try online coaching from barbell medicine.
