ENZYK Blog 10
Balancing Strength and Endurance: How Athletes from Every Sport Get It Right
Is it possible to be both strong and have endurance?
Athletes from different sports face unique physical demands. While a powerlifter focuses on maximal strength, a marathon runner needs endurance to sustain long distances. But what if you need both? In many sports—like football, MMA, and even basketball—athletes must balance strength and endurance to excel.
In this post, we’ll break down how athletes from various disciplines successfully balance these two critical attributes. We’ll also include a DIY guide to help you find the right balance between strength and endurance in your own training, no matter what sport you play.
Why Balancing Strength and Endurance Matters
Athletes who train exclusively for strength or endurance may find that they struggle in other areas. For example, if you’re a sprinter focusing only on speed, you might gas out quickly during longer races. Conversely, endurance athletes who neglect strength training may lack the power to perform explosively.
Here’s why finding the right balance is crucial:
Strength gives you the ability to produce power, make explosive moves, and resist fatigue under heavy loads.
Endurance allows you to maintain performance over time, reducing fatigue and allowing for consistent effort during extended periods.
Strength vs. Endurance Across Different Sports
Athletes in different sports face unique challenges when balancing strength and endurance. Let’s look at how some of the world’s top athletes approach this challenge in their respective sports.
1. Strength Sports: Powerlifting and Strongman
Athlete Example: Hafthor Bjornsson (Strongman)
In powerlifting and strongman competitions, the focus is almost entirely on maximal strength. Athletes like Hafthor Bjornsson, a former World’s Strongest Man, prioritize lifting heavy weights over short bursts. These athletes need raw power to deadlift, squat, and press massive amounts of weight.
However, even strongmen need some level of endurance. Events like the Atlas Stones and car pulls require athletes to perform multiple lifts in quick succession without resting between sets.
How They Balance It: Powerlifters and strongmen focus mostly on anaerobic endurance, which allows them to sustain maximal effort over short periods.
2. Endurance Sports: Marathon Running and Cycling
Athlete Example: Eliud Kipchoge (Marathon)
Endurance athletes, like world-record marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, need exceptional stamina to maintain high performance over long distances. Endurance athletes typically rely on their slow-twitch muscle fibers, which enable them to perform for extended periods without tiring.
While strength isn’t the main focus for runners or cyclists, Kipchoge incorporates light strength training into his routine to maintain muscle integrity and reduce the risk of injury during long runs.
How They Balance It: Endurance athletes incorporate strength training to maintain muscle health and improve stability, but the bulk of their training focuses on cardiovascular endurance.
3. Team Sports: Football and Basketball
Athlete Example: LeBron James (Basketball)
In team sports like basketball and football, athletes must combine speed, power, and endurance. LeBron James, a basketball legend, exemplifies how to balance strength and endurance. He trains for explosive movements like jumping and sprinting, but also needs the endurance to play at a high level for an entire game.
Team sports athletes need a mix of both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers to excel in short bursts of power while maintaining energy throughout the game.
How They Balance It: These athletes focus on explosive strength for quick movements and aerobic conditioning to sustain their performance across an entire match.
4. Speed Sports: Track and Field
Athlete Example: Allyson Felix (Track and Field)
Sprinters like Allyson Felix focus heavily on speed and explosive power. Sprinting events require athletes to be strong enough to propel themselves forward at high speeds, but they also need the ability to maintain that speed across the race distance.
While sprinters don’t need endurance in the traditional sense, they train their anaerobic endurance to maintain top speed for 100-400 meters.
How They Balance It: Sprinters focus on power development through weightlifting and plyometrics, while also training their ability to maintain high speeds over short distances.
5. Combat Sports: MMA and Boxing
Athlete Example: Khabib Nurmagomedov (MMA)
Combat sports like MMA require athletes to be explosive, but they also need the endurance to keep fighting through multiple rounds. Khabib Nurmagomedov, a former UFC champion, is known for his relentless endurance and ability to maintain pressure on his opponents, but he also possesses incredible strength to dominate in grappling exchanges.
How They Balance It: Combat athletes focus on both strength training for explosive movements (like punches, kicks, and takedowns) and endurance training to sustain energy over multiple rounds.
DIY: Balancing Strength and Endurance in Your Training
Here’s a DIY guide to help you find the right balance of strength and endurance, regardless of your sport:
Split Your Training Week:
Strength Days (2-3 Days/Week): Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and presses. Perform 3-5 sets of 4-6 reps for maximum strength. If your sport requires explosive power, incorporate plyometrics like box jumps or medicine ball throws.
Endurance Days (2-3 Days/Week): Incorporate longer cardio sessions (running, cycling, swimming) or sport-specific drills. For example, runners can do tempo runs, while football players might focus on agility drills with short rest intervals.
Include Combination Workouts:
Combine strength and endurance in workouts like sled pushes, hill sprints, or circuit training. These exercises train both anaerobic power and cardiovascular endurance.
Use Periodization:
Alternate between phases of strength and endurance training throughout the year. For example, during the off-season, focus more on building strength, and as the season approaches, shift toward endurance to match the demands of your sport.
Common Mistakes When Balancing Strength and Endurance
Many athletes struggle to balance strength and endurance effectively. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid:
Neglecting Strength Training in Endurance Sports: Long-distance runners and cyclists often avoid strength training, but neglecting strength can lead to injuries and reduced performance.
Overtraining: Trying to train for maximum strength and endurance simultaneously without rest can lead to burnout and injuries. Incorporate recovery days into your training plan.
Lack of Specificity: Tailor your strength and endurance training to match your sport’s demands. Sprinters need explosive power, while endurance athletes need sustained stamina.
How Athletes Across Sports Achieve Balance
Athletes across sports need to balance strength and endurance in ways that suit their specific needs. Here’s a quick look at how athletes achieve this balance:
Strongmen focus on maximizing strength, but events like the Farmer’s Walk also require endurance.
Endurance runners like Kipchoge incorporate strength training to prevent injury and maintain efficiency.
Basketball players like LeBron James train for quick bursts of power, while maintaining cardiovascular endurance for long games.
MMA fighters balance explosive power with endurance to outlast their opponents over multiple rounds.
Final Thoughts: Balancing Strength and Endurance for Athletic Success
Balancing strength and endurance is essential for success in most sports. Whether you’re lifting heavy, sprinting fast, or going the distance, finding the right combination of power and stamina can help you perform at your best. By following the training tips outlined above, you can tailor your workouts to develop both strength and endurance, no matter what sport you play.
Bonus Tip: Try a 6-week strength-endurance challenge. For the next six weeks, alternate between strength and endurance days, using the DIY plan outlined above. Track your progress in both areas to see how well you balance power and stamina by the end of the challenge!
