I’m currently starting a new certification to keep learning and improving the service I provide, but I’ll tell you more about that soon.

Recently, I was reviewing an article from UESCA about strength training for endurance athletes.

And I’ll tell you this: I loved it, because it goes directly against an old myth I still hear all the time:

“If you lift weights, you’ll get bulky and lose performance.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the scientific evidence shows the exact opposite.

And if you’ve been running, cycling, or doing ultras for a while—but you feel stuck, or more fragile than strong—this is something you need to pay attention to.

The UESCA article references several studies, such as Beattie et al. (2015) and Rønnestad & Mujika (2014), showing that adding strength training to endurance programs improves aerobic performance, running economy, and muscular efficiency—without significant increases in body mass.

In other words:
If you train properly, you don’t get “bigger.”
You get more efficient.

Your stride improves, your technique holds up better under fatigue, and your muscles tolerate the repetitive stress of mileage much better.

One thing I see all the time in amateur runners is this:
they spend 100% of their time running, and 0% on strength work.
They avoid the gym, and assume bodyweight exercises at home—or light dumbbells—are enough.

Then come the injuries. The recurring aches. The same problems over and over again.

What I really liked about the UESCA article is how they explain that strength training should not compete with your endurance training—it should complement it. Your main sport still comes first.

This is not about spending hours in the gym doing bodybuilding routines.

It’s about incorporating functional, multi-joint, progressive movements focused on:

• Improving movement economy

• Increasing impact tolerance

• Reducing neuromuscular fatigue

That also means your strength program should adapt to your season:

• Off-season → focus on maximum strength and technical control

• In-season → maintenance and stability

• Competition phase → short, explosive, highly specific sessions

At The Journey 100, this is exactly how we apply it:
we don’t train strength for aesthetics—we train it for transfer.

Because what matters isn’t how much you can lift.
What matters is how that helps you run longer, stronger, and with fewer injuries.

The science is clear: strength + endurance = better performance

The studies cited by UESCA are very consistent. Athletes who combine strength training with endurance training:

• Improve their running economy (less energy cost per km)

• Increase anaerobic capacity (more power when it’s time to push)

• Extend time to exhaustion

• Significantly reduce injury risk

What’s even more interesting is that these benefits appear with as little as 2 well-structured strength sessions per week.

You don’t need to become an Olympic lifter.
You don’t need complicated exercises.
The basics work—if you do them well, with intention, and progressively.

This is what I always tell my athletes when they start strength training:

• Less machines, more body control

• Start with the basics: squats, lunges, deadlifts, pushes, and pulls

• Fewer reps, more quality

• Don’t train to exhaustion—train to move well and move strong

• Don’t be afraid of weight

• Progressive overload is what creates adaptation

• If you always stay at the same “safe” weight, your body won’t change

• Integrate strength into your week

• Ideally, separate it from your run days when possible

• And don’t forget recovery: sleep, fuel, and hydration matter

In summary

Strength training does not take away your endurance—it builds it.

It gives you structure, power, and longevity as an athlete.
And maybe most importantly, it helps you enjoy the process more—because you feel stronger on the climbs, more stable on the descents, and less broken at the end of hard weeks.

If you haven’t integrated strength into your plan yet, this is the moment.

And if you’re not sure where to start or how to align it with your season, at The Journey 100 we help you build it step by step—with an integrated approach: running, strength, and nutrition, all aligned with your goals.

👉 You can read the full article here: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

Leer este artículo en Español: Con que me quedo del articulo de UESCA: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes.