You as a coach may say "alright, so I know that my athletes should be doing strength work, I just don't know how to program it. Help!" Believe me: I was there. It is all too easy to get overwhelmed with the information out there while trying to fit it in to what is working for you.
To keep it short and simple, there are a few basic rules that coaches should use when implementing strength training. Oddly enough, they are remarkably similar to the rules we use when we build endurance training plans. Here, I will outline a few of the basics.
Start by building capacity
Just like when we build endurance in the base phase and work on biomechanics, we should do the same with strength training. What is our capacity for strength? Though some may argue (big surprise in the exercise science world!), our capacity for strength is determined at least partially by muscle cross-sectional area. This means hypertrophy. Now before all of the triathletes and distance runners stop reading because they "do not want to get bigger", let me remind you that it is not the objective to training for bodybuilding or strongman competitions. The purpose of the hypertrophy phase is also to work out any size imbalances in the body.
Lean out
Now this is another point where some exercise scientists differ: when to lean out. For me, there are at least two appropriate times in the training to work on this. First, after you have built capacity (hypertrophy). The reason I put it at this point in the plan is so that the lean muscle tissue you have built can now go to work for you by increasing your overall metabolism. Second, this is done by many elites and sub-elites just before a major race. Of course, always use caution with this sort of timing as these are the times you are wanting to tax your body the most. I usually recommend involving a nutritionist or dietitian in this part of the process. Leaning out is best done with high-intensity interval and strength training.
Build strength
Awesome. You now have capacity and are lean. You are feeling good, but you need to use that capacity to maximize your power-to-weight ratio. This is the time when you reduce the overall number of repetitions you are doing in the gym, but increase the weight you are lifting. This comes during the building phases of your annual training plan where you are doing similar strength-building in the pool and on the road.
Translate it
It's really wonderful that you can squat 500+ pounds. No, really, it is. But does it mean anything for swimming, cycling, or running? Who knows? Exercises in the weight room are built to be non-specific so that most people can take advantage of them. Remember, most people who go to the gym are not training for anything in particular (which is not necessarily a bad thing!), but you are! Therefore, make those movements functional and mimic what you do in the water and on the road. Turn lat pull-downs into bent-over cable pulls practicing a "perfect" catch. Do fun sets such as single-leg squats directly into sprints to get the most out of that 500+ pound squat!
Let your body take advantage
The final part of strength training planning is just before the race. Here is where that strength that you have turned into great movements need to become explosive. Plyometrics are the best way to do this. That single-leg squat can now become a single-leg squat into a bound from side to side or front to back. Believe me, this will matter when you want to make that final surge for the finish line!
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