Endurance Training: Do we really even need it?

Many people are unclear on the benefits of endurance training. And that can be partly attributed to the fact that most people automatically think 10k run or running a marathon. That's just the notion that endurance training brings up.

But in the past few years to many coaches have gotten away from anything associated with endurance because the thought is that it isn't "fast-twitch" enough for sports. But endurance training takes on many forms.

There is cardiovascular endurance, which is what most people think of. This is the ability to produce a high rate of energy through aerobic metabolism for a prolonged period of time.

The next is muscular endurance. This is where the concept of endurance gets tricky because most kids DO actually need endurance. Actually we all do. Endurance of postural muscles to maintain spinal stability can greatly reduce back injuries and chronic pain. Also, low weight, high rep muscular endurance training is often necessary for teaching proper movement patterns such as squats, pushups, lunges, etc.

The third is psychological endurance which is essentially what we call mental toughness. But this cannot be pounded into kids. It needs to be cultivated and trained just like other parts of performance.

Cardiovascular endurance is the one type of endurance that although great for the heart, lungs and circulatory system, can have negative muscular effects if done incorrectly. Running is the basic cardiovascular endurance exercise. But it certainly isn't the only.

Instead we can do a body weight circuit of pushups, squats, bear crawls, lateral lunges, sprint and repeat, for a period of 5-6 minutes. This would train muscular endurance as well as cardiovascular endurance without overtraining the way jogging does.

It is this type of training for youth athletes that we do at our Summer Speed, Strength & Power Camp. This performance camp has a junior group and a high school group. Both groups get endurance training but only in the appropriate methods, and durations to improve performance. In addition, a stronger core with more muscular endurance WILL improve sprinting, agility and quickness.

Sign your young athletes up by filling out this form and dropping it off at Pair & Marotta Physical Therapy at 5337 Truxtun Ext before next Friday! Let your youth athletes open next sport season with a refined set of athletic skills that will truly set them apart from the competition!