At this time of the year, it's customary for athletes to undergo a training phase to maintain baseline fitness levels, address any technical weaknesses, and incorporate strength training for performance improvements and injury prevention.
Endurance athletes traditionally enhance performance by focusing on cardiovascular exercise with varying intensity levels. Many athletes utilize heart rate monitors and power wattage meters to accurately measure exercise intensities, allowing them to autoregulate their workouts to maximize physical tolerance to the training stimuli. However, in my opinion, a 'piece of the puzzle' often missing for endurance athletes is (a) incorporating a structured strength training program and (b) achieving the same degree of autoregulation during strength sessions. Recently, convincing evidence has highlighted the benefits of complementing established cardiovascular training methods with strength to produce positive outcomes in middle- and long-distance performances such as running and cycling (1). These adaptations are best achieved when the most favorable volume of physical activity is attained over time. Researchers have shown that a meaningful relationship exists between strength training duration and the energy cost of locomotion during a 6–8-week training block, and longer blocks may provide even further benefits (1).
Diverging from traditional methods, Exerfly flywheel strength training products use rotational inertia to produce resistance throughout the exercise range of motion. The user initiates the concentric phase of the exercise causing the flywheel plate to spin creating angular momentum stored and released during the eccentric phase. The larger the flywheel plate, the greater the force produced. Flywheel technology allows the user to safely accelerate through most of the concentric phase, simulating ballistic force-time profiles similar to running and jumping without the constant impacts and stresses created from these movements (8).
Researchers have shown that strength training can improve neural function, a greater rate of force development, gains in fiber type, and tendon stiffness, all resulting in enhanced stretch shortening cycle properties for advancing endurance performance (1). Regarding volume, flywheel training programs, they should use multiple sets and repetitions to achieve performance gains. Applying intensity levels with lower inertial loads (0.025-0.050 kg.m2) is applicable for high movement velocities/power gains, while higher inertial loads (>0.050 kg.m2) are great for strength-related gains (2,3,4,5).
As far as exercise selections, the benefits of using multi-joint exercises such as flywheel squats, deadlifts, and lunges in training sessions prioritized for seeking strength and power development, while single joint exercises such as flywheel leg curls and hip extensions are preferred as the cornerstone of injury prevention programs (2,6,7,8).
Additionally, many flywheel exercises can be performed safely with the use of a body harness or weight belt attached to the flywheel tether, thereby reducing the load and stresses on the spine. Plus, there is not the same need for numerous weight plates and lots of equipment as seen with traditional strength training as flywheel training only requires minimal plates to create a substantial resistive overload. Furthermore, Exerfly flywheel products, such as the Ultimate Platform and RackFly, can be used in the home and easily transported to enhance training at the court or pitch side or at the track. While for game and race day interventions the Exerfly equipment is an extremely useful additional tool for athlete and team potentiation activities (2,8,9).
In summary, endurance athletes are used to juggling multiple workouts with varying degrees of intensity to maximize physical adaptations. Beginning with developing a strong aerobic foundation via heart rate, watt zone training and working through any technical improvements. Research shows us an important ‘piece of the training puzzle’ for performance outcomes and preventing injury is to incorporate strength conditioning into this training process.
References
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