The 5-part strength system that improves your running & cycling
- Emma O'Toole
- Feb 1
- 6 min read
Most runners and cyclists think strength training is simply lifting weights: squats, lunges, core work, and maybe a sweaty circuit. But strength training that actually improves performance and reduces injury risk is a system, not a workout.
In this article, Emma O’Toole explains why strength work needs different “zones” (just like endurance training), and breaks down a 5-part strength system designed for endurance athletes: breathe, move, jump, lift, and condition. This approach builds tissue tolerance, improves force production and movement quality, and helps runners and cyclists stay consistent without falling into the trap of random sessions or excessive fatigue.
Strength training for runners and cyclists over 30 is a game-changer for performance, resilience, and long-term health.
If you want the full breakdown, check out my Strength Training Over 30 Guides:
TRAINING BREAKDOWN
"I thought I was “walking the dog”, but I wasn’t training the walk."
By Emma O'Toole
Hi there!
Those of you who know me know that I love dogs. I foster for a charity (the one that I ran the London Marathon for last year), and last week I had a dog trainer round to help with some of Ernie’s behaviours.
Just like we need help to change, so do our 4-legged friends.
Now… I used to think a walk was a walk. Of course there’s off-lead walks, more sniffy walks… but generally speaking a walk is a walk, right?
Oh was I wrong.
What we covered in that session made me realise that walking your dog is so much more than just walking:
The placement of his lead on his collar/harness.
The cues you use.
The timing.
What you allow, what you don’t.
What you’re reinforcing without even realising.
And now every walk includes a mix of:
Heel walking
General walking
“Freedom” loose lead training
And I’m not going to lie… it’s a lot to remember!!
Me being the coach that I am, I’ve literally had to create a “training plan” for his walks so I cover it all.
And that’s exactly what made me think of strength training because runners and cyclists do the same thing.
They think: Strength training = lifting weights.
You lift heavier or lighter weights… but ultimately strength training is lifting weights.
And yes, lifting weights is a part of it, but strength training is so much more than that.
What most runners and cyclists think strength training is vs what it actually is
Most runners and cyclists think strength training looks something like this:
A few squats
A few lunges
Some core work with lots of planks and crunches
A sweaty circuit/HIIT class
And most of the time, it ends up as tick-box exercise: “Right, strength training done.”
However, strength training for endurance athletes isn’t just about doing exercises.
It’s about building a body that can handle training and what you’re asking of it week after week, month after month, year after year without falling apart.
You don’t get injured because you missed one session, you get injured because your body can’t keep up with what you’re asking of it. There is a capacity-demand mismatch.
Strength training is here to help reduce your risk of injury, increase your tissue tolerance (tendons, ligaments, connective tissue), improve your ability to produce force so you become more efficient (and faster), improve your movement quality and general well-being.
Most runners and cyclists don’t even realise that the logic: “strength training = lifting weights” misses so many key pieces. That is until a niggle shows up and won’t go away, they hit a plateau in their training or they feel flat for weeks and start questioning their training plan.
Your strength training has different zones.
Strength training is one of the best ways to improve your running and cycling when it’s done well.
And you already understand this idea from endurance training.
Zone 2 isn’t the same as threshold, threshold isn’t the same as VO₂.
Different zones = different outcomes.
Strength training works the same way.
It isn’t just “lift weights”. It’s different types of work, with different intentions, that all support your performance and robustness.
So when I build strength programmes for runners and cyclists, I’m covering these 5 zones in a typical 45-minute session.
At different points in the year, depending on your goals and injury history, certain zones will get prioritised more than others.
Here are the 5 zones:
1. BREATHE
This is breathwork + nervous system downregulation.
And if your immediate thought is: “Emma, I don’t have time for this…”
I get it, but breathwork in this instance is a practical tool to help you:
Shift out of fight-or-flight
Improve how your rib-cage and diaphragm are moving
Leave the stress of your day to one side and focus.
Ultimately it helps you to make the most of your strength session and even 60 seconds makes a difference.
2. MOVE
This is mobility, control, and movement quality that helps you move better when you lift and target key areas for runners and cyclists.
Here I’m referring to:
Hip mobility
Thoracic mobility
Ankle mobility
Different planes of motion, eg. Cossack squats.
Different range of motion, eg. deep squat holds
3. JUMP
This is plyometrics and I know this can feel like a scary word if you associate them with high box jumps and burpees…
But plyometrics done well are one of the most underrated tools for runners and cyclists, especially to help with bone health, endurance economy, force transfer, tendon health to name a few.
And these can be as simple as pogo jumps which you can literally do anywhere!
4. LIFT
This is your traditional resistance training, your lifting. If running and cycling build your engine, this is the training that builds your “chassis”.
Here we work across the Super Six movement patterns:
Squat, hinge, push, pull, press, rotary stability.
This is the backbone of your sessions, where you get stronger and can work on different strength adaptations depending on your goals.
5. CONDITION
This is your conditioning work. This isn’t “how wrecked can I get in 8 minutes.”
A lot of the conditioning I programme is actually about tissue tolerance in key injury hotspot areas.
So rather than turning your strength session into a sweat-fest, conditioning becomes targeted work that helps you stay healthy and consistent.
A great example is tendon-friendly calf work for runners/cyclists:
A loaded 3030 tempo calf raise (3 seconds up, 3 seconds down) is a fantastic way to build strength and capacity through the Achilles tendon that will transfer to your running and cycling.
Other examples could be things like: adductor endurance, trunk conditioning that supports posture and fatigue resistance.
This type of conditioning supports your running and cycling because it helps the tissues become more robust.
I thought I was “walking the dog”, but I wasn’t training the walk.
There was no real structure; the only goal was ‘don’t pull on the lead’ and there wasn’t any progression to what I was doing.
Now there is.
It’s the same with strength training.
Most runners and cyclists think they’re “doing strength training” because they’re “lifting weights”, but they’re not building a strength system.
And when you build a system, everything changes because you’re no longer wasting your time guessing what to do, you’re no longer doing random sessions or the same session for the next 20 weeks.
You’re following a plan that supports your sport.
If you want my free Strength Training System, get in touch with the word “SYSTEM”.
I’ll send it straight over and you can use it as your checklist to make sure you’re not just “lifting weights”, rather you’re actually building strength that supports your running and riding.
And if you want the system fully done-for-you, that’s exactly what my BUILT TO RUN OVER 30 and BUILT TO RIDE OVER 30 12-week programmes do. Everything is structured, progressed, and planned so you don’t have to guess.
From Ernie and I, enjoy your week!
Emma x
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