Thanks for posting this article...interesting read.

ST is becoming more accepted by top athletes. I think a few incorporate it into their training. Crowie, Macca, Carfrae, and Wellington come to mind...The amount of time they spend on it may be minimal (I don't know), but they still use it to their benefit. If it didn't work, or if they didn't get a perceived benefit from it, I doubt they'd make time for it.

Good luck with your ST!

I'm sorry if you were offended by my response.  In my case it was because about a month ago I got into this argument, and was poking fun at myself in front of the people who have been here a while that were likely to get into the argument.  I'm pro weight training.  If you use the search function, you can find the thread where I commented.

I was indicating that I was staying out of this discussion this time.

You forgot deadlifts and powercleans. 

Lifting heavy weights can get you to a lower BF%, which is always a good thing.

You want extra, extra butter, too??

I can't think of any situation where low weight/high reps is better than a high weight/low rep routine.

Anyone who plans to use the words "core" or "bulky" in response to this, don't.

By and large, there is usually something misquoted or misunderstood in something like this.  Where does this info come from?  I do remember a vid of Shalane Flanagan doing all kinds of exercises like stepping over hurdles and whatnot.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=5365

Paula Radcliffe's Journey from Disappointing Fourth to Dominant First

I'm not sure why you asked the question in the first place, but my answer would be like Fred already said of top pro triathletes ... she's already done and is getting everything she can out of running, and is in the extremely tiny percentage of runners who needs to look elsewhere for gains.

I guess I asked because I was getting the impression from some of the posts that many veterans thought strength training was useless for triathletes.

I guess what I'm hearing now is that it isn't useless but it's "icing on the cake" & you need to have the cake first.

This makes some sense to me. 

But I would just suggest that instead of everyone being so negative on it that you merely point it that any improvement it provides is ancillary and much less time-effective than actual s/b/r.  Yes, it's less specific and doesn't provide as direct a benefit as s/b/r.

That doesn't mean it's useless, does it?

In my case, for instance, I'm getting over Plantar Fasciitis.  I went to do some one-legged squats with my trainer and the leg with PF was clearly weaker.  I'm doing some strength exercises to correct the imbalance; I'm not certain that more running would correct that imbalance. 

If you read the article about Paula Radcliffe, she did some strength exercises to correct her head-bobbing.  That makes sense to me.  More running wouldn't just correct that on its own either.

What I'm saying is that there could be other reasons beyond just "getting faster" to do strength training.  Sure, Macca might not need strength training.  What about a 55 year old formerly sedentary woman who is just entering triathlon?  Some people might be lacking in pure functional required strength to begin with. 

Are we really saying that someone who is extremely lacking in core strength should just run more instead of doing core-specific exercises?

To add fuel to the fire: http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/237630-flotracks-workout-wednesday-season-5/video/363222-haile-geb-wow-nyc-prep

I think alot, if not most world and national class athletes do some type of strength work but age group athletes IMO, would be faster just doing SBR. I would bet that Radcliffe does strength training to combat her what seems like constantly being injured.

For the OP, here is a routine that Lance Armstrong posted on LiveStrong:

http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/5189-lance-armstrongs-strength-training-workout/5189/

TriMyBest - 2011-08-20 7:35 PM

Fred Doucette - 2011-08-20 4:52 PM

bryancd - 2011-08-20 4:48 PM

MacMadame - 2011-08-20 1:55 PM

My personal experience is that strength training makes me a faster runner.

oh, boy....

. Troll alert my friend....

Eh, not a troll...just doesn't realize that correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation.

Exactly. But the troll comment was out of line IMO. It's a hurtful thing to say to someone who doesn't have intentions of "trolling" (i.e. trying to provoke an emotional response).

I agree with this with the caveat that working in the ~95% range will take its toll eventually. You can base your training around high weight and low rep, but I think it's advisable to vary the rep ranges and deload regularly. Personally, I ditch strength training during the 4-5 months leading up to a race. But I very much enjoy it in the offseason.

Fred Doucette - 2011-08-21 3:31 PM

ScoopJackson - 2011-08-21 3:27 PM

TriMyBest - 2011-08-20 7:35 PM

Fred Doucette - 2011-08-20 4:52 PM

bryancd - 2011-08-20 4:48 PM

MacMadame - 2011-08-20 1:55 PM

My personal experience is that strength training makes me a faster runner.

oh, boy....

. Troll alert my friend....

Eh, not a troll...just doesn't realize that correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation.

Exactly. But the troll comment was out of line IMO. It's a hurtful thing to say to someone who doesn't have intentions of "trolling" (i.e. trying to provoke an emotional response).

strong words scoop Jackson, strong words.... I have had enough experience with the poster in question on other threads to stand by my statement. Keep up the good work otherwise though....

Now that is something I hadn't considered. But in the context of this thread, said poster was not trolling.