Have you had any success with muscle-building and strength programs for ultra-marathoners and endurance athletes?
I am currently training an ultra-marathoner who runs more than 50k per week. Her main goal is to build strength and gain muscle definition. Nutrition plays a massive role, obviously, and I’m wondering if any of you have had success with this type of situation? Cutting back on the distance running is not an option. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Sean, Nick, Brian and Harris- thanks for the fantastic and extremely helpful responses. This is a new client challenge for me, as the distances she runs and her current nutrition cancel out muscle growth.
We’ve been focusing on kettle bell and traditional weight workouts as well as bodyweight exercises. Harris, I like your suggestion of adding in short workouts while she is running and maybe having her carry some exercise bands.
Her motivation for building muscle is aesthetic, so I realize that nutrition- especially increasing energy intake overall- is going to be critical. Women rarely like to hear that they need to eat more, so this is the hurdle I’m facing now.
Nick, I’m glad that you think 50k/week is manageable; I was concerned that it may be too much!
Thanks again, everyone. This resource is fantastic, especially for a newer fitness trainer like myself. We are indeed lucky to have it!