What Does Strength Training for a Masters Endurance Athlete Look Like?

In my last post, I wrote about why I’m planning to double down on strength training this offseason.

I still have one race left on September 27, so I’m not quite there yet. But a couple of weeks from now, the focus will begin to shift.

At 51, I still want to perform at a high level on the bike. But the way I pursue performance needs to evolve. Maintaining strength, power, mobility, and resilience becomes increasingly important as we get older, particularly for endurance athletes who spend a lot of time repeating the same movements.

So what will that actually look like in the gym? For me, it’s pretty simple.

I’ll strength train twice a week, and each session will follow a similar progression: mobility, movement preparation, basic strength work, and eventually some power and plyometrics.

Start With Movement

I’ll generally spend about 20 minutes at the beginning of each session working on mobility and stretching.

Some of this will depend on what my body needs that day, but I’ll consistently come back to thoracic spine mobility, hip mobility, and stretching through the quads and hip flexors.

As a cyclist who also spends plenty of time sitting at a desk, there’s an obvious reason for that.

The goal isn’t to become exceptionally flexible. I want enough mobility to move well, access good positions, and then be strong within those positions.

From there, I’ll move into a dynamic warm-up, usually using kettlebells and the basic movement patterns: hinge, squat, lunge, push, and pull.

Early on, I’ll keep this deliberately easy. In fact, some of what makes up my workout in the first couple of weeks will eventually become part of my warm-up. That’s intentional.

Keep the Strength Work Simple

The lifting itself will be built around those same basic movement patterns.

I’ll organize exercises into blocks, using a combination of single- and double-leg movements. Volume will start low and gradually build toward four working sets as my body adapts.

A beginning session might look something like this:

Mobility — 20 minutes

Thoracic spine mobility
Hip mobility
Quad and hip flexor stretching

Movement Prep

Kettlebell hinge
Goblet squat
Reverse lunge
Push and pull variations

Strength Block 1

Squat variation — 2–3 sets
Single-leg hinge — 2–3 sets
Row or pull-up variation — 2–3 sets

Strength Block 2

Hinge variation — 2–3 sets
Split squat or step-up — 2–3 sets
Press or push-up — 2–3 sets

Nothing particularly exotic, and that’s the point.

I don’t need to recreate cycling in the gym. I already spend plenty of time riding my bike. The gym gives me an opportunity to develop qualities that riding alone doesn’t address as effectively.

Strength First, Then Power

One of those qualities is power.

Eventually I’ll introduce bodyweight plyometrics (jumps, hops, and other faster movements) to work on elasticity and explosiveness. But those won’t be part of the first couple of weeks. I want at least four weeks of consistent strength training first.

If I haven’t been jumping regularly, there’s no reason to suddenly introduce a large amount of explosive work. I’d rather rebuild my strength base, allow my muscles and connective tissues to adapt, and then progressively add speed. That progression becomes increasingly important as we get older.

It doesn’t mean masters athletes need to train cautiously. We still need strength, speed, power, and challenging loads. We just need to be more deliberate about how we get there.

Build Slowly

The first four to six weeks will be about building capacity. Start easy, move well, and then add load. Build consistency, and then progress.

That’s an approach we use regularly at Groundwork Athletics. The goal of strength training isn’t simply to leave the gym exhausted. It’s to apply enough stimulus to create adaptation, recover from it, and come back ready to progress.

For me, that will mean two good strength sessions each week throughout the offseason. I want to get stronger, become more explosive, and be more resilient late in races. At 51, I want to continue competing at a high level for as long as I can.

In a few weeks, once the training is underway, I’ll share what one of these sessions actually looks like, and how it changes as the offseason progresses.

-Jon Bula, GWA Owner

What Does Strength Training for a Masters Endurance Athlete Look Like?