Endurance vs Strength Based Sports

Over the years as an athlete, I just turned 33 today, July 24, I’ve had the luxury to be around sports and be privileged to compete in them. Sports is something that I’ve done for a very long time, since I was 9. I’ve done olympic weightlifting, basketball, track and field, and now, endurance sports like running and cycling. I know a lot about training for olympic weightlifting, I competed in it for 4 years. Those guys don’t really do aerobic training at all, everything is all about heavy lifting and quick bursts of power lifting a heavy loaded barbell off the floor. It trains the anaerobic system, all about contracting the muscles forcefully for a quick few seconds. As a youth, I did play basketball, in high school, I ran track and field. Those sports uses a little more cardiovascular training, but its still mostly anaerobic, aerobic training doesn’t kick in until it’s done for a minimum of 20 minutes continuously. With marathon training and cycling, it’s all aerobic since its continuously, those activities go on for way more than 20 minutes. I took up these sports in 2021 and started training for them, cycling for performance was recent, in December of 2022 after the Honolulu Marathon that I ran. I completed that in 5 hours, 37 minutes, not a hot time, it was a mess during the race, I fell apart after mile 8, the course is tough here in Hawaii. Speaking of the Marathon, I will be running in Sacramento on December 3, 2023 in the California International Marathon (CIM), then likely the Honolulu Marathon the week after. What did I learn about the marathon? It takes a lot of volume, mileage on the legs, and having an exceptional aerobic capacity to go out there to run one. Training for one is not a joke. Please don’t run a marathon without properly training for one. As for me, I expect a way better outting this time around, I’m shooting to smash some big goals. I will help you with training for these sports as I get more seasoned and have more experience with it.