This Comes Straight From My Heart to You

I have always been a lifetime athlete. In my 20’s, I discovered a new athletic endeavor — amateur boxing. As part of boxing I would strength train and run regularly. I enjoyed the running so much I decided to level up my running and sign up for my first marathon. I was nervous and excited at the starting line — standing there in my basketball shorts, surrounded by runners with tape on their calfs, water belts and other accessories I never even seen before. The race was a grueling struggle, a physical and mental fight to the finish line. But dramatically exceeding all of my own expectations, I came in 2nd place in that first marathon! With my strength I pushed through and crossed the finish line with my future wife there cheering me on. It was such a profound personal accomplishment, I had tears in my eyes.

After that race, I really wanted to continue to challenge myself with running and see how far I could take it. I felt like the way to get better at running was to just keep on running, and build the miles. I believed this would make me run faster and farther .

Over the next few years I kept running and after a few additional marathons, I set my sights on breaking a 3-hour marathon. I did everything I knew to be healthy, and kept my mind focused on training every day. My running coach and old school runner and popular running author told me I needed to stop boxing and stop strength training. Focus on building volume. More miles every week. 

The thing is as I continued to run, I was losing muscle. On some of my training runs, I was finding that I had to walk up hills that I used to cruise right up. At that rate, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to break a 3-hour marathon on the challenging marathon I was training for.

When I showed up for the marathon to reach my time goal, after putting in more training hours than I ever had previously, I found myself running slower than I had ever before in a race.

I had the endurance but the strength was not there on this rolling course. I felt like I let the negative thoughts and self-doubt come into my mind as I watched my pace slow with every mile.

Then came the problem, there I was at mile 22 walking with my head down crossing a bridge with a slight incline that my legs just couldn’t take. I felt broken, like I had failed myself and my family, this was my race to reach my goal. And I was nowhere close.

I was wearing a Boston Marathon shirt from a couple years back and a runner I had passed earlier on in the race ran by me and yelled, “Hey Boston, why are you walking!” .

That’s when I thought about it, why am I walking? In that moment I turned inward, reflected, and made the painful realization that I hadn’t set my goals too high, I was weak!

The repetitive pounding of the pavement had broken down my body. Lucky for me this was a life changing event. It was at that moment that I realized I cannot and should not train like an old-school runner, I need to train like an athlete.

That’s when I realized that the secret to running strong is strength. Putting in all those miles simply isn’t enough. All athletes who compete at high levels strength train. This is true across the board, from team sports, baseball, football, basketball, to individual sports like skiing and boxing. Why would running be any different? I needed to keep my body strong, develop maximum strength and power in the gym like all athletes do, and then build my endurance outside of the gym.

I needed to train like I did for that first marathon where I was able to climb hills with ease and speed through the flats.

It was also suddenly clear to me I also needed to teach other runners how to be stronger and run faster. To keep them from the painful frustration I had experienced. I had a new mission. I wanted to be a voice of reason in a sea of misinformation directed at runners. I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach for endurance athletes.

As a result, as soon as I crossed the finish line at that frustrating race, I committed to building my strength again. I joined a gym again that week and worked with a strength coach, determined to be strong again.

After I did that, I started to get my running power back. I was able to run up hills fast again. I started to win trail races, break my PR’s, and yes, even crush that sub 3-hour marathon goal. 

Not only was I strong and trained to endure, being strong gave me confidence again.

Suddenly, I could excel in any endurance event. I got into triathlon where, through the combination of strength, endurance and nutrition, I became an All American Triathlete.

I knew I had to share my breakthrough with endurance athletes everywhere.

My plan was to start educating myself more. To learn the actual exercise science behind it all. I signed up to get my first Personal Training Certification from the American Council on Exercise .

I studied long and hard for it and passed. But I didn’t stop there.

I wanted to learn everything I could about how to master strength training for running — about the complex interplay between strength and endurance — so I got my USA Weightlifting Sports Performance certification, then my USA Triathlon Certification, then advanced certifications in both. I now have the highest certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

After that, the final big action I took was I opened my own coaching business, Performance Strength Lab, offering remote coaching and in person coaching at our Strength and Conditioning Facility in San Diego CA. 

The first thing I did was put in bold print on the wall. Strength, Nutrition, Endurance. 

I believed that if I could physically strengthen endurance athletes, then these athletes would get the benefit of also being emotionally strengthened. These athletes would get to experience the confidence that comes with being and feeling strong. They would get to feel the success of setting a race goal and crossing the finish line — reaching it. If I could give that gift to athletes — I’d be really happy.

So I created a program that doesn’t just coach endurance. I coach strength, endurance, and all aspects of health and competition, including the mental game and nutrition, so athletes can compete at their highest level. Can live a healthy life of vitality. 

It sounds almost too good to be true, I can now take an endurance client and improve their speed in running or triathlon in only 6 weeks. I have had athletes I coach qualify and compete in national championships, as well as world championship endurance and multi-endurance events. I have had my youngest athletes rank top overall after only a few competitions, and had master athletes who used to be middle of the pack runners now winning their age groups. I have had the opportunity to coach hundreds of endurance athletes. Over 90% of the athletes that I coach PR their goal event.

I’ve had the privilege of experiencing my own athletic success, but greater than any athletic achievement is watching these athletes succeed, and watching their own strength and confidence grow. Strength and confidence is greater than any other health or performance metric and is always my number one focus. 

This is my secret from back then to today. Our bodies don’t just have a cardiovascular system. We have 10 main systems in the human body! They all need to be at their best for your body to perform at its best and be healthy.

I was an early adapter. It has been over 10 years since I have been preaching how important being strong is. Today strength training has become a lot more popular among endurance athletes in recent years. This includes triathletes, distance runners, cyclists, and other athletes.

Even if you are not training for endurance sports. Strength training today is being called “The Fountain Of Youth” by the medical field.

Strength training can have many health benefits and reverse the effects of aging: 

Strengthens muscles: Strength training helps build lean muscle mass and improve muscle function. Key word here is lean muscle mass.

Improves metabolic health: Strength training helps the body metabolize carbohydrates and fats more efficiently.

Reduces risk of injury: Strength training can help protect against chronic overuse and acute injuries. 

Prevents osteoporosis: Strength training stimulates bone tissue to remodel and grow. 

Manages chronic diseases: Strength training helps manage chronic diseases like heart disease, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes.

Boosts brain health: Strength training boost brain health and cognitive health in the long run. 

One study found that 65-year-olds who began strength training two days a week for six months experienced genetic changes in their muscle tissue that resembled the tissue of 22-year-olds. Another study found that women aged 65 to 75 who did resistance training twice a week had significantly lower white-matter lesions after a year. White-matter lesions are associated with Stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Vascular dementia, Cognitive decline, Depression, and Balance and gait impairment

In Endurance Sports strength training does all the above and also: 

Improved Efficiency: Endurance sports require repetitive movements. By incorporating weightlifting into their training routine, athletes can improve their biomechanics and movement efficiency. Strengthening key muscle groups such as the core, glutes, and quadriceps enhances running, cycling, and swimming mechanics, allowing athletes to maintain proper form and technique for longer durations.

This improved efficiency translates to better performance over the course of a race or training session–especially for endurance athletes who may race for hours at a time. Any amount of energy saved is beneficial.

Increased Power output: While endurance athletes primarily rely on aerobic energy systems, explosive power is still crucial, especially during sprints, climbs, or race finishes. Weightlifting helps develop fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are essential for generating power and speed.

Enhanced Endurance: Contrary to popular belief, lifting weights won't make endurance athletes bulky or slow. Instead, it can actually improve endurance performance.

Research has shown that strength training increases muscle glycogen stores and improves muscle fiber recruitment patterns, delaying the onset of fatigue during long training sessions and races. 

Additionally, stronger muscles can better withstand the repetitive stress of endurance training, leading to improved overall endurance capacity. This was my story

Injury Rehabilitation: Injuries are an unfortunate reality for many athletes. However, weightlifting can play a crucial role in the rehabilitation process.  Under the guidance of a qualified professional, targeted strength training exercises can help athletes regain strength, mobility, and stability after an injury. By addressing muscular imbalances and weaknesses, athletes can recover faster and reduce the risk of reinjury in the future.

Now that I have convinced you of a whole body approach to performance and health. I will follow up this article with the how to’s of strength training for performance and fitting it into a training plan. 

Make Today Your Best,

Coach Joe Beckerley