Most endurance athletes believe that performance comes from more mileage. But strength coach Angelo Gingerelli, New Jersey State Director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), says the real key to peak performance lies in balancing stamina with strength.
With extensive experience across collegiate athletics and strength and conditioning for adolescent, college, and professional athletes, Gingerelli specializes in training for cross country, swimming, physical education, and personal and athletic performance. He serves as an adjunct professor for multiple graduate and undergraduate programs at Seton Hall University and is the author of Finish Strong: Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes - available on Amazon.
In his presentation for FYTT, Resistance Training for Optimum Endurance, Angelo shares what makes a strong endurance athlete, clears up common misconceptions that hold coaches and athletes back, and outlines practical ways to integrate resistance training into busy training schedules. He also highlights his go-to exercises for runners, swimmers, and cyclists looking to build strength that transfers directly to performance.
When endurance athletes learn to train for strength (not just stamina) they maintain posture, preserve breathing mechanics, reduce overuse injuries, and ultimately compete at a higher level. This conversation breaks down how to integrate resistance training across an annual plan so athletes finish stronger, stay healthier, and perform at their peak.
“Use resistance training to maintain movement quality so athletes look the same at the finish as they did at the start.”
-Angelo Gingerelli
Under fatigue, posture degrades, stride shortens, and breathing becomes inefficient. Resistance training gives athletes the capacity to hold posture, expand the ribcage, and maintain mechanics deep into endurance events. Performance improves when athletes focus on structural durability, developing the strength to hold posture and form deep into competition.
That’s backed by integration strategies from strength science. When adding resistance work, coaches must sequence the training loads of both the resistance and endurance portions of the training plan. Refer to NSCA’s Integration of Endurance Resistance Training article.
And to see how performance capacity evolves across training phases, check FYTT’s Athletic Performance Curve. Pairing that insight with strength work helps manage stress and recovery intelligently.
Unlike team sports such as football, baseball, or basketball where athletes move through well-defined off-seasons, pre-seasons, competitive seasons, and recovery breaks, endurance sports rarely offer that built-in rhythm. Runners, triathletes, and swimmers often train continuously, jumping from one event to the next with little structured downtime. Without natural seasonality, strength work is either neglected or added haphazardly, which limits its long-term benefit.
To solve that, Angelo outlines a four-phase yearly model that applies the same logic used in team sports to the endurance calendar. His example assumes the athlete’s key event is the New York City Marathon in November, but the framework can fit any major race or competition date. The aim is to give athletes clear training priorities across the year, balancing strength, mileage, and recovery so each phase builds toward the next.
Gingerelli’s framework mirrors modular planning philosophies you’ll find in FYTT’s Decision Trees for High Performance and reflects why shared tools matter as explained in Athlete Management Systems Don’t Manage Anything.
Gingerelli builds resistance prescriptions around six core exercises that offer maximum transfer to endurance performance:
To dive deeper into movement anatomy and layering, see FYTT’s Anatomy of Strength and how to individualize progressions in Individualized Fitness: One Size Does Not Fit All.
Endurance athletes show up to the weight room already taxed. The programming must work around that reality.
“Same movements. Smaller dose. Taper the weight room like you taper the mileage.”
Angelo Gingerelli: Usually 2-3 months. Beginners often respond faster; experienced runners may take longer.
Angelo Gingerelli: Another stress is introduced. Athletes will typically need more calories, more hydration, and more rest. Expect some trial and error in those early weeks as they adapt.
Angelo Gingerelli: Bodyweight exercises are appropriate in middle school with adequate supervision. Transition to dumbbells/barbells typically occurs in high school when form mastery is solid.
Angelo Gingerelli: Use integrated software tools to log both running and strength. That allows historical comparisons and individualization across seasons.
Angelo Gingerelli: Make the weight room accessible. Keep the focus on movement quality, consistency, and incremental gains. Done right, resistance training lets endurance athletes compete at a higher level.
“Stronger endurance athletes keep posture, breathing, and mechanics longer. That’s free speed at the end of a race.”
Endurance athletes don’t need to lift like powerlifters. They need strength that supports their longevity and performance. The right resistance training helps preserve movement, ward off injury, and elevate competition-level output across seasons.
