Excerpted from The Triathlete’s Training Guide and featured in USAT’s Multisport Zone.
When most people think of strength training, they think of making their muscles stronger. But strong muscles aren’t worth much if they don’t fire when needed or coordinate with each other during sport specific movements. For endurance athletes engaged in strength training, it is important to recognize that stronger muscles form only part of the equation for enhanced performance. You also need to have good neuromuscular control over those muscles.
Any time a muscle contracts, it requires a signal from the nervous system. This is why we talk about neuromuscular movement (as opposed to just muscular movement). A great deal of the work done by the nervous system occurs more or less automatically as a result of… continue reading
Additional resources:
- Functional strength
- Neuromuscular activation
- Running drills
