What is S&C - Guest blog by Jen Newbery

It’s been a while since we put up a blog. Jen is doing great work in Bakewell and lots of happy patients are giving us great physio. It only felt right to dive into that brain of expertise and share with you some of Jen’s thoughts on S & C (yes she’s qualified and yes she’s walked the walk as well as talked the talk)…

Strength and Conditioning.

You’ve probably heard of it. You’re probably aware you should do it, or maybe you are doing it in some capacity. S&C has become a bit of a buzz word in endurance sports in recent years. Lots more people are doing it to complement their chosen sport. Lots more people claim to be coaches in it. But what really is S&C, what does it consist of, and how would you go about actually doing it? 

Charlie demonstrates a Goblet Squat

Strength is the maximal force a muscle can exert.

Conditioning is the capacity for a muscle to keep producing a contraction against force for an extended period of time .

When done effectively together they should increase the load your muscle can take, and how long your muscle can keep working under load for. If training for endurance sport, ideally you need to do a bit of both to get maximal benefit in both improving your performance, as well as injury prevention. 

I’m going to do S+C…

How

Firstly you need to have an idea of which specific muscles you need to target to achieve your S+C goal.

Do you have weakness somewhere that needs addressing?

If you have previously had an ‘overuse’ injury, chances are you are weaker somewhere, and that could be a good place to start. Maybe a physio has given you some exercises to target a certain area when you had said injury. If you aren’t using weight to complete this exercise then you’ve probably conditioned it pretty well, and adding some weight would make it stronger, more robust, and less likely to injure again.

What is your principle sport, and which muscle groups do you need to target for this sport?

There isn’t too much point in spending time ensuring you have an incredibly robust rotator cuff if you spend all your time on a road bike. Granted, if you can improve your strength and condition your muscles in any area - it will probably help. But then you probably won’t be spending much time doing the actual sport you love - so maybe sticking to the muscle groups required to complete that sport is a good place to start.

If you aren’t sure then some global S&C work including some single sided work i.e weighted lunges, or using a dumbbell for overhead work rather than a barbell, will be a good place to start. Single sided work will ensure you are developing strength on both sides equally, and if you do have a weakness somewhere it will probably highlight it. That’s not to say double sided work is the enemy. This should be used in conjunction, as when doing double sided work you will be able to lift more weight than when completing an exercise single sided, so it will have a greater strength stimulus to the muscles you are working. 

The key with any STRENGTH work is to make sure you add enough weight so that you are actually getting a strength stimulus. Don’t be scared to have DOM’s the next day. It won’t mean you can’t go for a run or complete your workout. It means you have actually caused some stress to your muscles, and when they repair they will be stronger for it. This is what is required to build actual strength. And you’ll be a better, more robust athlete for it. 

So where will you do said STRENGTH work? 

S&C on the road, France 2023 (Unfortunately more conditioning than strength with 8kg dumbbells and 12kg kettle bell)

Well unfortunately unless you have some weights at home (and we mean proper weights, not just a 10kg kettlebell) you might have to go to the gym. Ideally you need a place where you have enough space to reach overhead and do a jump without hitting your head on the ceiling and a reinforced floor in case you drop any weights with enough space to lie down. 

So if you are thinking along the home gym scenario then garages are usually pretty good set ups - or at least a room that’s on the ground floor.You don’t need heaps on equipment, but some weights that start off light and go up to pretty heavy, usually a barbell, some dumbbells/kettlebells and your probably away. Of course if you are going to a gym you may also have access to some weights machines alongside free weights which can give you more options, and can also be a nice place to start if the free weights area looks a bit intimidating (you’re not the only one feeling this don’t worry). 

Jen looking strong and competing at Triathlon

Thank you Jen

More to come…