Strength: The Unseen advantage in Athletic Pursuits
When it comes to athleticism, there’s a lingering misconception that strength alone isn’t enough. That it’s somehow secondary to skill, finesse, or endurance.
But let’s set the record straight: strength is never a drawback.
Whether you’re in the ring, on the pitch, pounding the tarmac in a marathon, or navigating the soul-grinding brutality of Ironman, Hyrox, or CrossFit, strength gives you an edge you can’t fake. It’s the hidden gear in the machine, the extra lung when your lungs are burning, the final say when the body is begging to quit.
We can split hairs over training styles – bodybuilding splits, powerlifting triples, Olympic lifts, sandbags in your garden, plyometrics on a soggy pitch, hill sprints that make your breakfast beg for mercy. The medium might change, but the message doesn’t:
Strength serves. Always.
Strength Is the Tide That Lifts All Boats
Take a look across the athletic spectrum.
A bodybuilder chiselling every muscle fibre to Greek-statue perfection? Needs strength.
A fighter in the cage? Strength equates to more than just brute power—it equates to command.
Even endurance athletes—triathletes, Ironmen, ultrarunners, Hyrox competitors, Marathon des Sables hopefuls—benefit. Not to get massive, but to become resilient. Stronger bodies recover faster, resist injury better, and handle repeated punishment without crumbling.
If you’re serious about performance, strength isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a non-negotiable.
And if you’re somewhere near Leeds, personal training might be a good way to start learning and understanding strength — the kind that fits your life, not fights it.
It’s Not Just About Performance
Strength training isn’t just about medals, aesthetics, or dominance. It’s about health.
It’s about carrying your child to bed, hoisting a bag into the overhead locker without tearing a rotator cuff, or catching yourself during a fall without snapping a hip like a breadstick.
It’s about ageing well — because muscle is youth.
The Science Says So
Here’s what the research tells us:
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Strength training reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by up to 27%, and cardiovascular disease by 17% (Momma et al., BJSM, 2022).
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It lowers type 2 diabetes risk, even without aerobic training (Grøntved et al., JAMA, 2012).
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It delays or reverses age-related muscle loss (Cruz-Jentoft et al., Sarcopenia Consensus, 2019).
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It improves running economy and time trial performance for distance runners (Blagrove et al., EJSS, 2017).
Strength Isn’t Vanity, It’s Vitality
You don’t “accidentally” get big. You get strong by being intentional.
You lift the heavy things — not because you want to be a bodybuilder — but because you want to live freely, move confidently, and recover faster when life punches you in the gut.
Strength gives you options. Weakness takes them away.
Strength Carries More Than Weight
The emotional benefits? Just as real.
You train to deal with anxiety, grief, rage — all of it. You train to feel capable when everything else feels out of control. The barbell doesn’t lie. It simply asks:
Are you stronger than last week?
Stronger Doesn’t Always Look Big
Strength is the 68-year-old woman still deadlifting her bodyweight.
It’s the dad pushing a pram and carrying a week’s shop up the stairs.
It’s the carer, the key worker, the coach.
It’s quiet. It’s honest. It’s earned.
Final Reps
Whatever your sport, whatever your story — know this: strength is a gift to your future self.
You’ll never regret being stronger.
But weakness? That’s a tax you’ll pay daily.
So pick up the barbell.
Run the hill.
Load the sled.
Because strength is never a disadvantage.
