TRAINING WITHOUT LIMITS: ADAPTIVE APPROACHES TO ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH

Published: 28/11/2025 | Written by: David van Wetherill

David van Wetherill is a three-time Paralympian turned endurance athlete and crutch marathon runner. Oh, and more recently, he took on the challenge of attempting an IRONMAN – on crutches. So yes, when it comes to building endurance and strength, the Sports Direct Ambassador knows how to work around his disability to get the most out of his body. And, in this piece, he breaks it all down for you.

I’ve learned the hard way that you don’t get fitter by moving faster or by lifting more – you get fitter by moving with intent. In the aftermath of my recent IRONMAN attempt, I have found myself not with success or defeat, but with an opportunity to rebuild. To get back and put myself to the test by striving towards my goals is everything to me, where grit and strength of mind are the only measurements.

However, endurance has come at a cost. The long hours of training have stripped away some of my raw strength and so as I look towards the new HYROX season, the mission has become clear:** to find balance again.

ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME MEDAL

For me, becoming an endurance machine capable of pushing myself beyond limits starts with strength training. But, when you run on crutches, the lines between endurance and strength are blurred.

Building strength around my bones is the foundation for protecting my body and stabilising my joints. It builds more than power – it builds resilience, preventing injury, limiting pain and driving performance where it really counts, so you can go further and for longer.

ADAPTIVE TRAINING: THE ART OF REBUILDING

Living with a disability can be unpredictable. No two days are ever the same and so it can be very challenging to plan workouts or training diaries ahead of time or within a specific timeframe. It is about working with what you have, with what you CAN do, and not against it. Some days you are flying, whilst other days you are inexplicably held hostage to pain and fatigue. I guess that is true for everyone!

There is no easy label and there’s certainly no precise unit of measurement.

HOW I TRAIN NOW

It’s very easy to write down a ‘normal’ week however the key thing to accept is that there is very rarely a ‘normal’ week. On the bad days, ego is the enemy. Your body is always in negotiation with your goals.

Rather than throwing the training plan out the window, I’ve learned to stay accountable – adjusting movements based on daily readiness and being honest when the body can’t follow suit.

This has meant strength, cardio, endurance and speed training, integrating mobility, stability, and intent to create a body capable of doing more, not less. I alternate between pure strength sessions, pure endurance days, and hybrid sessions that blend the two.

Knowing the bigger picture is key to keeping on the straight and narrow – to not overdo things but also to not under-do things. Perhaps it’s important to recognise that this is arguably impossible to get exactly right all the time. On any given day, movement choices are reasoned and calculated, and ultimately designed to move me closer to my overall goal, and not away from it. As the stoic saying goes, “if a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favourable.” You always have the capability of finishing on empty with a recalibration of volume and intensities, or with a recalibration of training movements entirely. In many ways, my training is about pure survival.

SAMPLE WEEK

Monday – Mobility & Base Strength 

Gentle activation work focused on stability, balance, and joint protection. Accessory lifts and band work to reawaken muscle groups and reinforce movement patterns.

Run club – light night (3km).

Tuesday – Endurance Conditioning 

Low-impact cardio (handbike, ski erg, or pool work) aimed at managing energy in zone 2 and rebuilding aerobic capacity. Focus: controlled pacing and efficiency.

Cardio remains the engine. For upper-body dominant movement, the focus is on varied modalities to build capacity while sparing joints. The key is variety.

• Rowing with skateboard assistance

• Arms only echo/assault bike

• Ski erg

• Bike erg

• Hand cycle

• Crutch running

• Swimming

Wednesday – Strength Development 

Compound lifts and upper-body strength focus. Controlled, quality reps. Adaptive equipment or supported lifts to build raw strength without overloading fragile joints. Here’s what that looks like for me:

• Squat to box

• Bench (legs strapped)

• Deadlift

• Row (eg. Seal row)

• Pull-up

Thursday – Hybrid Circuit (Endurance & Strength) 

Blended session – alternating between strength movements and cardio bursts. Sled pushes, wall balls, rower sprints mimic HYROX demands and bridge the endurance-strength divide.

Run club – 5km.

Friday – Active Recovery & Technique 

Morning yoga. A day for breathwork, stretching, and movement efficiency drills.

Pool work.

Saturday – Endurance Block 

Longer aerobic session to simulate race-day effort. Managing output becomes key – don’t “overcook” the session. Efficiency beats intensity every time.

Run club – shakeout on race weekend.

Sunday – Rest / Reflection 

A deliberate pause. Mobility work. Strength is nothing without recovery.

ADAPTIVE STRATEGY: EFFICIENCY OVER EXCESS

Whenever I’ve attempted previous challenges such as the IRONMAN, I learned the brutal economics of energy conservation and joint health preservation.

Imagine running with a full bag of sand. At the start, it’s full. But every surge, every unnecessary expenditure is a hole punched in the bag, and the more you push, the quicker it drains – until eventually there’s nothing left, and my bones are stuck like concrete.

The challenge is efficiency – a balancing act of spending each grain wisely so you don’t finish before your goal. Adaptive training is no different – don’t overcook yourself so you have to spend the rest of the week running on dust. Consistency over perfection. Always. You don’t want to burn out before you see progress.

But let’s be clear – adaptive training is not always about doing less, it’s about doing differently, and doing efficiently. The art isn’t in how hard you can go, but in how consistently you can rebuild and return.

THE BOTTOM LINE 

They say a bad workman blames his tools, but we could argue that that’s not strictly true. Where it definitely is true, however, is with adaptive training (notwithstanding the use of any training aids such as hooks or grips)!! 

Movement is always possible and I steadfastly believe that no matter a person’s situation or circumstances, winners find a way, no matter what. Even if it means redefining what you thought was possible. There is always a way. 

Both in yourself and in others, I’ve always said that the only disability in life is not being able to see human potential. And as Marcus Aurelius wrote, “do not think that what is hard for you to master is humanly impossible; and if it is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.” It’s not about limitations; it’s about possibilities. It’s in the discipline of problem solving – in the quiet mornings when you show up, even when the body protests, believing there will always be a way. 

As an adaptive athlete, the clue is in the name of the game – it is all about being adaptable; being ready for anything by having the flexibility to adapt movements and tweak training plans without taking away from progress. It’s about making movement possible, making progress possible, in a way that is not defined by perfect outcomes but by improvement, no matter how big or small. 

“Well-being is realised by small steps, but is truly no small thing” – Zeno of Citium. 

It’s about accepting that there may be occasional limits to daily capacity. However, by finding balance and a way of doing things with consistency and purpose – day after day, week after week – there are no limits to what that may add up to.