Conditioning

When "strength and conditioning" is mentioned, a natural interpretation is that the term refers to muscular strength and cardiovascular conditioning. This is only part of the larger definition that credits important factors such as the contribution from proper neural recruitment and sufficient stability from ligaments and bones. Proper recruitment of motor units and coordinated nervous control is usually understood, but bony and ligament support is often taken for granted. Taken for granted until a video of catastrophic failure occurs, like this elbow dislocation from the Beijing Olympics: warning - pretty graphic: video here. Take home message is that supporting tissues such as ligaments and bones are also conditioned by training, becoming better able to sustain load without failure.

When it comes to bone, conditioning flows from a concept called "Wolff's Law" which states that bone will adapt to the right kind of loads by remodeling to become better accustomed to handling load. The negative adaptation related to Wolff's Law is osteoporosis, and strength training helps to prevent this condition.

Scott Going, a PhD at University of Arizona, in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine article published in 2009, states what so much of the exercise physiology and medical literature strongly supports, that strength-trained athletes have significantly higher bone mass and density than athletes and nonathletes who do not engage in similar training.

One more reason to train with an emphasis on developing strength as well as endurance/stamina: strong bones!