Training

Strength Training for Runners

Running is without doubt one of the most flexible ways to keep yourself fit. It’s one of the best ways to train as you can do it anywhere and at any time. If you don’t mind the odd spot of rain then it’s always free regardless of the weather. It’s also just you and your kit so it’s easily accessible when compared to other sports.

The other great flexibility of running is that you can change your running method to get different results. For example, a long steady tempo run over a distance will build up your stamina. You can do short sprints over a short distance to build up your speed or you can even mix it all up in the form of interval training to improve your overall fitness and burn more calories.

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Photo by Morgan Sarkissian on Unsplash

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WHY IS RUNNING USEFUL FOR STRENGTH TRAINING?

Many runners dismiss or underestimate the benefits of strength training as part of their programme. When executed correctly strength training helps to develop athletic performance and prevent injuries. It strengthens the muscles, joints and connective tissues. In fact, it is often said that strengthening the hips and glutes is one of the best injury prevention measures anyone who runs can do. 

By undertaking strength training that develops the core, runners can massively reinforce the way that the pelvis, abs, hips and lower back work together. Everything will work in sync, so you run faster.

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COMBINING THE TWO EFFECTIVELY

When strength training you don’t need to bulk up like a body builder but you can change your physique to that of an athlete and athletes look that way for a reason! You can also gain strength without gaining size too. The stronger you get, the more you will be able to cope with the demands placed upon your body. During your running and especially if you’re racing, you’ll be able to transfer this into peak performances. In a 12 week study of three groups of runners:

Group One: Undertook running endurance training on its own.

Group Two: Undertook strength circuit training on its own.

Group Three: Undertook a mix of strength training and running endurance training.

It was found that the group that combined endurance and strength training improved an average of 8.6 percent in a 4K time trial, whilst increasing their V02 max by an average of 10.4 percent and ran to exhaustion 13.7 percent longer than the other groups.

An overall approach to strength training will be best for improving performance. A programme which incorporates a variety of exercises that work a range of muscles rather than a split strength training session that focuses too much on isolated muscles. 

Six great exercises for running are:

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All these exercises will help develop your core while the deadlift and squat will put added focus on developing your leg strength, while working the legs evenly so that muscle imbalances don’t occur. 

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AVOIDING INJURY

Always be mindful of what you are doing with your training to avoid injuries. My top tip is to have a training plan and to print it off regularly. This means you can record what it is you have actually achieved in the session so that you can monitor progress and amend it when necessary. Taking this approach will ensure your session is more structured. So warm up, main activity, warm down, stretching and mobility work. Injuries tend to happen more often when the areas of our bodies get excessively overused, so you will find that this approach will see you undertake your sessions in a more positive manner and thus help reduce the risk of common injuries.

Advice provided by Paul Stainthorpe at Father Fitness: http://www.fatherfitness.co.uk/

Looking for some training tips and advice? Then head over to our Training category where our athletes and experts explain everything you need to know.