Lifting for Runners
A lot of runners are deathly afraid of lifting weights - in fact I hardly know any runners who consistently lift throughout the year. Some may do it once or twice per week in the winter or they may do a few pushups here and there as a warm-up, but why is it that runners are so afraid of the weight room?
Why are runners afraid of the weight room?
You’ll hear excuses ranging from, “lifting weights is just another opportunity for injury,” to “I just don’t have time,” but when it comes to preventing injuries especially as we age, there is almost nothing better you can do than to lift weights.
About a year ago I was coming back from a stress fracture and I wanted to do something to help prevent injuries in the coming year. I committed to lifting weights and eating more protein, the two best things you can do to gain strength as a runner or as any person.
In the past 12 months, I’ve not only stayed healthier than I was in the year previous, but I’ve also continued to cut time from my half marathon PR and been able to gain muscle weight as well.
Body weight vs. power lifting
Even runners who do strength training seem to stick to bodyweight exercises only. That’s fine, and in fact you can gain muscle mass by just using bodyweight exercises, but it’s not necessarily the most efficient way. Power lifting isn’t dangerous if you take the time to do it right, and it’s the easiest way to improve your stability and strength in the long term.
I’ll be getting into more specifics of my weight training program over the coming weeks, but I hope this will help any runners on the fence about lifting weights not be afraid of it. Overall health is a complex formula, and lifting weights is just one way to complete the puzzle.