Strength Training for Runners
What you need to know: Strength training for runners is essential if you want to prevent injury and increase your performance for running. Running is a great cardiovascular exercise, but anyone who has told you that running is enough to make your legs stronger, is far from correct.
If you are a runner, strength training is an awesome way to condition your legs to run faster and farther.
Strength training for runners is essential for preventing injuries.
Runners should focus on unilateral leg exercises (using one leg at a time) and increasing their range of motion to increase single leg strength and stability in the knees, hips, and ankles.
Runner’s can really benefit from integrating explosive and ballistic lower body exercises into their workouts. This will allow them to develop more power and strength from their lower body.
Distance runner’s are virtually training only their type I muscle fibers, which are built for endurance, not power.
Anaerobic training for runners is an awesome way to develop speed, and make your body much more efficient at using energy and oxygen while running.
You need to plan your strength training sessions around your timed runs if you want to maximize performance and prevent sureness during your tempo or threshold runs.
Strength Training for Runners
There was a very long time ago in my life where I actually believed that running was an excellent way to strengthen my legs. I will say up front that I was 99% WRONG! I’ve had plenty of friends over the years (mostly guys) who have told me directly that they never squat, lunge, or dead lift because they get their lower body strength training on the days that they run.
Skipping leg day like that?! Unacceptable!
If you enjoy running, are a casual runner, are working on your 5k (or 10k time), or are planning on running a half or full marathon in the near future, you really only need to know 2 things before you get deeper into this article.
Strength training will help you prevent common injuries that most every runner faces at some point (mostly nagging overuse injuries, which are a pain in the butt!)
Strength training will make you a better, stronger, faster, and more efficient runner.
First of all, running doesn’t strengthen your legs in the way you think it does. Running 4 miles without stopping isn’t the same thing as being about to squat 200 pounds 10 times. That’s a matter of aerobic endurance vs. strength, respectively.
Most of you are probably distance runners. There are very few people that I have ever trained that make themselves run sprints, just for fun or to stay in shape.
Second, I would wager that if you are reading this article that you probably fall into the casual or competitive runner categories. Here’s what I mean by that…
Typically runs 2-4 times per week to either lose weight or stay in shape.
Typical distances include 1-4 miles at a time.
Some actually enjoy running and others don’t.
May or may not train occasionally for 5k or 10k runs.
May run a half or full marathon at some point in their lives.
Casual runners are awesome because whether they enjoy running or not, they have committed themselves to pursuing a healthier lifestyle. 🙂
Though they may track their speeds, distances, and times, sticking to running is the primary focus.
Typically runs 3-7 times per week.
May or may not already integrate strength training into their program.
Many competitive runners are completely self motivated to run faster and farther on their own, without any impending running events.
On the other hand, many of these runners will run at least 1 event per year. I’ve trained clients who will run in organized competitive or charity runs every 2-3 months. (Yes, that includes everyone from 5k people to die hard marathoners)
They often track speed breakdowns, total times, and distances.
Set goals for running faster and farther.
If you fall into one of these categories and are planning on running into the foreseeable future, you should definitely consider strength training to prevent injuries.
Strength Training Helps Runners Prevent Injury
The sad and terrible truth about running is that it has one of the highest injury rates of sports and recreational fitness activities. Fortunately, strengthening the appropriate muscle groups will make you increasingly more resilient to common injuries that runners face.
Here are some of the most common injuries that runners face.
Calves and/or Achilles Tendon
The good news is that you can help prevent common running injuries like shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, ITBS (iliotibial band syndrome), patellar tendinitis, and runner’s knee by adding a little more muscle to these commonly injured muscle groups, and their antagonist groups.
In fact, some of the most common running injuries are caused by weakness in the glutes, hips, and shins. By strengthening those weaker areas alone, you are going to dramatically increase your defenses against running injuries.
Single Leg Exercises for Running
Single leg exercises (or unilateral exercises) are not only going to make your legs more resistant to common running injuries, but are also going to help you drive more power from your legs while running. This will make things like pushing your pace, increasing your mileage, and running hills MUCH easier.
Single leg exercises allow you to work on muscular imbalances, hip mobility, and strengthening your glutes and stabilizers. Think about it this way: when you are running, you are constantly falling forward and catching yourself with one leg in front of the other. It only makes sense that alternating legs in your strength training or training one leg at a time would help you develop the stability, balance, and strength that will make you a better runner.
Start with getting your lunges down first, and then you can work up to different lunge variations from there.
Here are some other awesome single leg exercises that you can incorporate into.
Bulgarian split squat variations
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Benefits of Plyometric Strength training for Runners
Ballistic and plyometric exercises are another great option for runners because they help you build explosive strength from your legs (more power and faster paces) and increase the viscosity of and elasticity of the soft tissues in your joints which will make you more injury resistant.
Here are some awesome body weight ballistic and plyometric exercises for runners.
RELATED: Other great plyometric workouts for runners
Does Running Actually Strengthen Your Legs?
Running technically does strengthen your legs, but not in the way that you think it would. Being able to run 5 miles or 40 miles doesn’t mean that you are going to be able to squat with a Prius car on your back.
If you are a distance runner or any kind of endurance athlete, the vast majority of your training is going to be using your type I muscle fibers.
Video: Is Running Enough to Strengthen my Legs?
Type I, or slow twitch muscle fibers are used for low intensity long duration bouts of exercise. The interesting thing about type I muscle fibers is that they actually get smaller when you use them regularly over long periods of time (months and years). These are the muscle fibers that you are using when you are running at a steady state for your distance runs.
Open up a Google image search for “marathon runner body type” and take note of what you see.
Thin, sinewy body types like you would expect of yogis
Virtually non-existent muscle body or tone
Pretty much skin and bone
Fairly frail looking legs, for as many miles as they run
Type II muscle fibers are the fibers that are used for high intensity, brief duration exercise. These are the muscle fibers that are using in sprinting and other high intensity, explosive, and ballistic movements.
Now open up another Google image search for “sprinter body type.” What’s the difference?
Bigger muscles, but not bulging
Upper and lower body definition
That built athletic look that most people want
Look, I’m not going to force you to run sprints a couple of times per week, but it will make you a better runner and it will most likely improve your body composition and muscle tone.
The most important thing that you can take away is that you don’t need to run sprints to develop those muscle fibers. You can just start incorporating the ballistic and explosive exercises that we talked about earlier into your strength training or circuit training workouts.
The Foundation of Exercises for Runners
Of all of the lower body exercises that are going to help you prevent injury and become a more sound, energy-efficient runner, it is best to master the basics first. After that, you can start working on some of the advanced variations and ballistic or plyometric lower body exercises. Technique is KEY to preventing injury and building strength.
Hone in the technique and form of your squats and lunges without using any external weight, first. We want to make sure that we work on extending the range of motion of your ankles, hips, and knees. This will also make sure we condition the right muscle memory from your hips, quadriceps and glutes.
When you are comfortable squatting to at least 90 degrees for multiple sets of 15-20 reps and lower yourself completely to the ground and all the way back up in your lunges, you can add external weight.
Simplified Strength Training Runners
To take this whole education one step further, say we throw you together a little strength training program that you can start incorporating into your running schedule. This will give you something to put into action, so that you can see how strength training can take your running to the next level.
Let’s take a sample 4 day training schedule for the competitive or casual runner, and say that you run Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
Competitive Runners: If you guys and gals are training for an event and working on building some mileage, you are probably working on your tempo and threshold runs in the beginning of the week (Monday and Wednesday) when your legs are fresh, and keep your slower paced, distance runs for Friday and Saturday.
Casual Runners: You don’t have to worry about any of that. Just keep running the way that you enjoy it and use these sample workouts to get you started.
Strength Training for Runners: Sample Program
Monday: Tempo or Threshold Run for Competitive
Tuesday: Upper Body Strength
Warmup: 5 minutes light jog or calisthenics like jumping jacks, butt-kicks, high knees, carioca, side shuffle, etc.
Bent Over Barbell or Seated Machine Row: 5 x 5
Bench Press or Dumbbell Bench: 4 x 8
Cable machine face pulls with rope grip: 4 x 8
Ab Twists: 3 x 40 (20 to each side)
Wednesday: Tempo or Threshold Run for Competitive
Thursday: Total Body Strength
Warmup: 5 minutes light jog or calisthenics like jumping jacks, butt-kicks, high knees, carioca, side shuffle, etc.
Barbell Back Squat or Goblet Squat: 5 x 6 or 4 x 8
Barbell Dead Lift: 3 x 10
Overhand or Underhand Lat Pull-downs: 5 x 6
Incline Chest Press (barbell or dumbbell): 5 x 6
Shoulder V Raises: 3 x 10
Friday: Easy Run for Competitive
Saturday: Easy, Long Run for Competitive
Sunday: Total Body Plyo for Running
Warmup: 5 minutes light jog or calisthenics like jumping jacks, butt-kicks, high knees, carioca, side shuffle, etc.
Walking, Skipping, or Jumping Lunges: 3 x 10 (total)
Walking Push-up or Plyo Push-up: 3 x 5-10
1 arm bent-over row: 3 x 10 (each arm)
Plank Heel Raise: 3 x 16-20 (8-10 on each side)
Additional Resources on Strength Training for Runners
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http://breakingmuscle.com/running/why-runners-need-strength-training-and-how-to-get-started
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/strength-training-for-runners-5-rules-to-run-faster.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/strength-training-for-runners-how-to-do-it-right.html
http://running.competitor.com/2013/12/training/dont-neglect-your-anaerobic-development_44060
https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/weight-training-for-endurance-addicts
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly13.htm
Strength Training for Runners was originally published on TrainerJack.com
