Best weight lifting programs for runners

They must be doing the best. There isn't much variation. But for some reason, the average runner has this idea that they have to get their miles per week up at all costs. That is not the be-all end-all.

There are a lot of other things you can do. By the end of the book I felt like I kind of had an assignment: Build a strong core, and build a strong butt. If all I did was focus on those two things, how much would that help me in athletics and life? Tremendously, and here is the reason why: As you run faster, the amount of time you are in contact with the ground actually decreases.

But the flip side of that is that when you have less time in contact with the ground, it is actually harder to run. So your body has to be able to supply more force to the ground quickly. Here is why strength training helps runners: You have to be able to put out more force in a shorter amount of time to run faster. But if all you do is run, you never develop the true high-end strength and high-power demands that you need to do that.

So yes, if you develop a strong core, you keep things stable. And if you have good glutes, you can propel yourself off the ground. Walking is different than running. When you walk, most of the power from push-off actually comes from your calf.

When you run that isn't true. When you run, most of the power from push-off comes from your hips, so we're talking about true hip extension. If you improve your core strength and improve your hip extension strength, you are well on your way to becoming a more efficient runner. You were also pretty clear that building a strong core for running and other athletics isn't about doing crunches. The definition of core stability is how well you can stabilize your upper body on your lower body.

That definition can factor in if you are doing some type of Russian twists. It is looking at how much rotation you've got while you are able to keep your trunk stable on the other planes.

So for running, obviously you are looking at how your upper body moves reciprocally to your lower body. It operates differently, and it is supposed to. It is supposed to counterbalance your lower body. But what we are looking at is: How stable do you keep that link between your upper and lower body?

That is really, really important. When you allow your low back to pitch forward or arch, you inhibit those core muscles working, and when your core muscles can't work, your hips basically shut off too. The way you describe it, it sounds like a postural problem in addition to a strength problem. How much do postural issues set people back when they start out an athletic pursuit?

There is a classic physical therapist named Vladimir Janda who defined this thing called "lower quarter crossed syndrome. What it says is when you adopt a position where you stand in poor posture, you actually inhibit your ability to activate your hips, your muscles inside of your shin, and also your feet. That is not just a running issue; that is an everything issue. So it is basically saying, look, if you are going to spend all this time in the weight room training specific muscles but stand this way, you are only going to be able to fire about percent of your muscle fibers instead of percent.

That is already starting off at a "D. Posture is absolutely huge, and posture is not just something we practice when running or in the weight room.

This is something that people need to pay attention to just walking into their kitchen or at work and sitting all day long. You hear about people sitting on balls instead of on chairs; it's a great idea.

The more different ways to keep your posture in check, the better things carry over. While reading Anatomy for Runners , I got out an old dowel and I started squatting and doing the "Chair of Death" in the living room. How important are non-weight-bearing exercises like that in muscular and athletic development? They are really important. It is not so much about the strength aspects, but rather the muscle memory. Talking about the Chair of Death specifically, I have a little movement screen I use, and almost every runner who fails the Chair of Death overstrides.

It's interesting to me that the people who fail that exercise are the ones who try to contact the ground too far in front of them. And interestingly enough, you tell that person, "OK, try to strike closer to you, and try to push off more behind you? But you can get strong and remain lean. Exercises such as pull-ups and reverse flyes are so simple, but often ignored in place of working from the hips downwards. Many of the overuse injuries I see in distance runners are multi-factorial in their causes, with muscular imbalance and lack of mobility in certain areas being big parts of the puzzle.

A good cross-training plan for runners will incorporate elements of both. Running is very much a linear movement, at least on the surface in comparison to the twisting and turning we see from athletes in sports such as football. As you can see in the video below, many of the weak links we see in runners occur in the frontal side to side and transverse rotational planes of motion. A good example is the crab walk exercise demonstrated in the video below:. The same has to be said for the exercises intended to support your running too!

When it comes to strength training for distance runners, getting the exercises done is one a big part of the battle, but take the time to learn and execute great technique throughout each exercise. Take a single leg squat for example; as I describe in the video below, there are subtle tweaks that can make the exercise more quad biased, and other tweaks that make it more glute biased. Consider your running form for a moment.

Whenever one leg is going backwards, the other is coming forwards, the same can be said for the arms. When your torso is rotated one way, your pelvis rotates the other… This asymmetrical and reciprocal repeats cyclically all over the body as we move from stride to stride.

With these factors in mind, we can be specific with which types of exercise we choose when looking to develop more resilient running bodies. Rather than standard squats and deadlifts with our legs working together in relative parallel, I always encourage runners to work on split squats and lunge variations where we work the hips in particular in different directions with each rep.

I just quickly want to address one of the major objections I hear regularly when it comes to getting people into regular strength training workouts for runners. You need to be eat big to get big! This point is simple and leads into the next nicely. If an exercise hurts, stop. The best rule of thumb when it comes to strength training for distance runners, and running injuries, in general, is not to push through the pain.

The vast majority of running injuries will get worse over time if you try to run through the pain, rather than better. Top athletes will have regular screenings from a physio to help make better informed choices about how their strength programme should look. Weightlifting and running provide numerous benefits on their own, including improved heart health, boosted mood and energy, and less depression and anxiety due to the release of endorphins during exercise.

But combining weightlifting and running into the same fitness routine can maximize the benefits of both activities. Remember, running is a repetitive motion exercise. It requires stability, balance, and coordination… all of which are improved by strength training. Strength training also improves your endurance and power for beach running , long distance running, and marathon running. Not, only that but adding muscle mass to your bones lowers the impact, reducing your risk of stress fractures from running.

In turn, both types of exercise also increase bone density, which is especially important for female runners. Finding time to add weightlifting into your running regimen can be challenge.

The good news is some strength training is better than none at all. Incorporate it into your routine wherever you can because even short strength training sessions will still be beneficial. So, if your primary goal is to build muscle and strength, do strength training first.

Either way, allow at least six hours between workouts. Randy is a USA Weightlifting National coach and trains multiple elite and collegiate distance runners in the gym.

We had Randy on the podcast to clarify all things lifting:. And we have even more detailed info in our free strength course here. In fact, as you get older particularly after age 40 , strength training becomes even more important than when you were younger.

Not only will a regular weight training habit help you maintain your fitness and prevent injury, but help you maintain your muscle mass. For more detail, see how to combat the effects of aging here. But it would be irresponsible not to note that while bodyweight exercises are good, weightlifting is better. An ideal strength program includes a balance of both to prioritize both your ability to stay healthy and prevent injuries, but also your ability to produce force and power.

Lifting will:. Sign up here for our complimentary email series on effective weight training for runners. Register here and the first lesson will hit your inbox in just a few minutes. No runner wants that! Weight Training for Runners: The Big Picture When it comes to strength work for runners, there are three major goals: Injury prevention — toughen the connective tissues and strengthen the muscles to improve injury resilience Muscular power — produce force quickly so you can run faster and finish strong with a fast finishing kick Neuromuscular coordination — improve the communication pathways between the brain and muscles for higher running economy, efficiency, and a smooth stride Most strength training options will help you with the first goal — injury prevention.

And performance is about speed. Randy adds: Avoid circuits of several exercises in a row and instead take minutes of recovery after each set. Weight Training Mistake: Relying on Stability Too many runners have fallen in love with stability training with Bosu balls, wobble boards, and other stability tools.

Randy summarizes this well: Avoid wobble boards, bosu, or swiss balls.