Strength Training

**Portia**

hey there,

After DCM I know now how crucial strength training will be for me going forward, to prevent injury and improve times. The thing is I have heard of lots of different strength training excercises to do (squats, lunges, etc..) but have yet to come across a comprehensive plan for all-round strength best suited to runners, which details the exact no. Of exercises, how many reps and how may times a week. Is anyone using something like this? Bsically, when my Hal Hutson (or whoever) trAining plan has me doing 'strength' for the day, what should I be doing in detail?

Oregano_State

There are lots of variables here.

How often do you run?

Do you have access to a gym?

What's your injury history?

Do you know how to perform, say a barbell squat safely?

In terms of marathon running, you could probably get away with one circuits-type class per week, at least to begin with. If you haven't done anything like this before, then do it on a day where you won't have a hard running session the next day, as you'll most likely be sore after it.

Most commercial gyms offer classes like these as part of their membership. My advice would be to go along and talk to the class trainer, telling them your training situation and your goals, and see what they say.

**Portia**

Hey, thanks for the response!

Ok, so I am not running at the moment unfortunately because of a knee injury which was then exacerbated by running the DCM on it anyway! But once recovered my plan is to run 4 times a week and strength train at least twice. I need to injury-proof myself next year and I want to be then best i can be next year.
I have access to a gym yeah so maybe I can talk to one of the trainers in there. The circuits idea sounds pretty on the money. Thanks for the advice

dna_leri

Grandpa Hal has some suggestions here:
http://www.halhigdon.com/writing/50942/Strength%20Training

but I prefer this from Coach Jay Johnson:
http://www.coachjayjohnson.com/assets/RT_15min.pdf

BeepBeep67

For running focus on core and single leg work, bavarian squats, single leg bridge and single leg plank, anything that engages the core and fires the supporting muscles.

**Portia**

dna_leri wrote: »

Grandpa Hal has some suggestions here:
http://www.halhigdon.com/writing/50942/Strength%20Training

but I prefer this from Coach Jay Johnson:
http://www.coachjayjohnson.com/assets/RT_15min.pdf

Ok thanks, I like the look of the Jay Johnson one. If you were doing these, would that be all of the strength training you would be doing? Would this ocnstitute strength training? Sometimes I'm not too sure what can be bracketed as strength training and what is more in the 'stretches' category

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

For running focus on core and single leg work, bavarian squats, single leg bridge and single leg plank, anything that engages the core and fires the supporting muscles.

Sounds good but how come none of those are in the Jay Johnson guide above? This is why I'm kind of confused, there doesn't seem to be any widely agreed upon 'strength workout for runners.' If I wanted to do the exercises you mention, how many should I do and how often, roughly?

dna_leri

**Portia** wrote: »

Ok thanks, I like the look of the Jay Johnson one. If you were doing these, would that be all of the strength training you would be doing? Would this ocnstitute strength training? Sometimes I'm not too sure what can be bracketed as strength training and what is more in the 'stretches' category



Sounds good but how come none of those are in the Jay Johnson guide above? This is why I'm kind of confused, there doesn't seem to be any widely agreed upon 'strength workout for runners.' If I wanted to do the exercises you mention, how many should I do and how often, roughly?

First of all there is no single answer and many runners do no strength training at all. As OS said what you do will depend on your training history and access to equipment, coaching etc. None of us can tell you what is best for you.

However if you are a beginner with minimal equipment and coaching, than something like the above are good places to start. Jay Johnson would say you should do the exercises after your runs but again there is no "right" answer. He also has some progressions from the basic exercises which he mentions in that article.

Personally I do a combination of JJ's routine with some additional weights work (including single leg work as BB mentioned) but with any weights it's important to have good form so as not to cause injury.

HelenAnne

Would you have the time / money to sign up to a class? I think it's really valuable to have someone watch you doing the exercises and make sure you're working hard but not doing any damage.

I do Pilates once a week, and everyone in the class runs, so it has a running focus, and my husband does 'Core Strength for Runners' once a week. You might find a class like that near you?

kingQuez

There's a great video where you can see some of the exercises that Galan Rupp does here: http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/249744-Workout-Wednesday-Season-7/video/684139-WOW-Rupp-in-the-Weightroom

Lots of normal stuff, with plenty of balance/core work included.

I only started doing s&c work about a year ago and found its made a big difference to having niggles/injuries. Well worth getting someone to teach you (or check) your technique and ensure you have full range of motion/mobility before loading the exercises with any additional weight (physio/pt/gym instructor). I think the saying is "train a movement not a muscle".

At the moment i do one gym session a week (or one every two weeks if im doing a lot of other training). They take time to recover from, and you dont want to do anything too hard (sprint sessions, uber-long runs etc.) the next day. Usually I do a warmup (the exercises that im going to do, but with no weights), and then 3 circuits of 3 exercises. Each exercise i do 6-8 times. eg. walking lunge, side lunges, reverse lunge, squat, single leg deadlift, pressups (so many variations, and im still terrible and hate them), cable pulls (lots of variations). All can be done using medicine balls to start off with and progress to using dumbells/kettlebells and increasing weight once you have good technique, and then introduce some instability by using a boso ball or swiss ball to make it harder again. Lots of good ideas on youtube. For running I'd focus most exercises on lower body (glutes/hamstrings/quads), include plenty of core work (plank and variations, pressups with rotations), and then do some upper body stuff just to keep things in balance. All muscles work in pairs, so if you do a "push" exercise, pair it up with an equivalent "pull" exercise to train the opposing muscle. eg. pressup paired with cable pull.

RacoonQueen

I'd recommend investing in at least one session with a (decent) personal trainer who can give you specific exercises for your weaker areas and teach you how to do them properly.

Best exercises generally for a runner are core exercises and some leg strength stuff.

barrymac20

This is the kind of stuff I was looking for in the thread I created the other. Some good info here. Fair play.

bambergbike

Thanks from me as well. That Rupp video is interesting. I liked the emphasis in it on adding instability to strength exercises. I'm also in the process of trying to come up with a basic strength training programme that will address weaknesses my running (and to some extent also my yoga classes) have gradually been making me aware of. I haven't done nearly as much running as the OP yet - certainly not a marathon - but I've done enough to notice weak points that could really land me in hot water if I started proper marathon training without addressing them first.

Before looking at Jay Johnson and at what Rupp does, I was looking at this:
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/strengthexercises.html

I think I'm going to use the bodyweight circuit suggested there as a starting point; I can do everything in it except the pull-ups and the (noisy) jumping jacks easily at home and it seems to cover a lot of what I know I need to work on. Once I get some sort of regular routine going I can always tinker with it once it starts to get a bit easier.

My other go-to place for articles and videos is Runner's World, but a lot of their articles and videos tend to be a bit short and bitty and it's not always easy for a novice to see how the different suggestions can be combined. Articles like the "10 best strength exercises" are interesting, but they don't add up to a very coherent routine.

lim abroad

For anyone based in Limerick there's a Strength & Conditioning class specifically for runners based out in castletroy

spurscormac

FWIW,

Having watched that Rupp video and determined to begin some proper core work, I went out and purchased a 5kg medicine ball.
Using a combination of some the exercises in mens health and some from Running Times (non medicine ball), after 3 days I'm really starting to feel the burn.

They are easy to do at home in the morning, which saves from having to travel to the gym.
I hope to introduce more stability exercises ala Rupp as I progress, though it looks like those half stability balls are pretty pricey.

Vet Thrower

It would seem to me that strength endurance is what a runner needs, not absolute strength.

For this purpose, I'd say a 16kg kettlebell and the Enter the Kettlebell programme is all you need. It's cheap, quick, and convenient.

From memory, you start off doing 5 or 6 minutes a day, 4 days a week. It's 2 handed swings on one day and Turkish get ups on the other. These will hit your core, legs, back, and shoulders.

You progress from here to a level where you are doing 200 one handed snatches in 10 minutes - few people will get to this point. If you outgrow the 16k bell, then get a 24k one and start the progression again.

I'm not a runner so this could be crap advice. Take with a pinch of salt.

obriebm

lim abroad wrote: »

For anyone based in Limerick there's a Strength & Conditioning class specifically for runners based out in castletroy

Is that the course based in the University Arena?

gl0Rob

obriebm wrote: »

Is that the course based in the University Arena?

No. Its based in Castletroy College's gym. They have a great setup there. I'd go a far to say as it's better equipped than UL's elite weights room ( or whatever its call )

obriebm

gl0Rob wrote: »

No. Its based in Castletroy College's gym. They have a great setup there. I'd go a far to say as it's better equipped than UL's elite weights room ( or whatever its call )

Great stuff, will check it out.

Moving back home in a couple of weeks and was looking for classes close by.

Thanks for that.

carsfan

Can you please post the details/class times of the strength & conditioning class in Castletroy College? Thanks.

lim abroad

https://www.facebook.com/LimerickSportsAndFitnessClinic?ref=hl