Despite the fact that weight training is generally regarded as unnecessary by many people in the running world, according to Rick Morris, author of "Treadmill Training for Runners," performing regular strength training workouts can actually help improve your running speed, endurance, and prevent injuries. As running involves the use of your whole body, it is best to do your weight training in the same manner by following a full body workout routine.
Lower Body 1
After a thorough warm up, start your workout with lunges. Lunges are a quadriceps-dominant exercise, but they also target your glutes, hamstrings, calves and core muscles. According to corrective exercise specialist Mike Robertson, as lunges work each leg individually, they are brilliant for helping prevent knee and ankle injuries -- two conditions that often affect runners. Perform four sets of eight repetitions per side.
Lower Body 2
Bret Contreras, strength coach and author of "Advanced Techniques in Glutei Maximi Strengthening" advises that your glutes and hamstrings are two of the most powerful muscles in your body, and between them, they generate a huge amount of power for your running stride, so training them is vital. Perform stiff-legged deadlifts to target both muscles effectively. Hold an Olympic barbell with your arms straight, and push your hips back to initiate the movement. Keep pushing them back so that the bar moves towards the floor, until you feel your hamstrings start to stretch, and then forcefully push your hips forward to stand back up again. Maintain a slight arch in your back throughout the movement, and do five sets of 12 reps.
Upper Body
While you may not think that upper body training is that important, seeing as running mainly uses your legs, a strong upper body can help you maintain correct posture while running, and minimize any back or shoulder pain you might otherwise suffer. Perform two exercises back to back. The first one should be regular pushups -- aim for 10 reps, and then immediately perform 10 chinups. If you struggle to do full chinups, then do inverted rows instead, or use an assisted chinup machine. Once you can do this five times, increase the number of reps, or wear a weighted vest.
Core
The main role of your core is to stabilize your spine and prevent any excessive tilting, flexing or rotating movements. Perform a plank, where you support your body weight with just your forearms and feet on the floor for as long as possible, and then do 15 seated twists with a medicine ball. Repeat this as many times as you can in five minutes.
Member Comments