FITNESS By Design

Strength Training is a foundational component of a comprehensive distance running training program. The inclusion of a properly designed strength training program is important because the benefits of strength training are not achieved through running or cross-training alone. 

The benefits of strength training for distance runners:  An overview 

Injury Prevention: 

Injury rates among runners are extremely high (at the high school level, cross-country runners experience more injuries than athletes in any other sport, including football and gymnastics). 

One of the most effective means for minimizing tissue trauma associated with distance running is to develop stronger muscles, tendons, fascia, ligaments and bones. This is the primary reason that every runner should perform regular strength exercise. 

Contributes to prevention of shin splits, stress fractures, lower back discomfort, knee problems and hip injuries common to distance runners. Performance enhancement: Allows athlete to adhere to marathon training schedule and thereby maximize performance. 

Improved muscle strength/endurance. 

Improved joint flexibility. 

Increased force/power production. 

Improved running economy – research indicates 4 percent less oxygen used at sub-maximum running speeds. 

Increased basal metabolic rate contributing to improved body composition. 

1. Expect muscle soreness after the first workout. 

Following the first strength training workout a runner will generally experience moderate to significant delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).  Runners who are new to strength training often worry that, “If I always feel like this after the strength workout there is no way I can continue to strength train and perform key running workouts). This soreness will diminish and eventually disappear after two to three days.  Soreness following subsequent strength training workouts will be much less severe than following the first (and sometimes the second) strength workout.  Normal running can and should still be performed during this period of soreness.  Do not attempt to stretch to relieve soreness as stretching plays absolutely no role in reducing (or preventing) muscle soreness. 

2. Resume strength training as soon as possible after the race.   

Strength training should be resumed as soon as possible following a race including the marathon – even if the runner is sore and does not feel “up to it.” A Saturday marathon should be followed with a Monday or Tuesday strength training workout.  Strength training theoretically enhances recovery time after the marathon because it increases blood flow to sore muscles.  The level of intensity and amount of resistance (weight) used during this workout should be decreased.  The second workout following the marathon will return to a normal intensity level. 

3. It is impossible to add enough muscle mass to hurt run performance.  

 A prevalent apprehension associated with strength training for distance runners is that intense strength training will cause a runner to add muscle size and the runner will attain a “muscle bound” or “bulky” appearance thus negatively impacting running performance. Unfortunately, this myth is perpetuated by the running community including well meaning coaches, athletes  magazines. The truth is that intense strength training with heavy weights will not make a distance runner “bulky” unless the runner has the genetic predisposition to add muscle; a virtual impossibility for most distance runners. The genetic characteristics that runners generally posses are very different than the genetic characteristics of a body builder or power athlete. It is impossible for a distance runner to significantly increase muscle to the point where a runner appears bulky and experience a decrease in running performance – no matter how much or how hard they strength train. 

4. Body composition will improve with strength training.  

 One of the primary positive outcomes associated with strength training is an improvement in body composition. Excessive body fat serves as “drag” in any running distance. Eliminating drag improves running speed when all other factors are kept equal. Strength training increases metabolism so that ultimately, less fat is stored. The result is a stronger and leaner runner. Without strength training, aging runners lose muscle tissue and metabolism slows – this is essentially an inescapable truth. Unless a runner strength trains, he will lose muscle as he ages, and still accrue a degree of fat.  A 48 year old runner who weighs 152 pounds has a much higher percentage of body fat than when he was 22 years old and still weighed 152 pounds. Over time, muscle is lost and fat increases.  

5. The competitive race season is the most important time to strength train. 

The most important time for the distance runner to strength train is during the competitive racing season. However, this seems to be the time period when most runners discontinue strength training. Strength training, like any other mode of training, stimulates a series of positive physiological adaptations. These adaptations are “use it or lose it.”  If strength training is discontinued, the positive adaptations diminish after a matter of a few weeks. If a runner wants to benefit from strength training, it is imperative that they strength train during the racing season. Do not bother strength training in December through March if you plan on discontinuing strength training throughout the spring and summer racing season. No runner would consider discontinuing running completely all summer long because they will be racing more. Runners understand that they must run (and include important components including speed, tempo, long runs) on a consistent basis in order to maintain or improve fitness. In order to maximize race performance during the spring and summer, continue to strength train with attention paid to the timing and spacing of these workouts. Even one strength workout every ten to fourteen days throughout the spring and summer racing season will allow the runner to maintain muscle strength and injury resilience. There is no “season” for strength training – it must be performed year round on a consistent basis. 

6. Continue to strength train when injured.  

Most running injuries do not interfere with the ability to strength train effectively. Often times an injury will exist that prevents a runner from running; often the runner mistakenly assumes that he or she cannot strength train safely either. The truth is that the strength training routine can be modified to “work around” the injured areas. If an ankle injury exists, the entire upper body, midsection, hip abductors and adductors, hip flexors, hamstrings, and quadriceps can and should be trained productively. In this specific case, it is likely that only calf and tibia dorsi flexion exercises must be avoided. 

7. Continue to strength train during periods of high mileage running. 

Runners and coaches may often assume that as a runner continually increases his mileage, he must consider discontinuing strength training to allow for the increased running volume. The period of high mileage running is possibly the most important time for the inclusion of strength training, as it is during this time that the runner is most susceptible to injury. Some coaches theorize that an athlete only has a finite amount of energy from which all training activities draw upon. This assumption mistakenly assumes that the body responds to all physiological stresses in the same manner; specifically, that strength training and running impact the body’s recovery systems in the same manner.　 

8. Recreational runners should strength train. 

Many middle of the pack runners may wonder why strength training is important for them as they do not aspire to qualify for the Olympics, the Boston marathon, or run a sub 4:00 hour marathon. Strength training is not reserved solely for runners seeking to maximize performance. Instead, strength training should be viewed as a foundational activity that allows the recreational runner to run with a decreased risk of injury while also contributing to improved fitness and health (improved body composition, increased metabolism, increased bone mineral density, etc.). 

9. More is not better when it comes to strength training. 

Unlike aerobic exercise (to an extent), money, and free time – more is not better when it come to strength training. The stimulus for improving strength (and the other positive adaptations including injury resilience, body composition improvement, etc.) is intensity, not volume, frequency, or duration. If an activity is intense, it can not be performed for a long time. Duration and intensity are mutually exclusive. More frequent strength training is not more beneficial because the body does not actually get stronger while strength training; instead, we get stronger while we recover from strength training. Distance runners (as well as power athletes and non-athletes) only need to strength train once to twice a week for optimal results. Although one to two workouts per week fits in well to a runner’s training program and busy life, it is important to understand that this low frequency and volume of strength training is not a compromise or an effort to “at least do some strength training.” Instead, the twice a week strength training prescription is what produces the absolute best results possible. 

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