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Today, runners need to do more than just run. Runners need to be strong and athletic. If they’re not, they can get hurt even if they practice good running form. In fact, some injury statistics put the annual injury rate for runners at a staggering 66 percent. That’s higher than professional football!
Reducing the injury rate isn’t actually that difficult, though. In fact, runners can do so effectively with just 10 to 20 minutes of strength training each day. Whether your goal is simply to run easier with less pain or to get faster in your next race, a few strength sessions every week can help. Using runner-specific strength exercises will increase structural fitness—or the ability of your bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles to withstand the impact of running. While most forms of strength training can help improve overall performance, adding heavy resistance exercises, in particular, can make you faster during the final sprint of a race.
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WHY DO STRENGTH TRAINING?
While runners often work mainly on their aerobic fitness, strength training (also called resistance training) is an important training tool.
- Achieve higher speeds and mileageby building leg strength. Consider that when you run, two-to-three times your body weight is borne by one leg at a time
- Reduce the risk of injury by correcting imbalancesthat occur naturally in the body, such as left-right differences, unequal knee flexion and extension strength, and imbalances in overall muscular strength
- Improve your overall running formand become a more efficient runner. When you’re running a marathon, good running form may be easy at the start, when you’re full of energy, but it’s towards the end when you’re tired that it really counts!
WHAT TO FOCUS ON?
As a runner you will of course want to work on your leg strength, but it’s also important to develop your core muscles(chest, shoulders and back) and pelvic muscles. Training your foot and lower leg muscles (shins, calves and plantar muscles) helps to improve your push-off strength and also reduces the chance of injuries.
HOW TO DO IT?
When you start doing strength exercises, pay close attention that you’re performing the exercises correctly. Some tips for effective strength exercising:
- Perform strength exercisestwo or three times a week. 2. Start withfew repetitions and build up step by step. 3. Don’t hold your breath while exercising. As a rule, breathe out while using strength. 4. When performed correctly, you should feel a burning sensation in the exercised muscles. 5. Once you are comfortable with the exercises and you have good form, you can add weights to create more resistance.
Incorporate strength training into your running regimen
- Head to the gym, but be sure to avoid common weight-lifting mistakes.
- Take a classif you’re unsure about how to strength train on your own.
- Adopt a flexibility- and strength-building routineby practicing Pilates, yoga, or the newly popular Gyrotonics.
- Go outdoors for a circuit training loopto strength train.
- Integrate cross-traininginto your workout routine to build strength and flexibility in muscles that running doesn’t utilize and prevent injury. Try cycling or swimming to improve strength and flexibility.
- Say goodbye to long runs and introduce a high-intensity, low-volume training planto your routine.
- Improve your balance and stabilityto strengthen weak muscles and reform your running
Strength-Training Exercises You Need to Know
Planks
Prop yourself up on your elbows with your feet slightly apart. Make sure your body is aligned, your abdominal muscles are tight, and shoulders are directly above the elbows and down and back, not hunched up. Hold this position for 45 seconds to one minute. Gradually add time as your core gets stronger.
Lower-Body Russian Twist
Lie on your back with your upper legs perpendicular to the floor and your knees bent 90-degrees. Without changing the bend in your hips or knees, lower your legs to the left side of your body while keeping your shoulders in contact with the floor. Lift them back to the starting position, and repeat to the right side of your body. That’s one repetition.
Squats
The squat is one of the best functional fitness moves you can master. From picking up a load of laundry to stabilizing yourself when you lose your balance, you’ll use the squat in many areas of your life.
Overhead Lunge
Hold a pair of dumbbells straight above your shoulders, with your arms straight and elbows locked. Step forward with your left leg, and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees. Return to the starting position, and repeat with your right leg. That’s one repetition.
Bridge
Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor hip-distance apart. As you contract your abs and butt muscles, push your pelvis upward, away from the floor. Keep your ribs aligned with your pelvis, and make sure your knees are directly above your heels. Lower your hips and pelvis to just above the floor and pause. This completes one rep. Raise your hips back to the high position and repeat. Do three sets of 10.
Lunges
Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up (pick a point to stare at in front of you so you don’t keep looking down). Always engage your core. Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pushed out too far, and make sure your other knee doesn’t touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position.
Push Ups
To start, get into a plank position (see above), making sure your shoulders are aligned over your wrists and your fingers and palms are spread wide, with pressure focused in your fingertips. Keep your belly button pulled in as you lower down, and keep your spine straight so your body is in a straight line. Bend your elbows outward to the sides. Make sure to connect your breath with your movements — inhale as you bend your elbows and lower yourself to the ground and exhale as you raise back up into a plank. Aim for 10 or as many as you can do, and add reps as you become stronger.
The post The Ultimate Strength Training for Runners appeared first on The LiveYourSport Blog.
