Improve Your Running Times with Simple Strength Workouts
There’s no such thing as a specific “strength workout for runners.”
Strength work is strength work, and running is running. Whatever you do in the gym that isn’t your sport is general physical preparedness. That’s a fancy way of saying it will make you better overall, but it isn’t SPECIFICALLY going to prepare you for your sport.
GPP is your foundation. You’ve probably heard the term “building a base,” referring to putting in lots of long, slow miles to increase your aerobic fitness. Think of GPP in the same way. GPP is doing things that make you better conditioned overall, and address areas that aren’t specifically trained in your sport.
If you have high GPP, you can tolerate a greater volume of running compared to someone with less GPP. You’ll be more resilient. I won’t say injuries will be prevented, but if you do get injured, you’ll bounce back quickly.
GPP is your foundation that everything else is built on.
Here are some key points for runners to keep in mind:
Keep the Goal the Goal
You’re a runner. You’re competitive, or at least you care more about running than other physical pursuits. Nothing you do in the gym should interfere with your running. If it does, you’re either just untrained with weights and just need a few weeks to adapt, or you’re doing too much.
Train the Entire Body
Just because you run doesn’t mean you don’t need to strengthen your legs. And you still need to strengthen your upper body. That doesn’t mean you need to pack on a bunch of muscle mass, though a little bit of extra muscle will be beneficial for hill running and that extra kick at the end of the race.
Pick 4-5 multi-joint barbell lifts to train. For example, the squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, and barbell row. Focus on those exercises. You can also add 2-3 smaller exercises, like core work, done for just a few minutes at the end of your sessions.
Break up your lifts between sessions. One session, focus on the squat, bench press, and barbell row. The next session, the deadlift and overhead press. There are many ways to do this and this is just an example.
Train with Fairly Low Reps and Sets
You don’t need a ton of volume that makes you sore. You need strength. Train with sets of 3-8 reps. If you’re inexperienced with weights, start around 5-8 reps. Get coaching and make sure your technique is perfect. As you gain confidence and coordination, the weight can be increased and the reps decreased. Lower reps allow for maximal strength development, which isn’t a quality trained with any sort of running. Remember, we’re training generally.
2-4 sets is sufficient for most exercises. We aren’t training to be lifters, and high training volumes can detract from your running. If you’re getting excessively sore from lifting anytime except after the first few sessions, you’re wrong.
Put strength training on your highest intensity days
Combine your highest stress training days to recover better. If you do interval training, lift on those days. Otherwise, pair your lifting with things like fartlek or tempo training. This will consolidate your highest training stress to only a couple of days per week and allow you to recover more than if you were training hard 4 days per week.
If you’re doing both strength training and intervals on the same day, your goals and experience will dictate what order you do your workouts in. If you’re new to strength training, do it first. You need to practice the strength movements when you’re fresh to learn them well. If you have more experience in the gym, you can do your interval running first if you prefer. The fatigue from running WILL affect your lifting. If you’re further out from a race, I’d still lift first. The fatigue from lifting won’t affect your running as much as the other way around. The closer you get to your race, you can switch the order to emphasize your intervals.
Consider Single Leg Work
If you’re experienced with weights, do some low-volume single leg training, such as split squats or lunges. These can help with stability in your hips. However, if you haven’t mastered basic barbell exercises, don’t worry about these. Make sure you can train well on two legs before you try to balance on one.
Here’s a sample training week for an intermediate runner who runs 4x per week and is training for a 5K race:
Monday – Strength Training + Interval Running
Tuesday – Easy Run
Wednesday – Rest/Mobility/Easy Cross Training
Thursday – Strength Training
Friday –Tempo Run
Saturday – Long Run
For more info about how strength training can reduce your injury risk, check out my friend Josh from Paceline Physical Therapy’s article here
For my go-to cross training for running exercises, go here
For more info on core training for runners, go here
Putting together a strength program can be tough if you’re new to the weight room. If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me
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