MASTERING YOUR RUNNING ERA

They say that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill.  If you want to be a good runner, then you need to run.  Unfortunately, when it comes to training for endurance, it’s very easy to get caught up in an endless cycle of “chronic repetitive motion” while neglecting all the other stuff that actually keeps your body road worthy.  Strength training plays a vital role in preparing your body to pound the pavement.

If you’re in your running era, here’s what you need to know

You can use weight training to address structural & strength imbalances and prevent injury, to improve power to weight ratio, to reinforce optimal posture and breathing and to develop athletic potential and speed.

Injury Prevention

Addressing the most common structural and strength imbalances is key when it comes to bulletproofing the body against injury. 

1. Anterior versus Posterior Chain. 

If you’ve ever been injured and spent time at physio, you’re probably familiar with the old chestnut that “your glutes just aren’t firing”. Whilst this is a super simplistic way of looking at things, there is in fact some truth to it.  If you spend a bunch of time sitting down hunched over a desk, your hip flexors will get short, tight and weak, and your glutes will have a hard time switching on when it comes time to do the hard yards. Strengthening the lower links in your posterior chain - your calves,  hamstrings and glutes - will not only help support your ankles, knees, and lower back, but it will also give you the power to conquer heartbreak hill or win that 1 on 1 sprint to the finish.

Top Tip: Hip flexors are important for improving stride length, and therefore speed, but they are often neglected in training in favor of booty building. An easy way to add insome direct work is by including seated straight leg lifts and banded mountain climber variations. 

2. Side to Side Imbalances.

Given that running is essentially a unilateral sport, if you have a weakness on one side, you will compensate on the other side setting yourself up for injury.  Single leg work should make up the bulk of your training foundation. That goes for both mobility and strength & stability.  If you’re tighter on one side, then stretch on a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio.  If you’re weaker on one side, add an extra set.

Top Tip: Always work to the weakest link.  Start your reps on the weaker side, and whatever number you fail on, you repeat that number on the stronger side.  That will work to even out the imbalances over time. 

3. Lateral versus Medial Imbalances. 

Often knee injuries can be attributed to an imbalance between the outside of the leg being too tight, and the inside of the leg being too weak.  This causes incorrect tracking of the knee, leading to friction, inflammation and pain.  Foam roll the outside of the leg first for myofascial release – go directly on the side of your legs for the IT bands and then shift your weight slightly forward to get the TFL (it’s in between the ITB and the quads) - and then add in direct work VMO (vastus medialis) and adductor/groin work.

Top Tip: Given the importance of obliques in pelvic stability, the Copenhagen Side Plank is a phenomenal way of integrating the core with some direct inner thigh strength work.

4. Work from the ground up.

The foot/ankle/calf complex is incredibly important in all aspects of training, given that your feet are your proprioceptive HQ. The better the feet and ankles are functioning, the better the innervation all the way up the kinetic chain.  Not to mention, if your ankles and calves are tight, they will impede your movement quality and your ability to achieve optimal range of motion.

Top Tip: I often train in bare feet so I can better “feel” the floor. If it’s not possible to do this in your current training environment, then try to get flat shoes to work out in.

Improving power to weight ratio

Muscle mass is not necessarily synonymous with strength.  Having an optimal power to weight ratio means that you have the right amount of muscle to carry your engine for the duration of your task. It comes down to picking the right exercises in the right rep range. For maximal strength and power gains without adding unwanted mass, pick big compound “task-specific” movements like front squats, back squats, deadlifts and Nordic Raises and perform them in sets of 2-5 reps at 70-80% of your 1 rep maximum.  These movements are relatively easy to learn, pack a muscular punch on the legs and posterior chain, and emphasize core stability and posture.

Top Tip:  Staying in the lower “strength based” rep ranges means that you’ll also most likely avoid the DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness) that often goes hand in hand with hypertrophy work. If you’re an athlete, your work in the gym should complement your sport, NOT make you so sore that you can’t perform.

Improve posture and breathing.

When you think of running, the last thing you think of is training the upper body.  However, your posture dictates the efficiency of your breathing, and if you’re hunched over, you’ll be compressing your diaphragm.  This is very inefficient,  and will cause you to tire much more quickly. Add corrective upper body “pull movements” into your program to strengthen your back and allow you to remain much more open and upright for the duration. Bent Over Rows, seated rows, banded pull aparts, facepulls and bent over reverse flyes are all good for improving posture.

Here is a simple run focused unilateral strength based workout for you to try:

Warmup:

20 x Banded Dead Bugs (band around feet)

20 x Banded Mountain Climbers (band around feet, pause with knees under chest)

12 x Banded Single Leg Glute Bridges e/s (band around thighs)

2 rounds

Main Strength Circuit:

6 x Staggered Stance Romanian Deadlift e/s

6 x Bulgarian Split Squat e/s

30 secs Bent Leg Copenhagen Side Plank each side

60-90 secs rest. 3-4 rounds.

Supplementals:

15-25 Wall Supported Calf Raises

15-25 Wall Supported Tibialis Anterior Raises (back against the wall, hinge forward slightly and pull the toes up towards the shins)

2 rounds.

Cooldown:

30-60 secs Couch Stretch (quads & hip flexors)

30-60 secs Pigeon Stretch (glutes)

30-60 secs Straddle Stretch - seated or standing (hamstrings & adductors)

If you enjoyed this session, you might want to consider coming to train with me.