With the cold season bearing down on many of us, now is the time you may want to think about devising an off-season strength training program.
Posted here is an excerpt from the Beginner's Guide to Weight Training for Runners, with some basic but effective exercises:
"Runners are divided on the need for strength training, and the opinions on the matter range from “I don’t need it” to “it’s for the professional runner” to “I hit the gym all the time!” Not long ago, I was a member of the “weight training is scary” camp, and avoided weights like the plague.
Part of the reason was that I didn’t know what sort of strength exercises to do, but I also didn’t really think it was necessary. I’m not competitive (except with myself) and my only sponsorship was coming out of my own pocket. Did I really need to hit the weights?
Yes! The reality is that all runners benefit from strength training. Research has shown that regular strength training helps with injury prevention by strengthening all our muscles, not just those we use to run.
Strength training also directly improves our running performance: by working our core, we extend the time we can run before exhaustion sets in. And effective strength training also improves our form and increases our lean body mass, which helps our entire body to be more efficient and consequently capable of running faster.
Strength training is intimidating, at least it was for me, and the weight room at the gym can seem full of strange machines with bulky, grunting men. Luckily, you do not need a gym to get in a strength training session; I do this quick full-body circuit solo in my living room with a resistance band and a 15-pound weight. If I can do it, you can too! *
1. Planks
2. Squats
3. Abdominal crunch
4. Clamshells
5. Pushups
6. Reverse abdominal crunch
7. Lunges
8. Dips
Remember to move with intention, not too fast and not too slow. This will maximize the effects on your body and also ensure your form is maintained. Improper form can lead to injury, so if these exercises are new to you, you may want to schedule a visit with a personal trainer or, at the very least, watch the videos to ensure your form is correct."
The (link) includes videos for each exercise.
Thanks, LRB! This will probably be my only 2014 New Year resolution and I hope I can keep it. I will print your routine, it's perfect. I don't want to have to go to a gym. I believe in the benefits of a strong core, but ever since I started running I've been feeling really tired when I'm not running. Like "give me a couch right now" tired... The thing about me is that I have been in training cycles for races non-stop since 3 years. So where do you get the energy for anything that is not running?
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Hip Redux
Today I did lat pull downs, one armed rows, chest presses and incline chest presses. Still gotta do my planks.
A few other things I'd add to the lifting cross training list - side lunges, side planks and deadlifts. I prefer to do as much as I can one-legged since I do have some unbalances. Also - anything I can do in the side-to-side plane, I do, since we are always working in the "forward" direction as runners.
This is all fine and dandy during the off season, but once I ramp it up to 6 days of running a week, you can forget about me doing anything non-running related that involves more than a raised brow!
I suppose I really need to rethink that mindset though, which is why I end up on the bench every year.
LRB your workout is great. I do workouts for people with ADD, 22 weight machines in 90 minutes 3 days a week. This week I'm vowing to go back to my ab wheel.