Lean, mean, running machine!
Congrats on staying dedicated to your running! You’ve been getting in those track workouts, getting (sort of) used to waking up early for those weekend runs and heck, you’ve actually turned down most of the random snacks that float around the house. You’re really on point with this training cycle to kill that PR! But are you also spending QT strength training in your routine?
Long gone are the days where athletes of any sport are just working on their craft. Many, if not all, have a strength and conditioning program to work on key areas to keep their engines running strong. Runners are no different. Though chiseled abs and throwing up two hundred plus pounds on the bench press might be counterproductive to running, there are many things you can do to get yourself running harder, better, faster, stronger.
More than a lifting “bro-gram”
A solid strength program for runners will look not just at improving your running dynamics, but work on those smaller muscle weaknesses and imbalances that will compound and inhibit you in the late stages of a marathon. Here are some great exercises to help strength some common weaknesses:
Knees turn inward when you squat or run? Lateral tube walks and clamshells are great exercises that strengthen those ever pesky gluteus medius muscles. You may find some knee pain disappear with your legs now moving in a straighter line.
If you’re hunched over from your upper back when you run, you can improve your oxygen intake with the reverse dumbbell fly. You’ll run taller, and be able take bigger breaths with your chest fully opened.
Fully use those thighs when you run! Many runners don’t use their hamstrings enough when they run. A great exercise to strengthen them are stability ball leg curls. You’ll be able to power up the hills on your next run.
Planks, rows and deadlifts oh my!
If you truly want to get faster, time to get your weights up. The stronger you can get, the more you can keep going at a faster pace without petering out. Even with a moderate amount of weight, you’ll find yourself getting stronger, without bulking up. Here are some exercises to power up:
Deadlifts – Great for building up the hammys! Done either with two legs or one, you might not feel like you’re doing much at the moment, but just you wait until the next day, you’ll wonder why your legs are jelly. You can thank the deadlifts for that.
Dumbbell rows – Your arm swing are your power generators. See how fast you can go with your arms wrapped around you… With that experiment over, you see how much your arms come into play with running. Building up those lats will help keep you moving on by effortlessly.
Renegade rows – A great way to blast your core, this will tighten up the tummy, incorporate your glutes and quads, and strengthen your core stability. With your torso denser, you’re body won’t waste energy trying to hold itself together and be able to focus on running.
This is just a snippet of an actual full-blown strength training program. Done properly, you’ll start to see those gains in the form of time dropping on your favorite running course.
Don’t Forget To Foam Roll & Stretch?
Muscles get tight from overuse, which inhibit range of motion. Picture this, a rubber band with a knot or two in it will still stretch, but not as much as if those knots weren’t there. Your body is the same way. While getting stronger helps prevent injury by strengthening the ligaments, tendons and connective tissues in your body, you’ll find your muscles tightening up from strength training, which will hamper your running. I know, it’s a vicious cycle. So dust off your foam roller and spend time rolling out and stretching those tight areas. Your body will love you for it. Here are some key areas to target:
Glutes & hammys – sit on the roller underneath your thighs a roll slowly over any tight spots. Think steam roller and not speed racer. To get the glutes, sit on the roller, cross one leg over the knee of other and roll up and down on that side of your tush with the crossed leg. Use your same side arm to balance yourself out.
Calves – Place the roller underneath the calves and have your hand behind you. Use your hands to roll your calves over the roller. Again stay a bit longer on those tight areas.
Back & Lats – Lay on your side on the floor and place the roller underneath your armpit. Slowly roll from there to about halfway down your ribcage to target your lats. You can also lie with your back flat against the roller and roll from your shoulders down to your lower back. Crack, snap, pop you might hear with your spine popping.
Quads – Turn over and lie face down with the roller on your quads. Use your elbows to drag your thighs up and down the roller. Turn your feet outward to hit different quad muscles. Likewise turn onto your side to get that infamous IT band.
Sure you might have read all of this before somewhere else, but are you doing it? Few of us in the world are naturally talented like Meb or Des, but guarantee they are doing these things as well to hone their talents. Ask yourself this, if all of this if good enough for the pros and elites of the world, why isn’t it good enough for you? No one said it was easy to get stronger and faster. So get out there and get to work! Your next PR is waiting.
Unsure about what that form should look like doing renegade rows? Not sure why your back hurts doing deadlifts? Click here and set up your FREE consultation to answer those questions and see if a training program with Endurance Fitness Performance is right for you!
