Sooner or later, every runners gets curious about the gym and wonders how to strength train to best achieve their running goals.
Note: this article is written by Michelle Boland, PhD CSCS*D
- Owner of Reframe Performance, Inc.
- PhD in Exercise Physiology, M.S in Strength & Conditioning, & B.S in Nutrition
- Instagram @dr.michelleboland and @reframe_performance
Check out Michelle’s Free Ebook on the 6 Biggest Weight Training Mistakes Runners Make…And How to Reframe These Mistakes.
Adding weight training to your training can create quick and instant results. However, after some time those results may begin to plateau. The best solution is to start reframing your perspective on weight training and dialing in on the details to make your training sessions more effective.
Below are the three most common mistakes I see when runners want to learn how to strength train, what I typically change first in runners programs, and practical strategies you can use to improve your running performance.
Mistake #1: You need to always perform exercises to full range of motion
Reframe this as, “Own and Control the Mid-Range”
Athletic performance requires access to ranges of motion to avoid movement compensation. However, frequently putting yourself into excessive ranges of motion can limit tension producing qualities required for running, create excessive and inauthentic motion, and lead to aches and pain.
Static stretching, or activities that push you into extreme ranges of motion, can sometimes do more harm than good. People typically make this mistake when they lunge forward and push their back hip into end ranges of extension or when they perform step-ups on a high box that drives them into end-ranges of hip flexion.
Most runners have restrictions in joint ranges of motion, especially at the hips, due to the demands of their activity. If there are restrictions, you will see movement compensations to get into end-range positions.
For example, if you have restrictions in hip extension and you lunge forward, pushing your back hip into end-range hip extension, you may see extension occur through the lower back. If you step-up on a box that is too high in relation to your hip flexion range of motion capabilities, you will see compensation in back flexion or by rotating your leg outward to flex your hip.
Sometimes you need to play between end-ranges and learn to control and own the mid-range. The mid-range is the range of internal rotation, which we need to access during gait. Internal rotation helps us produce force during mid-stance. Control of the mid-range will help you manage your center of mass during gait and achieve end-ranges (not vice versa).
There are many situations in which your running performance may be negatively impacted by pushing yourself into extreme ranges of motion, so staying in mid-range positions during weight training exercises can be very beneficial.
Let’s Put This Into Action:
A useful rule to follow is, ‘stay within your range of motion capabilities” when performing exercises.
Watch this video on Split Squat Mid-Range Variations where I explain,
- two split squat mid-range variations and how to progress from a slow movement to quicker oscillations
- why we aim to improve our control and ownership of this area, rather than pushing the end ranges
- the importance of foot contact and controlled movement within the mid-range
Mistake #2: Thinking that weight training is cross-training
Reframe this as, “Weight Training is not endurance cross-training, it is a supportive additive to your endurance training.”
Weight training (learn more here) should be about preparing the musculature, joints, bones, ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissues for the demands of running.
In spite of this, runners typically perform high repetition (15-30) exercises in the gym, in the false belief that it will develop cardiovascular fitness, but this is where runners overdo it. Your running training, such as intervals and long runs, will provide you with the cardiovascular benefits and mode-specific adaptations that you will need.
Weight training is a tool to supplement, not be, your training.
High repetitions will only add to your fatigue and increase recovery time, negatively impacting your next run session. Instead, focus on low repetitions (3-8) to manage the volume for primary exercises and select exercises that produce the most amount of benefits with the appropriate amount of stimulus.
You are weight training your muscles, ligaments, and tendons to help you with repeated impacts on the ground, pushing you up hills, and preparing you for the physical demands of running; the running itself will provide you with sport specific endurance.
I also would fail if I did not mention the inclusion of training the stretch-shortening cycle. Running requires repeated contact with the ground, and to maximize our running economy, we need to harness the efficiency of these contacts. Weight training is typically thought of as solely targeting muscles, but the elastic energy in our ligaments and tendons also needs to be maximized.
There are two types of ground contacts that need to be trained: stiffness and giving away. Stiffness contacts are aimed at maximal energy efficiency, are performed with more extension, and are aimed at limiting slack through our body or energy leaks. Stiffness contact examples include hops, skips, and activities that have short ground contact time, higher velocity movement, shorter ranges of motion, and are more focused on the non-contractile tissues.
Giving away contacts will teach your body to sink into the ground, absorb forces, and concentrate on the loading portion and the contractile tissues. Giving away contact examples include fake medicine ball throws and jumps with more counter movements, more ground contact time, more focus on the landing portion of the jump, and slower movements..
Let’s Put This Into Action:
Example session outline:
- Perform 2-3 primary exercises that provide a stimulus for adaptation in the 3-5 repetition range for 3-6 sets.
- Perform 2-3 accessory lifts that are focused on creating and gaining motion for 6-8 repetitions for 2-4 sets.
1A) Plate Reach Split Squat for 5 repetitions x 4 sets (primary)
1B) Single Leg Jump for 3 repetitions x 4 sets (primary)
1C) Continuous Alternating Floor Press for 6 repetitions each side x 4 sets (primary)
2A) Mid-Range ½ Kneeling Landmine Press for 8 repetitions each side x 3 sets (accessory)
2B) Kettlebell Loaded Step to Lateral Step for 6 repetitions each side x 3 sets (accessory)
2C) Staggered Pogo Hops for 20-30 seconds x 3 sets (accessory for stiff ground contacts)
Giving Away vs. Stiffness Contact Examples
Prescription of different ground contacts is dependent on time of season and individual needs.
Add stiffness contacts into your training. Try the following exercises:
- Staggered Pogo Hops
- Skipping Variations
- Scissor Jumps
Add giving away contacts into your training. Try the following exercises:
Mistake #3: Confusing Performance with Preparation
Reframe this as, “Weight Training Needs to Prepare Me for the Demands of Running AND Counteracts the Demands of Running, in Order to Perform at My Best.”
Performance is pure output. It is the completion of a task with a very high tolerance for cost. The weight room can both provide preparation for high levels of physical outputs AND create strategies to help us counteract the demands that may come at a cost.
When trying to improve running, athletes and trainers typically only focus on the performance PREPARATION portion of the training, while opposition work is neglected. OPPOSITION work counteracts the demands of the activity. This helps reduce injury risk, prevents time away from training, helps you recover, and helps you access positions that allow you to better express force and power.
Running is a repeated push forward, bouncing off the ground. The cost of running performance, for one example, can be a pelvis that is more oriented forward in space leading to restrictions in hip joint ranges of motion.
When you know how to strength train, you’ll include opposition work to reorient pelvis position and ranges of motion to allow for better positions to properly rotate a hip, pronate and supinate a foot, and push through the ground more effectively. The weight room can be a great place to give back to our body what you are taking away from it, instead of just constantly asking for more.
Let’s Put This Into Action:
I recently made the decision to stop barbell deadlifting when I started taking my running more seriously. The barbell and the barbell deadlift is NOT bad, nor is it the enemy – however, when movement freedom is needed to improve running, alternatives should be considered to avoid creating too much stiffness and joint range mobility reduction.
You can choose exercises that create motion, such as:
The exercises listed above target the same muscles, but have the added bonus of being:
- Movement focused instead of tension focused
- Unilateral focused instead of bilateral
- Rotational capability focused instead of a rigid hold focused
Additionally, these exercises create length and space in your hips instead of encouraging squeezing and pushing forward.
Now You Know How to Strength Train!
Runners are not bodybuilders or powerlifters and your gym sessions don’t need to mimic these other sports.
When running performance is the goal, avoid using the weight room for endurance training, avoid not including opposition work to prevent injuries, and avoid neglecting plyometrics.
Instead, run for cardiovascular fitness and lift for injury prevention and preparation for an increased capacity for tissue stress.
Want to learn more? Sign up for our free strength training ecourse to learn about power movements, more mistakes, case studies, benefits to expect, and a lot more.
