As a sport, running is littered with injuries, and it doesn’t need to be.
Incorporating a consistent and well-planned strength training program into your schedule is absolutely essential to longevity and performance.
Whether you do bodyweight or resistance band workouts, use free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells, or use the weight machines at the gym, any strength training workout will positively impact your running, performance, and overall health.
A staggering 80% of running injuries1van der Worp, M. P., ten Haaf, D. S. M., van Cingel, R., de Wijer, A., Nijhuis-van der Sanden, M. W. G., & Staal, J. B. (2015). Injuries in Runners; A Systematic Review on Risk Factors and Sex Differences. PLOS ONE, 10(2), e0114937. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114937 may be down to overuse, and strength training can directly combat that.
Strength training improves the body’s ability to withstand the physical stress experienced by it while running.
Not only can strength training reduce our risk of injury, but it can also greatly improve running efficiency and performance.2Blagrove, R. C., Howatson, G., & Hayes, P. R. (2017). Effects of Strength Training on the Physiological Determinants of Middle- and Long-Distance Running Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 48(5), 1117–1149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0835-7
So why do so few of us do it?
In this article, we will give you ten strength training tips to ensure you are getting the most out of your resistance training workouts.
10 Strength Training Tips For Runners
#1: Don’t Sacrifice Good Form For Weight
Performing exercises with the correct form is important for several reasons, including reducing the risk of injury, maximizing the effectiveness of the exercise, and ensuring that the targeted muscles are properly engaged.
It is easy to let our egos get the better of us and pick up a heavier weight that is way beyond our capabilities. To lift it, we have to sacrifice our form, greatly increasing our risk of injury.
While it’s important to strive for proper form, we should recognize that some variations in form may be acceptable based on individual anatomy, mobility, range of motion, and other factors.
For example, you don’t need to get perfectly parallel before performing a squat with weight on the bar; how low down you go depends upon your mobility and comfort level.
Another quick tip is to ensure you warm up before your gym sessions to perform to the best of your ability regarding proper form. Five to ten minutes of cardio, such as brisk walking or the elliptical machine, should do the trick.
#2: Understand The Progressive Overload Principle
Gradually increasing weight and intensity during strength training is a well-established principle based on the science of muscle adaptation.
It is a core principle of any strength training routine.
When you lift weights, you create small micro-tears in the muscle fibers. During the recovery period after your workout, your body repairs these micro-tears, making your muscles stronger and better able to handle the load next time.
We provide a stimulus, and the body reacts and adapts.
To continue progressing and building strength, it’s important to progressively overload your muscles by gradually increasing the weight and intensity of your workouts over time. This gradual increase places consistent and controlled stress on your muscles, forcing them to adapt and grow stronger.
If you were to start with a heavy weight right away, your muscles would not have enough time to adapt and recover, which could lead to injury or burnout. Also, starting with too much weight can lead to poor form, which can increase the risk of injury.
Therefore, carefully choose the amount of weight you will lift for each exercise. You may even need to start with your own body weight, move on to lighter weights, and adjust as you improve.
Gradually increasing weight and intensity gives your muscles time to adapt and recover while improving your form and reducing the risk of injury. This allows you to progress steadily toward your strength training goals over time.
It is a marathon, not a sprint. Trust the process, and keep turning up!
#3: Utilise Compound Exercises
Compound exercises work multiple muscle groups at the same time. Examples include squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench presses, push-ups, and pull-ups.
Compound strength training exercises are highly effective because they simultaneously engage multiple major muscle groups, improving functional fitness, muscle recruitment, hormonal response, and joint stability.
Functional fitness is key for runners, and compound exercises mimic real-life movements, making them more practical than isolation exercises such as biceps curls. They help improve coordination, balance, and overall athleticism.
Instead of breaking up your workouts into focusing solely on upper body and lower body workouts, compound exercises make it easier to create efficient, total body workouts. If you are a runner, try to include two sessions per week.
Isolation exercises play an important role, particularly when rehabbing injuries and addressing muscle imbalances.
You are also more likely to elicit a larger hormonal response than when performing isolation exercises.
#4: Don’t Skip Rest Days
We’ve all heard you shouldn’t skip leg day. But sometimes rest is more important.
Rest is crucial for allowing your muscles to recover and grow stronger. Schedule rest days and stick to them.
Our bodies don’t get stronger in the gym. They get stronger when we rest and recover; when we fully recover, we perform better.
Rest days also give us a mental break. If you are juggling a demanding training schedule, having to work out each day can be taxing on the mind.
Switching off completely is great for mental health and gives us the space to think about other things and enjoy time with family or friends.
Rest doesn’t necessarily mean sitting on the sofa watching Netflix, although it can if that’s what you want to do.
Going for a walk in nature is a great way to remain active without causing any stress on the body or mind.
#5: Consider Working With A Personal Trainer
Whether you want to train at the gym or home, having a professional who can guide you through your weight training program can be extremely beneficial.
They can objectively examine how your body is responding to a certain weight and training volume and make necessary adjustments to increase or decrease difficulty and intensity.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is insufficiently adapting their strength routine once their body has adjusted to a certain stimulus.
Advice from a personal trainer can help you break through a plateau by incorporating changes to your workout routine, nutrition, and recovery.
#6: Set Realistic Goals
If running is your main goal, your strength program should complement it, not hinder it.
Realistic goals shouldn’t be uninspiring. Setting achievable goals makes you more likely to stay motivated and committed to achieving them.
You can gradually increase your strength while focusing on running, but if you want to double your max deadlift by the end of the year while training for an ultramarathon, you may find one of those goals suffers due to injury or burnout.
Setting realistic goals also allows you to better organize your time, which in turn allows you to get results efficiently and effectively.
#7: Make It Fun
Running is undeniably fun, at least most of the time. The gym can be, too!
If you are used to flowing down a mountain trail at high speeds, with the wind in your hair and adrenaline coursing through your veins, the gym can seem a bit dull.
Picking up a weight and performing an exercise for a set amount of repetitions doesn’t have to be boring!
Be sure to set goals and celebrate achievements. Get emotionally invested in your progress to keep yourself engaged.
You can also try working out with a friend with similar goals or joining an exercise class. Working out with others turns the experience into a social event, allowing us to motivate each other and try new exercises.
#8: Listen To Your Body
Pay attention to how your body feels during and after your workouts. If something doesn’t feel right or you experience pain, you may need to modify or stop the exercise and talk to a professional for guidance.
It may be a lingering injury or a sign of overtraining.
Only you know the intricacies of your life, which is why it is so important to listen to your body. As a physical therapist, I have coached many clients over the years, and sometimes, results dip for seemingly no reason. It is only when you dig a little deeper that things become clearer.
Work stress, family stress, and bereavement, among many other factors, will take a toll both mentally and physically. Be sure to hold a compassionate space for yourself; it is okay to take some time off if you need to.
You can get back to the gym next week!
#9: Lift Heavy
It is commonly thought that in order for runners to see an improvement in running performance, they should be incorporating low-weight, high-repetition exercises at the gym.
Another fear of runners is that if they lift heavy, they will build muscle mass and end up looking like bodybuilders.
This is a myth!3Alexander, J. L. N., Barton, C. J., & Willy, R. W. (2019). Infographic. Running myth: strength training should be high repetition low load to improve running performance. British Journal of Sports Medicine, bjsports-2019-101168. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101168 Low-repetition, heavy exercises have been shown to provide the most benefits.
Heavy is a relative term, so you need to determine what weights are right for you. Try performing three sets of six repetitions; by the sixth rep, you should be grateful there’s no seventh!
Both forms of training have their benefits and should be included in our training. Just be sure to include heavy sessions too.
#10: Sleep At Least 7-9 Hours A Night
The science is very clear on this one. Unless you are getting at least 7-9 hours of sleep a night, you are doing your body a disservice, and it will be affecting your running performance.
By prioritizing good sleep habits, runners can improve their performance, reduce the risk of injury, and optimize their overall health and well-being.
Sleep is essential for recovery; during sleep, your body produces growth hormone, which is crucial for repairing and rebuilding tissues that have been damaged during exercise.
Studies have shown4Vitale, K. C., Owens, R., Hopkins, S. R., & Malhotra, A. (2019). Sleep Hygiene for Optimizing Recovery in Athletes: Review and Recommendations. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(08), 535–543. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0905-3103 that lack of sleep can impair athletic performance, leading to decreased reaction time, reduced accuracy, and slower recovery times. Even small reductions in sleep can have a significant impact on athletic performance.
Consistency is key when it comes to maximizing the benefits that you get from sleep. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day can help regulate your body’s internal clock, leading to a more restful and better quality of sleep.
Keep these strength training tips in mind for your next strength training session to get the very best out of your workout.
If you are looking for where to start to improve your strength gains, check out the following guide:
