We do not doubt that you have heard many times about the importance of strength training for a runner, but most likely they were often neglected. The off-season is a great time to introduce something new to your workouts.
Due to a slight decrease in intensity in the autumn-winter period, you have more time and energy to develop strength and work on your weaknesses. Subsequently, strength training will become an integral part of the training process for you. You just have to develop the habit.
Running is not enough to run faster.
💪🏼 During strength training, ligaments are strengthened, bones are thickened and the musculoskeletal system is upgraded. Developed muscles and ligaments are less susceptible to fatigue, and become more resistant to increased running load. Therefore the risk of getting injured is significantly reduced.
💪🏼 With age, the metabolism slows down, we gradually lose muscle mass. This process begins as early as 30–35 years. Building muscle mass and reducing fat leads to an acceleration of metabolic processes in the body at every age.
💪🏼 Running economy and efficiency of running technique is improving. You develop the whole body in a balanced way: by strengthening your core and glute muscles, you help keep your body upright while running. Developed leg muscles affect step frequency, hip extension, foot placement, lower leg work, and a decrease in vertical oscillations. You can improve your running biomechanics by doing strength exercises 2–3 times a week for 20–40 minutes.
What equipment is needed?
🎯 Strength workouts can be exercised with only your body weight. In the omysports.ai app, you will find training videos without equipment. Just watch and repeat.
🎯 You can always add additional weights in the gym or at home (fitness bands, dumbbells, etc.).
Strength training of famous Kenyans, holders of unthinkable running records, mainly includes exercises with body weight, fitness bands, and minimum additional weights. Why?
The body is under enormous stress when doing running workouts. Additional stress in the form of strength training with maximum or submaximal weights can lead to injuries, overtraining, and building up “unnecessary” extra muscle mass. During the run, additional efforts will be spent on its energy supply and the impact load on the joints will increase.
Muscle activation exercises.
It is essential to pay attention to the activation of the working muscles before training. We will talk about activation exercises in the next article.
Download the omysports.ai app, get ready for the new season and improve your records.