MAXIM fitness guru, Alexa, gives you the lowdown on training for endurance and preparing your body to pound the pavement…
They say that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. If you want to be a good runner, then you need to run. Unfortunately, when it comes to training for endurance, it’s very easy to get caught up in an endless cycle of “chronic repetitive motion” while neglecting all the other stuff that actually keeps your body road worthy. Strength training plays a vital role in preparing your body for running.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
You can use weight training to address structural and strength imbalances and prevent injury, to improve power to weight ratio, to reinforce optimal posture and breathing and to develop athletic potential and speed.
INJURY PREVENTION
Addressing the most common structural and strength imbalances is key when it comes to bulletproofing the body against injury.
- Anterior vs Posterior Chain
If you’ve ever been injured and spent time at physio, you’re probably familiar with the old chestnut that “your glutes just aren’t firing”. Whilst this is a super simplistic way of looking at things, there is in fact some truth to it. If you spend a bunch of time sitting down hunched over a desk, your hip flexors will get short, tight and weak, and your glutes will have a hard time switching on when it comes time to do the hard yards. Strengthening the lower links in your posterior chain – your calves, hamstrings and glutes – will not only help support your ankles, knees, and lower back, but it will also give you the power to conquer heartbreak hill or win that 1-on-1 sprint to the finish.
Top Tip: Hip flexors are important for improving stride length, and therefore speed, but they are often neglected in training in favour of booty building. An easy way to add in some direct work is by including seated straight leg lifts and banded mountain climber variations.
- Side to Side Imbalances
Given that running is essentially a unilateral sport, if you have a weakness on one side, you will compensate on the other side setting yourself up for injury. Single leg work should make up the bulk of your training foundation. That goes for both mobility and strength and stability. If you’re tighter on one side, then stretch on a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio. If you’re weaker on one side, add an extra set.
Top Tip: Always work to the weakest link. Start your reps on the weaker side, and whatever number you fail on, you repeat that number on the stronger side. That will work to even out the imbalances over time.
- Lateral vs Medial Imbalance
Often knee injuries can be attributed to an imbalance between the outside of the leg being too tight, and the inside of the leg being too weak. This causes incorrect tracking of the knee, leading to friction, inflammation and pain. Foam roll the outside of the leg first for myofascial release – go directly on the side of your legs for the IT bands and then shift your weight slightly forward to get the TFL (it’s in between the ITB and the quads) – and then add in direct work VMO work (vastus medialis). Terminal knee extensions (using a band behind the knee to encourage lock out) and VMO Step Ups (with heels elevated on a weight plate and toes slightly turned out) are both great options.
Top Tip: Spanish Squats are a phenomenal exercise to isolate the VMO, and are often used in knee rehab. Essentially you’re using the premise of the terminal knee extension in the squat movement. Grab two thick bands and secure them in a way that allows you to step into them to feel the resistance pulling forward behind each knee. When you squat, this allows you to sit back whilst the shins stay vertical so you can load the quads and VMO safely.
IMPROVING POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO
Muscle mass is not necessarily synonymous with strength. Having an optimal power to weight ratio means you have the right amount of muscle to carry your engine for the duration of your task. It comes down to picking the right exercises in the right rep range. For maximal strength and power gains without adding unwanted mass, pick big compound “task-specific” movements like front squats, back squats, deadlifts and Nordic Raises and perform them in sets of 2-5 reps at 70-80% of your 1 rep maximum. These movements are relatively easy to learn, pack a muscular punch on the legs and posterior chain, and emphasize core stability and posture.
Top Tip: Staying in the lower “strength based” rep ranges means that you’ll also most likely avoid the DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness) that often goes hand in hand with hypertrophy work. If you’re an athlete, your work in the gym should complement your sport, NOT make you so sore that you can’t perform.
IMPROVE POSTURE AND BREATHING
When you think of running, the last thing you think of is training the upper body. However, your posture dictates the efficiency of your breathing, and if you’re hunched over, you’ll be compressing your diaphragm. This is very inefficient, and will cause you to tire much more quickly. Add corrective upper body “pull movements” into your program to strengthen your back and allow you to remain much more open and upright for the duration. Bent Over Rows, seated rows, banded pull aparts, facepulls and bent over reverse flies are all good for improving posture.
THE WORKOUT
Here is one of my favorite run-focused unilateral strength based workouts for you to try…
Warmup:
20 x Banded Dead Bugs – band around feet
20 x Banded Mountain Climbers (band around feet, pause with knees under chest)
15 x Single Leg glute Bridge each side
2 rounds
Main Circuit:
5 x Staggered Stance Romanian Deadlift each side
5 x Bulgarian Split Squat each side
12 x Seated Calf Raises (pop DB’s on top of knees)
60-90 secs rest. 3-5 rounds
Supplementals:
30 secs Hamstring Bridge Hold (legs are straighter than in a normal glute bridge)
30 secs Side Plank each side
3 rounds
Cooldown:
30-60 secs Couch Stretch (quads)
30-60 secs Pigeon Stretch (glutes)
30-60 secs Straddle Stretch (seated or standing) – hamstrings/adductors
By Alexa Towersey
For the full article grab the January 2023 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.
