Alright, here’s the deal… My coach has me on this periodized weight program. Basically like any good program, a balance of core, sport specific exercises at varying resistances and repititions depending on the cycle and some great leg work.
Anyway, I was out running last night and I finally felt like I had a lot of pop in my stride. I’m still in base training, so I had one eye on the HR so that I didn’t get too carried away… but I really felt like I was floating. Here’s the odd part, I went hard at the weight room the night before
Maybe it’s the weather getting nicer, maybe I’m just breaking through a plateau… Maybe it’s the new pair of ASICS But I thought I read somewhere that weights will only help running in the form of injury prevention… Measureable effects will only be seen in cycling. Thoughts?
I too noticed more “spring” to my step after lifting this winter. I didn’t notice a difference until we had a streak of really bad weather that basically kept me indoors. First time I ran after that, I noticed some improvement.
I wouldn’t trade weights for the world because I like to feel my muscles burn in the gym in a way SBR can’t replicate. And I’d like to think I’m running better too, although it’s pretty damn hard to pinpoint the cause of the improvement.
I do make sure I stretch a lot though, just in case it turns out to be true that the lifting action tends to shorten my muscles and reduces my range of motion. I’d like to think that the stretching counterbalances the lifting and allows me to develop as a runner unimpeded.
In an absolute sense, no, the weights are not helping your running. A number of studies have shown that there is little if any transfer of fitness or performance from the weight-room to the field for endurance sports, unless the weight training movement mimics exactly the movement of the sport involved, in this case running, which is a very hard thing to do.
Sport specific resistant training is were it’s at and for running that means hills, hills and more hills. I have come to the conclusion over the years that if you can never run too many hills in training when getting ready for triathlon competition.
It’s a placebo effect. Evertime an endurance athelte does some weight training and notices a positive effect on their sport it is pure placebo. Even though the weight training make a measurable change in the body and the increase in performance comes after those physical changes happen it’s just a trick of the mind.
You’re right of course. It’s the principle of specificity of training.
But I would submit that most of us also want to look studly. Hence some weights. I’ve got friends who are much better runners than I because that’s all they do, but they wouldn’t want to be caught dead shirtless at the beach.
I believe there is plenty of room for both, at least down at the bottom where I feed…
You know different strokes for different folks… I was thinking that the strength training would only really positively affect my swimming and riding (which it has) Maybe it isn’t directly affecting my my running… But it defininitely isn’t hurting.
mattSF, Fleck and company… I really see your points and the hills are on my list closer to season. Escpecially since my “A” race has a four lap run course that some of the pros skip due to it’s ability to have you sucking your thumb crying for mommy at the finish line.
BottomFeeder… I like your pure sex factor analogy. I give you 3 athletes at 5’10" keep in mind thes are just ballark figures and all in good fun!
Athlete #1 - 10k runner - 145 lbs - built like Michael Jackson
Athlete #2 - cyclist - 155 lbs - More muscular legs yet upper body still rivals prepubescent school males
Athlete #3 - triathlete - 165 lbs - bit more balanced look but still gets laughed at by the juicers at the gym
“I have come to the conclusion over the years that if you can never run too many hills in training when getting ready for triathlon competition.”
hey fleck - what is your view on periodization with hill running? … i.e., do you think hill running is always good (so long as it doesnt cause injury or overtraining) or, given that it can be a pretty taxing workout, should hills only be targeted during a specific build period?
What is a better way to spend your time to become a better runner.
A. an hour lifting weights
B. an hour running
For 99.999% of the population B will always be the correct answer.
I’m not sure it’s so simple, or at least it can’t be answered in a vacuum. Most of the injuries I have had, and most of the ones I hear discussed, are what I would call skeletal: strained ligaments, stress fractures, ITB, plantar fasciaitis, etc. Take someone who has maxed out their ability to train without overtraining or risking one of those types of injuries. Couldn’t doing alternate non-impact exercises, like weight-training, improve the strength of muscles used in running still be of benefit because they still have training capacity on the muscle side that they don’t have on the skeletal side? Yet running that “one more mile” could lead to injury.
Agrred, but for every 10 hrs of training time, most folks will get a significant benefit from doing weights for 1ish of those hours.
For pure running development 10 hours running beats 9 hours running 1 hour lifting for 99.999% of the population.
The top 10K runners in the world run 130 miles a week…ballpark…a few of them do supplemental cross training plyometrics, and a little lifting. Not a single one of them would miss a run to lift. Lifting comes after the 130 miles if there’s any energy left.
If you are running 130 miles a week and still have some energy, by all means experiment with some lifting…until then I’ll always advise you to run instead of lift.
Agrred, but for every 10 hrs of training time, most folks will get a significant benefit from doing weights for 1ish of those hours.
For pure running development 10 hours running beats 9 hours running 1 hour lifting for 99.999% of the population.
The top 10K runners in the world run 130 miles a week…ballpark…a few of them do supplemental cross training plyometrics, and a little lifting. Not a single one of them would miss a run to lift. Lifting comes after the 130 miles if there’s any energy left.
If you are running 130 miles a week and still have some energy, by all means experiment with some lifting…until then I’ll always advise you to run instead of lift.
Doesn’t that beg the question- everyone has a threshold somewhere- I wish mine was 130 miles a week, but its not. For anybody approaching the overtraining threshhold, be it 30 or 130 mpw, why would you advise that they run more, thus intentionally overtraining? According to your logic, additional mileage always results in improvement, regardless of whether it involves overtraining and the attendant risk of injury. Why not stop at your limit and look for other productive activity?
Like anything you need to build into it gradually. There are two schools of thought out there:
Run hills pretty much all the time, particularly on long runs and medium length runs.
Others suggest having a period, typically in the pre-season time frame, where hills will be emphasized for a period of X weeks.
My preference was to run in hilly terrain as much as possible year round. Then if prepping for a flat race that is the seasonal focus, make the last few, long, race specific sessions flat.
But I thought I read somewhere that weights will only help running in the form of injury prevention… Measureable effects will only be seen in cycling. Thoughts?