Running blog series: Part 2: Strengthening:
As a Physiotherapist I see many runners and generally I have observed that it is rare that any of these runners actually do any strengthening exercise. Even when they say they do, closer examination finds they aren't really and they are using too light of a resistance / weight and due to this, the effect that they are creating in muscular endurance.
Some runners say, why do I need strength as surely the load
isn't that great?
Well daily activities place a lot of load through the body,
for example the hip joint withstands 2610 pressure per square inch (PSI) going
up the stairs (Car tyre pressure 29 PSI)! Remember this is only walking!
In running your knee cap force is 3 times your body weight!
If you squat and jump then the load through your kneecap is
even more, with 6 times your body weight (Reid 1992).
So as you can see your body is taking a pounding!
So if you have stronger muscles then they can absorb some of
this load:
The knee is the weight bearing joint of the body and the quadriceps
(thigh muscle) can generate 5 times your body weight in force on average (Reid
1992). So as some people believe the knee joint as a whole takes approximately
7 times your body weight while running then the average person is short on
strength by twice their own body weight.
So this makes it theoretically appear that being stronger
decreases the load through your joints when running but does this actually
reduce injury rates? Some runners say okay I get it, if I’m stronger then I am
less likely to get injured but surely the extra muscle will cause a decline in
endurance performance.
Firstly the link from the reduction in load and injury prevention
is very difficult to prove but it certainly makes sense. Some evidence shows a
combination of various conditioning reduces injury risk (see below):
Strength, co-ordination & core stability training
reduces groin injury risk by 31% (Holmich et al 2009).
On the second point, rather than a reduction in endurance
performance it is the other way around and performance is improved!!
See the proof for yourself:
Endurance runners’ performance is improved with heavy
resistance training (Mikkola et al 2011).
And this one:
Low-reps with high weight training: Significant gains in
strength & running economy were seen in endurance runners (Piacentini et al
2013).
And this one too:
Plyometric training is advantageous for middle & long
distance runners in their competitive performance (RamÃrez-Campillo et al 2013).
So there you go. If you want to reduce your injury risk and run
better then you better get strengthening!
So how do I go about it then?
You have to overload the muscle in your training as muscle
overload leads to the immediate, local upregulation of mechanogrowth factor
therefore stimulation of hypertrophy (muscle building) (Khan & Scott 2009).
Strength is influenced by Cross sectional area of a muscle
(Larger the muscle the stronger it is!).
Don’t worry about getting muscle bound it won’t happen. Mo
Farah isn’t big is he? And he does this stuff! His trainer Alberto Salazar
believes that strength training is vital and his athletes hardly ever put
weight on from muscle. At the most 1 or 2 pounds and this is usually in
females.
Muscle size isn’t the only factor affecting muscle strength
though. Evidence shows length tension, recruitment of motor units, contraction
type, contraction speed & motivation all affect strength.
For strength training the muscle fibres that you need are
Fast twitch muscle fibres as they produce greater force.
So how should I train?
With Resistance or weights!
….but resistance recruits slow twitch too but if you do
faster reps this will inhibit the slow twitch fibres improving the
strengthening effect. The resistance needs to be high too! You need more than
70% of your 1 Rep max (1RM), which 70% of the maximum weight that you can lift
only once.
So..
Fast reps but you must be under full control!!!!
It’s all about progressive overload: Every 10 weeks you need
to increase your resistance to maintain your progress.
Also your body gets used to the exercises so you should vary
your exercises by changing them every 2- 4 weeks.
Your workouts should be no longer than 45mins as this will
start to break down muscle for fuel (Catabolic).
Sequencing: You should train the larger muscles first and
work same areas together.
How many reps and sets should I do?
You need to ideally be fatigued at 6-10 reps (i.e. you can’t
lift the next rep).
You need to do between 3-5 sets of this also.
What rests do I need?
Basically you need to be fresh at the start of each set so the
only signals your brain receives are all about force and not about fatigue. So
the closer to your maximum resistance that you are the more rest time you will
need. This is very likely to be over 2 minutes and more.
How often do I train?
Times per week: 2-3 for optimal recovery (Remember that you
can train other types of fitness on other days).
What exercises are best for muscle strength?
In a way there is no such thing as it’s how you train not
what you train but runners benefit from targeting certain muscle groups such as
the gluteals.
If you’ve never done strength training then you should start
with generic exercises first with lower resistance to get used to it and then
advance the load gradually. Once you have built up a good generic strength base
then you need to progress to a specific range and motion similar to running.
Here are some examples of generic exercises: (Remember running is a whole body activity)
Single arm cable row with resistance:
Choose a resistance that you can do with good technique and
you reach fatigue at 1 rep (i.e.: you can’t lift the 2nd rep)
Work out 80% of 1RM
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
Lunges with resistance:
Choose a resistance that you can do with good technique and
you reach fatigue at 1 rep (i.e.: you can’t lift the 2nd rep)
Work out 80% of 1RM
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
Running Specific exercises:
Side plank with upper leg running motion:
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
Choose a resistance that you can do with good technique and
you reach fatigue at 1 rep (i.e.: you can’t lift the 2nd rep)
Work out 80% of 1RM
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
Swiss ball single leg hamstring curls with opposite knee lift:
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
Squats with alternate knee lifts:
Choose a resistance that you can do with good technique and
you reach fatigue at 1 rep (i.e.: you can’t lift the 2nd rep)
Work out 80% of 1RM
Perform 6-10 reps x 3-5 sets
So this has hopefully helped all of you runners with your
strength. However there are many more factors to help your running other than
strength and the next parts of the running blog series will examine these.
So keep posted over the coming weeks.
If you need any further information or would like to book an
appointment then call Hawkes Physiotherapy on 01782 771861 or 07866195914
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