Coach Carvey Can You Give Me More Reasons Why Strength Training For Runners Is Important?Strength Training For Runners Is Important Because:
A Common Misunderstanding About Strength Training For Runners:
Watch This Ab Exercise Video by My Bodybuilding Wife Lorelie
Go to my YouTube Channel to see the rest of the exercise videos. Strength Training For Runners DefinitionsSome interesting information which should help you understand why strength training for runners is important. Slow twitch muscle fibers-A muscle fiber characterized by it's slow speed of contraction and high capacity for aerobic glycolosis. These are the fibers that we use more for endurance activities such as running. A world class distance runner would have been born with more of this fiber type.
Fast twitch muscle fibers-Large muscle fiber charactierized by it's fast speed of contraction and it's high capacity for anaerobic glycolosis. These are the fibers that a natural bodybuilder or power athlete would have more of. They make it possible to produce larger thicker muscles. Glycogen-The storage form of glucose. (sugar) It is stored in our liver and muscles and is used for energy. Glycolosis-The burning of glucose when exercising. With and without oxygen, as in the examples above. Aerobic-With the prescence of oxygen. As in running. Anaerobic-Without the prescence of oxygen. As in weight training.
Concentric Contraction-A contraction where the muscle exerts force, shortens and overcomes a resistance. This is the lifting part of the exercise. Eccentric Contraction-A contraction in which a muscle exerts force, lengthens and is overcome by a resistance. This the lowering part of the exercise. Lactic Acid-A waste product of anaerobic energy production. This is the stuff that is known to cause muscle soreness after a hard workout.
Get Ready For The Strength Building Part Of The Program
Ok so you have been conditioning your body for 4-6 weeks and are now ready for step two. Again we will keep it as simple as possible. Continue the exercises that you have been doing, but now we are going to add some more exercises and you will be doing a split workout. Let's say that you have three days a week, one hour each session to dedicate to the strength training. Day 1-Focus on leg training. Day 2-Focus on chest and back. Day 3-Focus on arms and shoulders Do core training each workout. More on this when I add the core strengthening page. Basically you will want to do abdominal and lower back exercises along with some balancing exercises. Sample Strength Training Workout Techniques for Runners or Anyone Who Wants To Improve Their Body CompositionChoose two to three exercises for each muscle group, you may want to start with two and build up your strength to three. The list of exercise choices is long. I will be listing them here soon. Here is an explanation of how to go about lifting with a technique called super slow. I assume you have already conditioned yourself, by following the Conditioning Workout Now it's time to increase the challenge a little bit. You can do this safely without adding a ton of weight. And if you are doing this at home with a limited amount of equipment, this super slow workout will make a lot of sense. Let's use the bicep curl as an easy example. Everyone pretty much knows how to do a bicep curl. If not then please find a qualified trainer to help you with form. Starting with the arms down at your sides lift the weight slowly to the ending top position. Don't rest at the top but go right back down again very slowly to the starting position. You should do around 12 repetitions of this. Rest and stretch the muscle for 30-60 seconds. Go to the next set of weights, but this time decrease the speed to go even slower Try counting to 6 very slowly. Go back down again to the slow count and continue for 9- 12 reps. Rest and stretch again. Now for the final working set. This the set that you will try to challenge your muscles the most. Either by finding a weight where 6-9 reps is a challenge or slowing down the reps even more for a super duper slow set. The safest thing to do in the beginning is to slow down the reps and not try to lift too heavy right away. Again, if you are over zealous, and I think we all know what that is like, you can get injured. This super slow workout is a great way to start building a strength base to your fitness program. Here is a link to a good article on strength training with photo exercise examples of
strength training for runners.
No matter what type of training you do you will see and feel results in the beginning fairly quickly, if you have never lifted. And if you have lifted before your muscles will remember and respond well to your workouts. That initial stage will start to slow down and new and different workouts can be employed to keep your body adapting and growing. It is pretty exciting to think that we have such control over our bodies. Remember when I said "Give your body the proper orders and it will obey"
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