Strength training for runners

I know that many of you are runners or are thinking about picking up running. Ill will talk about why strength training for runners in my opinion is a non negotiable. 

I love running and I do encourage it if someone truly wants to give it a go. Running should be paired with strength work. In this post i’ll be covering why strength training for runners is so important.

Why should you do it?

• It will minimise the risk of injury
• It improve your technique and will make your stride more efficient 
• You will be able to run faster and longer if you want

Have you ever felt calves that are tightening up so much you can’t run for very long? Shin Splints are notorious amongst runners, are your knees sore from running? Perhaps feeling you lower back a bit? These are all symptoms that could be reduced, managed and even non existent with strength training. The reason why you might feel some of these things is because your muscles are not conditioned and strong enough for your running load.

Running puts a tremendous amount of force through the body and if our tendons and muscles are not strong enough to help absorb the impact we have a higher risk of injury. There are no guarantees that you will be injury free. To be honest you will probably have to manage some kind of niggle at some point as a runner but the chances are higher you will be less injury ridden. 

What does strength training for runners look like?

It should work the whole body, focusing on stability exercises involving the core and unilateral exercises are great. A bit more emphasis on hips, glutes, hamstrings and calves is good since we tend to be weak and inactive in those areas. We want to include the upper body as well since running with a slouched posture impacts our running form and efficiency as well as our breathing. And who doesn’t want to get a bit more oxygen when running?:)

Last tip is to warm up with some exercise that activates core, glutes, hips, hamstrings and calves. This will again help minimise the risk of injury and make your run more efficient.