Get stronger

Improve your fitness and conditioning – and get faster

March 2009

Republished with permission iRun Magazine www.irunnation.com

Stronger means faster

Runners need to improve their speed and one of the best ways to do this is with strength training. Strength compliments your speed. Strength also helps at the end of a race when your form starts deteriorating. The faster you can move your arms at the end, the faster you can move your legs and the higher you can lift your knees, ultimately propels you faster towards the finish line.

Strengthen your whole body

Strengthen your quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings to make your stride more efficient, and tighten up those abs for better posture when you run. Upper body strength is also vital. It helps to maintain good posture when you start getting tired and it allows you to use your arms more at the end of a run to manipulate speed. However, remember that tight muscles are more injury prone so don’t ignore stretching. Pilates or yoga is a great idea.

Don’t bulk up

If you’re an endurance runner, you don’t want to bulk up. Extra weight will slow you down. To avoid this, keep the pounds of the weights you lift low and the repetitions high. Lift approximately 50 to 60 per cent of the maximum weight you can lift in a set of 12 to 15 repetitions. Two sets of 12 to 15 work well for most strength exercises. For maximum benefit without wasting a lot of time, do your strength training two or three times a week after you run, not before.

Maintain your form

Keep your form when strength training — not for vanity, but to prevent injury. Think 90 degrees. Most seated lifts work best if your body parts are at right angles: legs straight, feet flat against the floor, trunk erect, chin up and eyes forward. Practise the pelvic tilt where you press your torso back against the chair or floor, to keep your back from slumping. Perform movements in a slow and controlled manner and breathe naturally. Never hold your breath.

Stay focused

When moving from exercise to exercise, don’t rush but don’t waste time chatting with friends. Stay focused on your workout by stretching in between sets, so that you don’t lose your flexibility. You will also save time by not having to do all your stretching at the end of your workout.

Cross-train

Another great way to give your body a rest from all the pounding without compromising your aerobic fitness is to cross-train. Hit the pool for some laps (or even better some aqua jogging), or grab your iPod and find an open bike, elliptical or stair master at your local gym. Cross-training also ensures that you will get your workouts in even on the days when the conditions are unbearable outside.

Eat and drink

Maintain good nutrition and hydration habits. Watch the amount of starchy food you are eating and also monitor your portions – if you start out not training as much or as hard, eat less. And stay on the drinking schedule (water that is) and get in enough fluids every day.

Don’t forget to rest

Just as your body cannot continue to improve if you run hard every day, it cannot continue to improve if you train hard every week. If you’ve done a race in the winter or early spring, take a week or two off from hard training before you resume training. And always remember that as you resume your training after some trime off, you should build your mileage up slowly.

Lauren Jawno is a practising nutritionist, a certified personal trainer and a life coach and public speaker living in Toronto.