Weight Training for Runners

There are several different types of resistance training equipment available to you in your local fitness club—free weights, Universal systems, Nautilus, Cam Systems, etc. They use different types of resistance: air pressure, fluid resistance, friction, pulleys, free weights, etc.  Which of these is best? It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re pushing or pulling against resistance and overloading the muscle you’ll gain strength.

In fact, a combination of modes is best, so try using a mix of free-weights and fixed machine equipment. And if you’re worrying about this supplemental exercise program taking up massive amounts of you time, be assured that your workouts should only last about 45 minutes to an hour, including warm-up time and stretching two to three days per week.

I recommend a split workout, where you alternate exercising the upper body with the legs and core (trunk). You can do about six exercises each for upper and lower body, and three or four for the core. A basic schedule is listed at the bottom of hte next page.

You’ll need 24 to 48 hours recovery time between weight training workouts to allow your muscles to regenerate. If you must do running and weight training in the same workout do your running first, followed by weight training—although this is really subject to individual preference.

Where possible, alternate days of running and weight training to spread your energy output equally over the week. Here’s a table showing how you might arrange your workouts.

Start with a warm-up of 10 minutes of light aerobic activity on a bike, treadmill or other cardio machine. Then do a few easy stretches for each muscle group.

When approaching strength, you must progressively overload your muscles with a resistance that is slightly more than we’re used to. The weights should not be increased every workout, but every few workouts or weeks. But first, before doing each set, a warm-up set of six to eight repetitions at a weight about 70 percent of your usual workout weight should be done.

It’s not a good idea to do two successive sets of weight training exercises using the same muscle group. To give you balance between muscle groups, alternate pushing exercises with pulling exercises on the opposite side of the body.

Sequence your workout so you use multiple-joint exercises before single-joint exercises, thus working your large muscles groups before small muscle groups. This way you’ll do your heavy weight training exercises (that require greater force) before lighter exercises, so you won’t pre-fatigue your small muscles (which would make it more difficult to work the larger ones later).

Other Advice for the Weight Training Novice:
Avoid holding your breath as you do each repetition. Breathe out as you exert force, and in as you perform the lowering part of each exercise to ensure your blood pressure does not get too high.
How many sets of each exercise should you do? The controversy rages on between exercise scientists about this issue. Some say three sets of each exercise, some say two, and some say one. Many studies have shown that one set achieves similar strength gains as two or three sets. One research paper even found people doing two sets of each exercise gained less strength than those doing one set.

If you find doing weights to be a chore, then stick to one maximal set of 8 to 12 repetitions. The advantage of doing one set of each exercise is that it only takes one-third the time you would spend doing three sets of each exercise. The advantage of doing two or three sets are that you will burn two or three times as many calories as doing one set, so if weight loss is your goal, go for more sets.

Allow one to three minutes to recover between each set. You’ll soon learn how long you need by seeing what works for you. You should not be exhausted or breathing hard when you go on to your next set. It’s a good idea to stretch your muscles between sets to maximize your workout time.

And how many repetitions of each exercise should you do? Make sure you could not have forced even one more rep by your 10th or 11th rep. When you can do 12 repetitions comfortably, increase the weight by 2 kilograms.

Other good advice for beginners includes using a spotter or partner to assist you with your last reps, and to provide encouragement. Never lift weights in bare feet; dropping even a 10lb weight on your foot will put you out of running for the rest of the season.

When doing standing exercises, spread your feet about 18 inches apart for a good base of support. Curl your thumbs so they oppose your four fingers around the bar when lifting weights—this way the bar won’t slip out of your hands and squash you.

Perform your repetitions slowly; with a two to three second count on the lift, and three to four second count on the lowering phase. Finally, if you have lower back problems, wear a weight belt for support.

If you stay with this program you’ll find your running improving within a few weeks. After doing this program for a month or two, ask your personal trainer to change some of the exercises so your neuromuscular system will continue to be stimulated and get stronger.

Monday - Run

Tuesday - Upper body weight exercises

Wednesday - Run

Thursday - Lower body weight exercises

Friday - Run

Saturday - Full body weightsworkout

Sunday - Run

Roy Stevenson has a master’s degree in coaching and exercise physiology from Ohio University. He’s coached hundreds of serious and recreational runners in the Seattle area. He is ACSM, NSCA and ACE certified, and teaches exercise science, nutrition and health in the Physical Education Department at Highline Community College, Seattle, Washington.