Runners, Power Your Way to Better Performances

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Runners, Power Your Way to Better Performances
by Curt Pedersen

Endurance athletes often neglect to include strength training in their conditioning program, fearing they will become muscle-bound and hurt their performance. Research has fortunately shown what many strength coaches have known for years, strength training, when performed properly will not hinder but in fact improve an endurance athlete's performance.

In one study, elite cross-country runners performed 9 weeks of endurance training combined with either a large or small amount of strength training. The total training for both groups was the same throughout the study. The strength training exercises performed included barbell squats and leg presses with approximately 40% of each subject's one repetition maximum. This intensity was used to maximize the subject's muscular power. Subjects from both groups were tested prior to the study and at weeks 3, 6, and 9 during the study. Tests performed included each subject's percent bodyfat, measurements of muscle size, aerobic endurance, muscular power and force production, running economy, and 5km running time.

Results from the study indicated that the subjects that included a greater percentage of strength/power training in their workouts made the greatest improvements in performance including their 5km running time. The primary reason that strength/power training improved the endurance performance is due to the greater adaptation of the athletes nervous system as a result of the strength/power training performed by these subjects. Performing strength/power training improved the subjects ability muscular force production and running technique when running, allowing them to run faster without improving their aerobic endurance.

The results from this study prove endurance athletes should include strength training into their training programs. Whether one is preparing for a 5K run or marathon, a properly designed training strength-training program will help improve one's performance without increasing the amount of aerobic work performed. After a conditioning base has been built including general strength training work, subsequent training phases that emphasize muscular power should be performed. This should include exercises such as the barbell squat for 5-10 sets of 1-3 reps at between 20-40% of ones one repetition maximum along with plyometric exercises, and other drills to improve technique in the athletes chosen sport. Future articles published on the peakhealth.net web site will provide specific examples of how such a training routing could be designed.

Source
Paavolanien L, Hakkinen K, Hamalainen I, Nummela A, Rusko H. Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power. Journal of Applied Physiology. 86(5): 1527-1533, 1999.