Weight Training for Distance Runners
Posted on Dec 11, 2007 under Uncategorized |Weight training has been a very moot issue when supplemented with a distance training program. Some athletes swear by it, while others totally neglect it. Great Britain’s Sebastian Coe, former world record holder in the 800m, was a hard-core weight trainer while others like Kenya’s Kip Keino disregarded such exercises. Which of these two athletes is correct? Studies by various groups such as the NCAA have been inconclusive, on average, weight training neither sped them up nor slowed them down. However, weight training does have its benefits, including: an increase overall fitness, a higher level of injury prevention (it increases bone density and muscle mass), and it also makes you look cooler.
Listed below are the three types of weight training that a mid-distance/distance runners will use. Among the three, the most important is muscle endurance. In distance events, the bulk of the training load is aerobically performed, because the athletes need to build up and maintain a high level of endurance. With muscle endurance weight training, the athlete is basically fine-tuning and touching up on the work done by their running. By doing such workouts, the athlete can also focus on developing endurance for those muscles neglected in training, primarily located in the upper body.
The next of the weight training types, cardiovascular, is also endurance based. The difference between this type and muscular endurance is in the amount of rest and sets performed. In the muscular endurance workout, the athlete usually completes 3 sets before moving on to the next exercise, however that is not the case with cardiovascular endurance. In order to stimulate and give the heart a good workout, the training must be done with little to no rest, which means once an athlete is done a set, he must move on. The main objective of this type of training is to work the heart, and with constant movement, the athlete’s heart rate will stay at a high and constant level, thus working the heart. A cardiovascular workout benefits long distance runners by increasing overall fitness level and also serves as a nice complement to muscular endurance training as well as aerobic running.
The final type of weight training for use by distance runners is muscular strength. Many coaches will argue that distance athletes should not spend time on strength training because it does not benefit them. However, with studies showing the 800m and 1600m events ran 55% and 45% in the anaerobic system, it is becoming apparent that endurance is not the only factor in distance running. Therefore, speed must also be worked on to some degree. In addition to short intervals, speed is developed through high intensity workouts, or strength training. Nevertheless, both coach and athlete should make sure that not too much stress is placed on these workouts, because muscle strength builds muscle mass, which can be detrimental to endurance athletes if there is too much. Consequently, strength training should be the type of weight training least used by the distance runner, to the tune of ? to 1/6 of total workout performance.
Overview of weight training types:
I. Cardiovascular endurance
-continuos work with low weight and high reps
1. done at 75-85% of max weight
2. 12-15 reps / alternate between exercises
3. workout should last around 40 min
II. Muscular endurance
-10 to 30 seconds between sets with low weight and high reps
1. done at 75-85% of max weight
2. 12-15 reps / 3 sets
3. workout should last around 40 min
III. Muscular strength
-1 to 2 minutes between sets with high weight and low reps
1. done at 90-95% of max weight
2. 5-7 reps / 3 sets
3. workout should last around 45-60 min
Weight training tips:
- Progressively increase the total load
- Progressively increase the total duration or rep/set
- Warm up before beginning any workout/exercise
- Make sure to taper or level off progress (in terms of adding weight) before serious competition.
- Make sure to keep strength and weight proportional. In other words, muscle mass should be your only kind of weight gain.
- Sequence exercises so that larger muscle groups are first in order to avoid fatiguing the smaller, accessory muscles. If you fatigue these muscles, the quantity and quality of the entire workout will decrease.
Sample exercises:
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