Learn to Run Part 9: You don't have to like your medicine?.Strength ...

I really don?t enjoy strength training. That may seem strange seeing as my office is a gym and functional strength training is my bread and butter. But still, it ain?t my cuppa tea. I?m a pretty busy person, so when I am able to devote an hour or two to physical activity, I love nothing more than hitting the trails somewhere in the Adelaide Hills. I?d do it every day if I could. But I don?t- because I do two to three strength sessions a week- training I don?t really like doing. Strange.

So why do I do it? Because strength training makes me a better runner. I know this based on my own anecdotal evidence, but there is good peer-reviewed evidence to back that up also. Maximal strength training has been shown to improve running economy, speed at VO2max, speed at anaerobic threshold, and even slightly improve VO2 max itself in both well-trained and recreational runners?(Taipale RS?et al, 2010,?Guglielmo LG?et al, 2008,?Mikkola J et al, 2011).

Here is a quick glossary of terms for your reference:

Running Economy: The rate of oxygen consumption (by working muscles) per distance covered (submaximal).

V02 max: The maximal rate of oxygen consumption during exercise, often expressed as mL per kg of body weight per minute (mL/kg/min).

Anaerobic Threshold: The point in which lactic acid accumulates in the blood stream (production outweighs buffering capacity). This is typically termed the ?burn? you experience during high intensity exercise.

They are some pretty desirable outcomes for any runner.

Another justification that I believe in for the inclusion of strength training in a runner?s conditioning program is the improvements made to running form, particularly later in runs.

Admittedly this is based largely on my own anecdotal evidence observing my clients and with my own running.

Quantifying ?good? running form, and standardising strength training programs across a study group are both laced with subjectivity and contrary to the individual prescription of strength training that I promote- this means gathering high-quality scientific evidence to justify strength training for improving running form is probably a fruitless pursuit.

That being said, I have never trained a runner who does not ?feel? they run better after increasing their strength. That can be taken or left.

But the improvements to the aerobic and anaerobic needs of runner?s are there for all to see. Accessing these improvements is each runner?s prerogative to choose. But for what it?s worth, I believe if you run and don?t train to improve strength, you are not as good a runner as you could be.

Int J Sports Med.?2010 Jul;31(7):468-76. Taipale RS,?Mikkola J,?Nummela A,?Vesterinen V,?Capostagno B,?Walker S,?Gitonga D,?Kraemer WJ,?H?kkinen K. Strength training?in?endurance?runners.

Int J Sports Med. 2009 Jan;30(1):27-32. Guglielmo LG,?Greco CC,?Denadai BS. Effects of?strength training?on running?economy.

J Sports Sci.?2011 Oct;29(13):1359-71. Mikkola J,?Vesterinen V,?Taipale R,?Capostagno B,?H?kkinen K,?Nummela A. Effect of?resistance training?regimens on treadmill running and neuromuscular performance in recreationalendurance?runners.

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Source: http://informhealth.com/learn-to-run-part-9-you-dont-have-to-like-your-medicine-strength-training/

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