Hey guys, Jeff Gaudette back here with video 2 in our 4 part series. Before I get started with video 2, let me ask you one thing. Did you actually implement the injury prevention routine like I suggested in the previous video? If you did, then awesome, and I would fist bump you through the camera if I could.
If you didn’t, what are you waiting for? Seriously, to be a better runner, you need to take action and do the little things like injury prevention. It only takes 5 minutes and it can reduce your injury risk by as much as 90%. Now enough hounding you, it’s time to get to video number 2, where I’m going to show you the research on how strength training can directly improve your running performance.
So let’s dive in. Once again, we’re not going to rely on anecdotal evidence or just take someone’s opinion at face value. We’re going to look at the research. We’re going to first start with looking at strength training as a whole, and then delve into the effectiveness of specific types of strength training.
We’re going to start with a study that involved 28 recreational runners with 5 KPRs just under 30 minutes. During a 6 week experiment, the experimental group was given a set of 5 strength training exercises to be performed 4 times a week. Interestingly, the string training program did not lead to improvements in running form, but they did lead to an improvement in running performance.
The experimental group dropped their 5k time by 47 seconds, while the control group only improved 17 seconds. Now, an astute observer might question whether the performance boost was simply due to the recreational runners taking on more training and achieving better general fitness instead of running specific improvement.
Luckily, this one, this question was addressed in a 2008 study by a group of researchers in Norway. 17 more experienced runners with 5k best in roughly the 1840 range Partook, with 9 in the experimental group and 8 in the control group. All of the subjects carried out their normal training during the 8 week study.
The experimental group saw a 5 percent increase in running economy and a startling 21 percent improvement in a treadmill run to exhaustion at somewhat faster than 3k race pace versus the control group, who had no improvement in either mark. The runners who completed the strength training not only became stronger, but also more powerful.
They were able to generate more force more quickly after the strength training program. Still, one criticism remains. Is this the sort of training that is useful for somebody whose body is already developed to a high fitness level? Physiology studies on elite runners are kind of notoriously difficult to find, since elite runners are exceedingly picky, and rightfully so, about their training.
Fortunately, one extraordinary study from Philo Sanders and his co workers in the Australian Institute of Sport managed to round out 15 elite runners and have 7 of them undergo a 9 week explosive lifting and jump training program. All of the runners had 3k PRs around 8. 30, which is equivalent to well under 15 minutes for 5k.
And 6 of them had competed internationally. Accordingly, the strength training program they did was fairly comprehensive and, as usual, both groups continued with their normal training. At the conclusion of the study, the strength training program group displayed a 4 percent increase in running economy at fast speeds and a smaller increase in running economy at slower speeds versus the controller group.
Wow, so the research here is pretty irrefutable. Strength training is going to improve your running performance. But now the question is, which type of strength training is best? Do you do core exercises, upper body, lower body, heavy weight, light weights, plyometric, circuits? I mean, there’s all kinds of different strength training to choose from.
So instead of guessing, let’s look at the research to see if we can find any answers. First, we’ll look at the benefits of traditional weight training. Six female distance runners underwent a 10 week strength training program with weight sessions three times a week. Each exercise was performed either on a machine or with free weights.
The recovery between exercises was approximately two minutes. At the conclusion of the study, cardiovascular markers like VO2max had not changed, but the experimental group’s running economy jumped by 4%, while the control group showed no improvement. For an example of the traditional gym routine these runners did, we’ll use a sample from our Strength Training for Runners routine.
This is called our Zeus routine, which does require some gym equipment, but we also have a Poseidon routine that does not require any gym equipment. And you can see here the exercises that we recommend in the Zeus routine, which are very similar to what was used in this study. The research from explosive training study comes from a 1999 paper.
In this study, 10 endurance athletes trained for 9 weeks, replacing about 30 percent of their normal training with explosive strength training. A control group of 8 athletes did almost no ancillary training. At the conclusion of the study, the experimental group had dropped 3. 1 percent off their 5k time and boosted their running economy by 8%.
So to help you get started with this, here’s again another sample from our Strength Training for Runners guide. This is our Hades plyometric routine. And as you can see, these nine exercises pretty closely mimic the research in the study that we showed. We actually have quite a few more studies on the benefits of plyometrics.
You can see the quick data from another stat here, and the results are very similar in terms of running improvement, if you want to look at more information. When you combine these direct improvements in physiological data specific to running with the ability to train without getting hurt when adding in hip strengthening and core work, you can see just how valuable strength training can be.
Hopefully, the two routines I outlined in this video and the hip routine I gave you in the first video can help you get off to a good start. If you are looking for specific guidance for how and when to add strength training to your running and want more routines, I invite you to check out our Strength Training for Runners program.
You’ll see the details below this video if you’re interested. Again, if you’re not, that’s okay too. I do hope the routines I outline in this video will already help. In the next video in this series, I’m going to share with you the five most pervasive myths about strength training for runners, so you can stop making the common mistakes and add strength training to your running the right way.
So stay tuned, and I look forward to seeing you again in our next video.