Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 58

COACHING
CO
R
N
E
R
By the Coach Parry Team
5 BENEFITS OF
STRENGTH TRAINING
The reason for this is twofold:
It assists with strength
around the joints used in
running, and therefore the
body has a better ability
to sustain the loads and
compounding effect from
running. Because running
is such a repetitive action,
it’s important to be able to
be strong enough to help
prevent overloading on those
areas that are susceptible to
injury, so when you’re planning
a big week of running, you can go
into this knowing that your body has
the right foundation to be able to handle
that load. Secondly, the postural and muscle
imbalances that we all have are rectified through strength training, and thus we
are able to reduce the risk of injury by creating good form and not exacerbating an
area of risk through the repetitiveness of running.
2. Better Body Composition
The key to strength training for runners is to increase lean muscle mass, while
reducing body fat percentage, but without increasing weight too much. While the
obvious benefit of increased lean muscle mass is an increase in strength, which
will be of benefit especially on any hills that stand in your way. There have also
been many studies that have shown that those who do strength work perform
better in time-to-exhaustion tests, even though strength work does not have an
effect on your VO 2 max.
Strength work burns more calories than running, so you will get a greater reduction
in body fat percentage by doing
strength work along with running.
Excess body fat serves no purpose
within sport performance, and
therefore one does not want to be
carrying this extra weight around. Thus
increase in lean muscle and reduction
of body fat will see an increase in your
performance.
3. Better Eccentric
Muscle Strength
This may sound scientific and
complicated, but it’s actually quite
simple. If you’ve run downhill, your
quads have worked eccentrically.
58
ISSUE 122 SEPTEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Essentially, an eccentric muscle action is when the muscle is lengthening under
load/tension. Using the example of running downhill, your quads are lengthening
while absorbing the weight of your body as you control your descent down a hill.
So why is this an important component of strength training for runners? Many
studies have shown the positive effects of eccentric training on the reduction of
injuries, specifically hamstring strains, and it will improve your
performance.
Important note: If you start adding eccentric
strength work into your programme, you must
start slowly and build up gradually, as you will
experience some delayed onset of muscle
soreness. Also, it is best if this work is
prescribed by a professional, as this type
of training does have some risk of injury.
4. Better Running
Economy
Most elite athletes excel not because
of their VO 2 max, but rather because of
their excellent running economy. The best
way to explain running economy is like the
fuel economy of your car. How much fuel do
you use to travel a specific distance? The same
is true for running economy, your ability to utilise
less ‘fuel’ at higher intensities or speeds, which will
make you a better runner. Studies have shown that strength
work can improve your running economy by up to 4.6%. That’s an
amazing improvement to your running, without actually running!
5. Increased power
A structured strength programme for runners should have an element to improve
explosive power. While explosive power is not necessarily a component considered
for good endurance running
performance, an improvement in
explosive power is thought to help
runners in the final kick of shorter
races. However, at a biomechanical
level, a strong core/improved
power = smaller transfers of forces
generated to expend energy, which
essentially will make you more
efficient and faster.
Pro Tip: Click here to download
a free strength training plan that
you can do once a week, at home
and with no expensive equipment
needed.
1. Reduces injuries