Of all discussions I have heard of connected to running throughout the years, no one has been lasting longer than the question if and how strength training should be applied for runners. My conclusion is that many runners can benefit from strength training (ST). Since we are heading for base-phase the subject is more relevant than ever.

Firstly, the relevance of strength training differs depending on what distance you want to develop in. For a Ultra runner ST will possibly be more beneficial for injury prevention but for a 10 000m runner it can actually make you faster. What has been proven is that strength training can help you stay injury free if applied correctly and with the right exercises. Depending on distance (as mentioned above) ST can also improve your running economy.

In general, an ST intervention, lasting 6–20 weeks, added to the training program of a distance runner appears to enhance running economy (RE) by 2–8%. This can not be translated into the same percentage improvement on oxygen consumption but it seems to correlate with 0,7% reduced oxygen consumption for each percent improved RE.

What I have found is that there is no improvement on VO2max when applying ST. However, the vVO2max has been improving significantly, by 2,6-4%. VVO2max means the velocity you can hold when running on VO2max. So it seems like ST can make you run more effective without improving your VO2max.

So how much should you do? As always, a general recommendation can never be given in a summarized blog post. However, a guideline is that you should focus on ST during your base-phase when you don’t have so many or any races planned. ST will affect your running negative before you have build up your strength. During peak phase you should reduce your ST, but not exclude it. I perform ST twice a week during base phase and plan to reduce it to once a week in March when race seasons is closing.

When lifting you should aim for about 80% your maximum weight where you only can perform one rep. With this load you can probably make 6-10 reps and go for 2-3 sets This is suppose to be quite hard. However, never go to failure which breaks down your body more than what can be considered effective. From personal experiences the last tip is really important, more is not always better.

So that was a short summary of a very interesting topic, even though I perfare running I can not argue with that performing ST improves my overall performance.

Try out some strength training but as usual, if you don’t believe in it, don’t do it!

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Emil Jönsson

IT-projektledare från Lund

Åldersgrupp: 29

Mina discipliner
10 km OCR/ Hinderbanelopp

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