Running and Weight Training - Part 1

Welcome back to Your Fittest Life

I had a patient who was an avid runner even into his 70s tell me that he feels God’s pleasure when he runs, and so he keeps running daily.  At the time I didn’t realize that this was also a quote from Chariots of Fire.

Running faster, finishing faster and for longer periods of time is at the top of most runner's to do list. The right strength training program can help you check these off your to-do list. 

Along with a better kick and a faster mile pace, runners will also see positive changes in fat metabolism, and heightened insulin sensitivity so you can fuel your muscles more efficiently and increase the antioxidant status of your tissues. 

Resistance training is a huge key to helping runners run faster, longer, and for a lifetime.

The beauty of resistance training is that slight changes in your routine can go a long way in triggering adaptation. Continuous muscle, bone, neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory adaptation are a must for runners who want to get the very most out of their body and mitigate risk of injury.

I have seen more runners derailed by overtraining and injury than anything else.

Many runners are concerned about weight training making them bulky and heavy.  However, a proper strength training program can dissuade these concerns and help you hit PR’s like never before. 

And not only that you will so good when are hitting PR's because there will be more muscle density to carry your skeleton and absorb each step of impact on the earth, cement or asphalt.

Endurance running is actually quite catabolic (meaning muscle and bone structure is being broken down) so adding in anabolic activity like strength training can help improve performance.

The activity of running along with strength training blunts much of the hypertrophy that comes along with resistance training, so you stay lean and aerodynamic.

Strength training helps the runner shift more of their body composition towards lean muscle tissue. This muscle then helps move you around the track or through trails more efficiently and keeps you from ending up skinny in the extremities carrying extra fat in the hips and abdomen. 

The clearing of unnecessary fat  and the creation of muscle tissue with greater mitochondrial density means you are creating a more capable body from start to finish. 

What could be better than increasing the capacity of your muscles to do work and making it easier for your skeletal structure to move down the street, through the trails or around the track. Resistance training is such a huge confidence builder for the runner and what seeing what your body can truly do and how good it can feel doing it.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Runners and Weight Training