THE SKELETON OF A RUNNING SPECIFIC STRENGTH PROGRAM
A successful running program MUST HAVE a conditioning program alongside to assist in achieving maximal performance and prevent overuse injuries commonly associated with running.
Common injuries:
- Shin-splints
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Anterior knee pain
1. The warm-up:
- Should be specific to the exercises you are going to do with the session
- Should be of little load and done with more repetitions to get the heart rate up and body ready for heavier loads
- Focus on lunges, squats bends and variations of
10-15 mins
2. Stretching:
- Generally tight muscle groups should be stretched to switch off synergists and allow prime movers to function optimally
- Dynamic and Yoga style stretching should be applied over static stretching if time is limited
- However if time is not an issue focus on further static, and for more advanced exercisers, PNF (proprioceptor neuromuscular facilitation) stretching
- Tight muscles include: calf muscles, peroneal muscles, hamstrings, piriformis, ITB, quads, adductors, hipflexors, glutes and lower back
10-20mins
3. Lumbar pelvic hip complex strengthening:
- Isolate and strengthen weak muscles – hamstrings, glutes and lower back
- They are core stabilisation exercises which are done in a controlled range of motion
10mins
4. Balance:
- Focus on tilting (unpredictable) and righting (predictable) reflexes
- Tilting reflexes NB for trail running is done on an unpredictable/changing surface
- Strengthen glutes
- Learn to hold posture with a displaced centre of gravity
- One legged exercises have a high carryover to running as you are never on two feet
10mins
5. Main exercises:
- Movement patterns instead of muscle groups
- Your body works with sling systems, train running specific ones, which are: longitudinal sling, anterior sling, posterior sling, and lateral sling systems
- When drawing up a program follow these guidelines for exercise sequencing: large muscle to small muscle groups, compound to isolation, high skill to low skill and unstable to stable
Perform 2 sets of 12-15 reps
This gives you a skeleton of what a training program should consist, so research the words I’ve used in this article and start compiling your own exercise regimes. Also look up full body functional exercises, these are always a good place to start!