Running training can take a lot of time and lead to significant levels of fatigue. It may seem challenging to fit in any other form of exercise into your routine. You may also be concerned about the strength work causing muscle soreness and fatigue that would hamper your subsequent sessions. However, the benefits of running specific strength training warrant doing your utmost to fit at least one session in per week, introducing and progressing the strength work appropriately to avoid undue fatigue.
For most runners, the weekend is the best time for long, arduous sessions, whilst Fridays and Mondays are typically used as easy (active recovery) days or rest days. Therefore, Mondays may be the best time to squeeze in your (heavier) strength session focused on muscular endurance, strength and/or power with Thursdays being more suitable for a lighter strength session focused on proprioception, activation and stability. This will ensure you are still fresh for the long weekend sessions. Regardless these would need to be appropriately planned and scaled in the context of your running periodisation, overall training load and individual weaknesses.
If you're looking to incorporate some movements to assist in mobility and strength, we've highlighted a few foundational movements to consider below.
The Petersen step down from a box (slowly controlling one foot to lightly touch the ground next to the standing leg that bears all the weight, while focusing on sitting backwards into your glutes and hamstrings to absorb the load and keeping optimal ankle-knee-hip alignment).
The aim is to promote proper mechanics that facilitate efficient force absorption with each foot strike. This is effective for single-leg stability in trail running and training the muscles of the lower extremities to absorb load effectively, reducing strain on the knee joints.
The dynamic hamstring reach also trains single-leg stability by asking the ankle and hip stabilisers to work together to keep proper ankle-knee-hip alignment. But unlike the step down which is more of a squat pattern, this is a hip hinge pattern.
The athlete needs to keep an optimal alignment and their hips stable with a neutral spine, while hinging his or her hips backwards, lengthening and building tension in the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings), before subsequently contracting those muscles to extend the hips.
This is a foundational movement pattern that promotes greater posterior chain engagement while running, and ingrains the notion of full hip extension during the running gait as well as force absorption (eccentric control) through range of motion. This would be the prelude exercise to performing the single-leg deadlift.
It is encouraged to incorporate strength and conditioning training into your running routine at least once per week. Should you be interested in talking to one of our biokineticists please email Ciara at cbotha@ssisa.com.
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