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Why is strength important for a runner (or a
swimmer, cyclist or triathlete)? Because
when you become fatigued, your form
deteriorates and you lose the efficiency that
results from good form.
When you're running, fatigue is not just from
having tired legs. It is also due to tired
arms, a
tired back and tired abdominals. Having a
strong torso helps hold your form together in
the latter stages of a workout or race.
Resistance training improves running economy,
which is one of the key determinants of
running performance. With improved running
economy, a runner should be able to run
faster over the same distance due to a
decrease in oxygen consumption. Improved
running economy would also increase a
runner's time to exhaustion.
Strength training improves running
performance as a result of neuromuscular
adaptations that ensure muscle activation
remains high during the duration of a workout
or a race. In one study, after ten weeks of
resistance training, 10K times decreased by
an average of a little over one minute.
The Furman Institute (FIRST) has a great
presentation in their lecture
series titled
"Strength
Training for Runners". They present a
training plan that integrates strength
training into
their "3plus2"
running program. They also include several
examples of great exercises that they've borrowed
from the book Core
Performance by Mark Verstegen.
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Fitness gives you the ability for "increased
work capacity across broad time and modal
domains" according to CrossFit.
After a late
fall soccer injury (OK--running backwards the
weekend after the Marine Corps Marathon
was probably a bad idea), I've put a lot of
hours into CrossFit this winter, working on my
fitness. Here are some demonstrations of
real elite fitness from the main CrossFit site.
Annie, Eva and Nicole from CrossFit HQ
really represent when it comes to fitness.
This workout shows them performing three sets
of three different exercises: 50 squats, 7
muscle ups and 10 cleans:
Nasty Girls If you're not a gymnast, you've probably
never heard of a muscle up. These women make
it look easy. It's not. The next video
shows UFC Light Heavyweight MMA fighter,
Glover Teixeira learning how to do his first
muscle up.
It also shows Nicole (from the first video) doing
overhead squats in a face off with Glover
(who is also doing overhead squats for the first
time). You'll be amazed at who can do the
most squats while keeping 95 lbs overhead.
This is a great demonstration of what
a tight core and perfect form can do for
"increased
work capacity across broad time and modal
domains":
Nicole vs Glover |
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With December gone, the days are (slowly)
getting longer here in New England.
Unfortunately, with the hard freeze we
continue to have, that simply means that it's
easier to see the ice on the road when out
running. But, spring approaches and we're
getting ready for the Boston
Marathon (and the Women's
Olympic Marathon Trials). We've also put
the Cohasset
Tri on our schedule.
Sincerely,
Mark Connell
nuBound
email:
mconnell@nubound.net
phone:
888.480.NUCLeotide (or 888.480.6825)
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| From the archives of The Bounce . . . |
| Advanced DNA/RNA Sports Supplement |
Train Harder
Perform Better