If you are a regular runner and you are preparing a race, you know what you are playing: slope training, running technique, long and quiet shootings, shorter and faster runs … But what about strength training? Why do we often forget a fundamental part of our training?
Many runners never perform strength training, much less maximum strength training, with high loads and few repetitions. However, a study published in 2015 already warned us that this type of training, performing only two weekly sessions for six weeks, improves runners’ performance by almost 4% . More or less like the famous Nike shoes in the Breaking2 challenge , only cheaper.
The study compared the results of two groups of runners in five-kilometer races: on the one hand, a group that only engaged in career training, and on the other, a group that combined career training with maximum strength training .
How did you train in the strength sessions? Training was carried out with four sets of four repetitions at 80% of the maximum repetition (low training volume but with high loads) with four movements: Romanian dead weight , half squat , strides and heel lifts .
The study concluded that those athletes who had combined maximal strength training with running strength in two weekly sessions for six weeks had improved their performance over the distance of five kilometers by almost 4% .
It is worth training strength if you are a runner, both to improve your performance as runner and to prevent possible frequent injuries in the corridors, do not overlook it!