Incorporating weights midseason

[Michelle Lowry]

Last week I went to my sports doc and he gave me some one legged squats to do with light weights to try to strengthen my quads because I apparently have bad balance. 

I was going to start them this week but Josse pointed out that I am right in the hardest part of my training cycle and it's probably best to not start a weight regimen in the middle of it.  That sounds like solid advice from her, but I just wanted to get other's takes on it. 

He only told me to do some one legged lunge things without weights to warm up, then with weights with legs spread (weight on my front foot) then with weights with my back leg up.  Nothing major but perhaps I should wait until after St. G?

[adam]

I agree with Josse that you shouldn't incorporate a new wt training program at this point in your training cycle. However, those excercises you described can easily be done without weights as post-workout strength work and this would still help with the balance problem without hindering your training. You do not necessarily need the weights to gain the benefits from the exercise.

If it is just those three exercises, I would do them after an easy run, without weights, prior to cooldown stretching, maybe 2-3x a week (after a week or two of just 1-2x a week). At that point it would be like adding and extra easy quarter mile to your run. I would add weights later after STG.

Just think of them as exercises like crunches or pushups...Don't strain, be careful, and watch for possible injury points. Stop the exercise immediately if anything seems out of wack. Do not do them if you are feeling tired that day or overtrained, as this could lead to a quick injury.

[Dale]

I agree with most of what Adam says, except perhaps you should do them on your hard days.  That way you keep your easy days easy, you're not setting yourself up for reduced performance on your hard days, and it should be easier to tell if you're pushing too hard and need to back off.  You also might try to work into the very light weights after a few weeks if things go well and you feel up to it.

[adam]

The reason I would not recommend doing these on a hard day is that immediately after a hard workout you have placed a large load of strain on your muscles. Your form will not be as good during the exercises, you will not concentrate as much on correct movements (since you are more tired) and the exercises may place exponential or additional strain on already worked muscles.

After an easy run, you are more likely to concentrate on correct form and this will reduce the risk of injury, and the strain on your body will be minimal. Without weights, these exercises should feel like doing a few pushups or concentrated stretches (ie, something that helps but would not significantly reduce your performance the following day). In fact, I would consider the strain on the easy days from this method to be less than what a few easy day strides would bring.

Ideal for running would be to create a light strength training program that incorporates various body sections over the course of the week, so that strength gains can be found without hindering performance on any training day.

[Dale]

That's the problem with writing posts when I'm only partially awake....I missed an important part.
I agree that immediately after a hard workout is probably not the best time.  I'd recommend (and in fact do) the exercises be done at least a few hours after the hard workout.  Ideally, if your doubling, they'd be done in conjunction with the easy second run of the day.  That way you shouldn't run into the problems Adam cites (correctly) but you still give your body maximum time before your next hard effort to recover from the exercises.

[Sasha Pachev]

I've gone through many attempts to try to correct various imbalances with various forms of strength training. All of those attempts had a common theme. The weak muscle would surely get stronger. But it would make ZERO difference in my running other than losing some aerobic fitness from reduced mileage which I had to do to find the time for the exercises. Some people swear by stationary strength training, though, and claim they run better. I have wondered why it works for them but does not work for me. Some possibilities, I think all of them come into play in various degrees:

* The improvement is only perceived. We want to believe that our effort and our money were not wasted. So in the absence of objective measurements (race time) the runner interprets the strength he feels from the improved muscle as a running improvement. I've had many experiences like that. I would feel like I was running better but inevitably when I went to time myself in a workout where cheating was impossible or when I raced the results were disappointing.

* A runner with less training background can improve from other things more easily, and if he happens to be doing strength training at the same time, it is easier to convince him that he improved from strength training.

* A runner with less training background has not yet developed a refined muscle balance specifically adjusted for running on his body frame. In that case, an educated guess based strengthening could get him closer to that balance, so he will see an improvement in running. Somebody who has run high mileage for years will have that balance already. It will not look like a balance when you measure the strength of the individual muscle groups, nor will it look like a balance when you see that guy run. But it is a balance nevertheless. That is the best he can do with his body frame.

[Cheryl Keith]

I know for me personally that strengthening and stretching helps my running, and I know for a fact that when I quit doing the exercises that my running gets slower and I'm more prone to injury.  Could being a female have something to do with it?  I once read that weight training in regards to running mainly benefits older females.  (Could explain why the weights don't help you as much, Sasha.)  I'm not sure how you define older, but my guess is anyone over 30-35 might be considered "older" in the running world.  Now I know Dara Torres is a swimmer, not a runner, but I saw her workout regime on the internet and she has an extensive weight program.  She probably works on strengthening as much as she does swimming (maybe more), and she credits that for being 41 and making the Olympic team.  And Deena Kastor says she does weight work 6 times a week.  Here's a quote from Deena I found:  "I'll get in the weight room six days a week.  Three of those are spent doing core strength workouts.  The other days I'll do plyometrics and weight exercises."  So there must be some benefit to the weight work, so I say, go for it, even if it is midseason. 

[adam]

You should not have to reduce your mileage to add in strength training. 10-30 minutes is enough for a runner looking to add in a bit of lifting work during his daily routine. It can be done at any time of the day with a simple set of home weights or even milk jugs if you wanted.

The thing that bothers me the most is the perception that strength training is of little worth for runners who are highly aerobic trained. If you want to see improvements in your overall fitness, not just running fitness, you can look at some of the areas where you are weak and strengthen them. There are runners who do 120 miles a week, have a healthy diet, but cannot do 20 pushups at once. That is an extremely low standard for pushups. There are also runners who run 120 miles a week that can do 100 pushups no problem. They may run equal times, they may not. But, I would consider the latter runner to be more balanced physically and overall more highly trained. Why? Because he has something the other doesn't- significantly higher and measurable physical strength.

The debate for resistance training v no resistance training in distance running can go on and on. The best thing is to find what works for you. For Sasha, it does not work with what he wants. For others trained just as well, who run just as fast or faster, it is a part of their overall training program. It definitely does not just create percieved results or results only for less trained runners. If that were the case, then it would be known fact through all top runners, athletes, and coaches that resistance training is absolutely worthless.

But, whether it not it makes you a faster runner or a more balanced runner, if it does not hurt your running, and you are physically or mentally stronger for it, then why not keep doing it?