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<p>It is not always about running strong, but when 2-3 times your body weight goes through your lower limb every step, a 70kg runner like me will accumulate 1.9million kgs of load every hour of running. So, strength should be factored in.</p><h3>Your ‘Running Strong’ home assessment</h3><p>This is a practical test you can try out yourself to give you a max score of 100 points per leg. This will be useful to see how close you get to 100 and identify any discrepancies from right to left. I have provided 4 exercises with instructions to ensure a proper technique is kept. Remember if you cheat with poor repetitions, you are only cheating yourself.&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Try and achieve 25 repetitions of each exercise, for each leg to reach a max score of 100:</strong></p><h4>Single leg calf raises:</h4><p>Stand one foot away from the wall, light fingers on the wall for balance and stand on one leg. Then, rise as high onto your toes as you can and lower yourself until your heel lightly touches the floor. Repeat one calf raise every 2 seconds maintaining the same height and keeping you knee straight throughout the test.</p><h4>Step Bridges on one leg:</h4><p>Lay on your back with one leg on a box and your knee bent at 90 degrees. Then cross your arms over your chest and raise your hip up towards the ceiling until your shoulders, hip and knee make a straight line.</p><h4>Side leg raises:</h4><p>Lie on you side with your bottom leg bent for balance and your top leg straight. Then with your top shoulder, hip, knee and foot making a completely straight line raise you foot towards the ceiling and back to parallel with the floor. Keep the leg engaged throughout, no resting in between reps.</p><h4>Single leg sit-to-stand:</h4><p>Find a chair you can sit on with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at 90 degrees. Then hold one leg up in the air, cross your arms or have them straight out in front of you and try to rise from the chair on one leg.</p><h3>Gym Strength assessment</h3><p>While the exercises above are great for testing you muscle endurance, there are a few more components to address. This includes absolute strength however, requires correct guidance and experience with heavy weights. For example, weighted squats, lunges, deadlifts, knee extension and single leg presses. While the science isn’t clear on the targets you should be hitting for a runner, some researchers have suggested 1-1.5x body weight for 3 sets of 10 repetitions for most of these exercises is a good zone.</p><h3>Power Assessment</h3><p>Lastly, we have power, which is the need for your muscles to generate force quickly. This is important because running is an endurance &amp; power-based activity, and I often see runners who display endurance and strength without power. For example, hopping on one leg and measuring your vertical &amp; horizonal hop, box jumps and skipping. These are all examples of exercises you can test and compare your right side to left side.</p><h4>Relevant Blog posts</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strength-training-myths-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Common Strength training myths for runners</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strengthen-calves-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How to strengthen your calves for running?</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/do-i-need-strong-feet-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Do I need strong feet for running?</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strength-exercises-for-runner-at-home/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength exercises for a runner at home</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-1-strength-training-injury-risk-injury-prevention/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 1: injury risk &amp; injury prevention</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-4-exercises-program-planning-for-runners-with-richard-blagrove/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 4: Exercises &amp; program planning Richard Blagrove</a></li></ul><h4>References</h4><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/rich_blagrove" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Follow Rich Blagrove on twitter: Author, researcher, lecturer on strength training for runners</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

How to know if you are strong enough for running

<p>There are certainly common gym myths floating around the running community. My guess is because most runners don’t like strength training. Any excuse will do, right? The myths I will be talking about stems from the work by Richard Blagrove. Rich is a brilliant researcher and is world renowned for strength training and running performance. His book titled:&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength &amp; Conditioning for Endurance Running</strong>&nbsp;is insightful and highly recommended. I had the pleasure of interviewing Rich on my podcast The Run Smarter Podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-4-exercises-program-planning-for-runners-with-richard-blagrove/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);"><strong>&amp; you can listen here.</strong></a></p><h3>Strength training for runners</h3><h3>M<strong style="color: inherit;">yth #1: Lifting weights will make me put on too much muscle</strong></h3><p>You might reason that an increase in body weight is detrimental for endurance running. After all, more energy is required to move a larger mass. But will you put on weight if you start lifting weights? Allow me to add a few comments to this topic:</p><p>Firstly, there are different ways to lift weights, and a runner shouldn’t be training for hypertrophy (bigger muscles). In fact,&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">it takes an extremely dedicated gym go-er training at high volumes with a high protein diet to match, in order to gain muscle mass.</strong>&nbsp;The volumes and frequencies a runner requires for performance simply is not the same. Richard Blagrove describes the ‘Interference effect’. When strength and endurance training are programmed concurrently, the body will prioritise endurance performance. In other words, you will make strength gains without increasing muscle mass. Lastly, and importantly, gym goers work so hard to put on muscle! You will not stroll into a gym for the first time and see these gains. It’s similar to a gym goer deciding not to run because they don’t want to be a sub 3h marathon runner!</p><h3><strong style="color: inherit;">Myth #2: Weight training causes injury</strong></h3><p>With the correct technique achieved, and keeping in mind your training loads are not too excessive, the risk of injury is negligible. With past research establishing the ‘relative risk’, weight training encounters 2-4 injuries every 10,000 hours while cross-country runners accumulate 37 injuries per 10,000 hours.&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">So when you think about it, running is actually a dangerous sport!</strong>&nbsp;Consider the load exposure a runner has when running. They subject their body to 5-6x their body weight through all structures below the knee. This is every single step! Compare this to a squat at 1-1.5x body weight repeated over 4 sets of 10. That’s nothing! It is also worth considering the proprioceptors in the muscle sending messages to the brain.&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Certain receptors called ‘golgi reflex tendons’ serve as a defense mechanism to ensure muscles do not ‘tear’ under slow/heavy loads.</strong>&nbsp;This makes acute muscular injuries very rare.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong style="color: inherit;">Myth #3: It will leave me with muscle soreness</strong></h3><p>Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is muscle soreness 24-48 hours after a training session, causing beneficial ‘micro-tears’ necessary for muscles to repair and become stronger. While this effect causes muscle soreness for a few days,&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">evidence shows that running is largely unaffected by DOMS</strong>. All you need to do is perform a gradual warm-up and to start your run at a slow pace. Yes, you will be sore if you try something new. However, symptoms of DOMS become insignificant or mild after 3-4 weeks into your strengthening program. If DOMS is continuing to affect your walking, running, daily living you are probably training at an intensity that is too high.Mild to moderate DOMS has also been shown to have&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">no impact on endurance performance</strong>.</p><h3><strong style="color: inherit;">Myth #4: To run fast, all I need to do is keep running</strong></h3><p>If you are serious about improving your running, eventually you will need to start introducing other strength qualities to the body and pushing through your plateaus to maximise your potential. It is true, performing more running sessions ticks the ‘specificity’ box and your body will physiologically adapt to the conditions you place it under, but sacrificing small units of running time to overload other physical qualities is also a wise choice. For instance, you would much rather receive the benefits of running economy and lactate thresholds through 1-2 strength sessions a week rather than make small gains with adding on more running sessions. You are also ticking the boxes of 1. Improved efficiency 2. Less chance of injury 3. Introducing variety.</p><h3><strong style="color: inherit;">Myth #5: Endurance performers need muscular endurance, not muscular strength</strong></h3><p>When it comes to strength training for runners, it seems intuitive that if you want to improve your endurance, go for a run. If you want to improve strength, lift some weights. Given that you spend most of your training time running, it is much more sensible to spend your S&amp;C sessions overloading other important qualities. If you want to improve your muscular endurance, don’t waste your time in the gym, go for a run! If you want to experience all the running benefits that come with strength training then lift some weights! The benefits of strength training is outside the scope of this post but I have recorded an entire podcast season on these benefits.&nbsp;<a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-1-strength-training-injury-risk-injury-prevention/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);"><strong>You can listen by clicking on episode 1 here.</strong></a></p><h4>Relevant Blogs:</h4><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/do-i-need-to-strengthen-my-feet-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Do I need to&nbsp;<strong>strengthen my feet</strong>&nbsp;for running?</a></p><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/how-do-i-strengthen-my-calves-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How do I&nbsp;<strong>strengthen my calves</strong>&nbsp;for running?</a></p><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/am-i-strong-enough-to-run/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Am I&nbsp;<strong>strong enough</strong>&nbsp;to run?</a></p><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strength-exercises-for-runner-at-home/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);"><strong>Strength exercises</strong>&nbsp;for runner at home</a></p><h4>Relevant Podcasts:</h4><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-4-exercises-program-planning-for-runners-with-richard-blagrove/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 4: Exercises &amp; program planning Richard Blagrove</a></p><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-5-keep-your-feet-strong-with-podiatrist-tim-bransdon/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength Training 5: Keep your feet strong with Podiatrist Tim Bransdon</a></p><p><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/qa-2-answering-all-your-strength-training-questions/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Q&amp;A #2: Answering all your strength training questions</a></p><h4>References:</h4><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Strength-Conditioning-Endurance-Running-BLAGROVE/dp/1847979874" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">You can find Richards book: Strength &amp; conditioning for endurance runners here.</a></p>

Common Strength Training Myths for Runners

<p>Feet are often a neglected piece of the running puzzle. That is because they often hide away and are compensated by footwear. But how important is it to have strong feet for running? Does it reduce risk of injury? Let’s see what the evidence says.</p><h3>The Foot Core System</h3><p><a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/49/5/290.full.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">An article published in 2014</a>&nbsp;introduced the concept of the ‘foot core system’ and argued that the foot core behaves such like the ‘core muscles’ in your back and stomach. They went on to say, that the foot core system is influenced by 3 sub-systems all interacting together to achieve strength &amp; function. The active system includes the muscles, the passive system relies on the bones, and the neural system focuses on nerve receptors sending feedback to the rest of the body.</p><h3>Foot strength &amp; running injury</h3><p>Surprisingly,&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">no evidence has shown a link between flat feet and injury</strong>. Additionally, evidence has struggled to link foot strength &amp; function with injury. I believe this is the case because we are missing one key piece. Individual running loads!&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Increasing foot function will help raise foot capacity</strong>&nbsp;and help the function of the entire kinetic chain, but we need to combine this with a well-structures training plan. Therefore, it can be very useful for runners to increase foot function, while training within their adaptation zone.</p><h3>Exercises to develop strong feet for running:</h3><p>It is important to note, if your foot is weak to start with the basics. Try some co-ordination exercises like toe yoga and built a foundation. Once this is built, progress to strength exercises in standing, single leg standing and jumping. Alternatively,&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">one of the most effective ways to strengthen the feet is to walk barefoot</strong>. If you are able to tolerate these loads, wear minimalist footwear throughout the day, do your gym workouts in bare feet &amp;&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">utilize every moment you spend on your feet as an opportunity to build strength!</strong></p><h4>Beginner foot strength examples:&nbsp;</h4><ol><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfYSEFwJMDA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Toe yoga</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OsUCzXqZg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Foot doming</a>&nbsp;</li><li>Calf raises with toe extension (photo 1 below)</li><li>Intrinsic calf raises (photo 2 below)</li><li>Isometric big toe flexion (photo 3 below)</li></ol><p><br></p><h4>Relevant Blogs:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/do-i-need-to-run-with-orthotics/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Do I need to run with orthotics?</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/how-to-transition-to-a-lesser-shoe/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How to transition to a lesser shoe</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-5-keep-your-feet-strong-with-podiatrist-tim-bransdon/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 5: Keep your feet strong with Tim Bransdon</a></li></ul><h4>References:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/49/5/290.full.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">McKeon et al. The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function.</a></li></ul>

Do you need strong feet for running?

<h2>Home exercises for runners</h2><p>Strengthening exercises are very beneficial when recovering from an injury &amp; for increasing running performance. However, a lot of runners avoid gyms like the plague, and memberships can be expensive. So when though it is more beneficial to pile on the slow but heavy reps to reap the full reward I thought I would share some home-based exercises. This will consist of body weight, light resistance and plyometric variations to suit your strength and skill level. If a visual component is required, there are plenty of YouTube videos detailing correct technique.</p><h3>Home exercises: Squats</h3><p>Firstly, we can start with an exercise we are all familiar with.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v152b72lo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Body weight squats</a>&nbsp;are very generic but very effective. Squats without weights can be done at an increasing tempo if you want to aim for a higher heart rate. You might also add dumbbells or carry or a weighted backpack to help add resistance. If no weight is available and body weight is too easy, single leg squats or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq5-vdgJc0I" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">pistol squats</a>&nbsp;can be incorporated. Lastly, bouts of squat jumps will be a nice plyometric option.</p><h3>Lunges</h3><p>Similarly to squats,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XDriUn0udo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">lunges</a>&nbsp;have similar variations. For a beginner, body weight lunges will suffice. For those who want to increase the level of intensity, then adding hand-held weights or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN1F4NBZIik" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">plyo lunges&nbsp;</a>will build up the required strength. However, keep in mind so need a good level of co-ordination, strength and technique to progress safely.</p><h3>Calf raises</h3><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQiMiUHWubw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Body weight calf raises</a>&nbsp;can be performed from flat ground or with your heels off a step. Both variations are acceptable but step raises require a bit more strength. If you have access to dumbbells, hold onto 1 in each hand if you are performing calf raises from flat ground or hold onto 1 dummbell and a rail if performing from a step. Alternatively, a weighted backpack will suffice. Keep in mind that progressing to single leg calf raises is DOUBLE the load. So progress carefully. Lastly, if you have a skipping rope, then double leg and single leg skipping is a very good plyometric option.</p><h3>Glute Strengthening</h3><p>Lastly, a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwWv7aPcD88" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">&nbsp;lateral lunge</a>&nbsp;will incorporate glutes and quads. If a thera-band is available, then&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFsQq29U7kE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">crab walks</a>&nbsp;are a very good option and personally one of my favorites. Plyometric lateral jumps from side to side will be very tough but try them out to test your power and balance. Tailored dosages are always best but generically, body weight exercises should be around 4 sets of 12-15 reps, if you have enough weight 4 sets of 8-10 reps is ideal and plyometrics for 30-90 seconds depending on fitness level.</p><h4>Relevant Blog posts</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/am-i-strong-enough-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How to know if you are strong enough for running</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strength-training-myths-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Common Strength training myths for runners</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/strengthen-calves-for-running/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How to strengthen your calves for running?</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-2-to-be-a-better-runner-i-just-need-to-run-right/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 2: To be a better runner, I just need to run</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/strength-training-4-exercises-program-planning-for-runners-with-richard-blagrove/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Strength training 4: Exercises &amp; program planning Richard Blagrove</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

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