by Lorra Garrick

Created on: May 14, 2007

Why Runners Should Lift Weights

Just because you run, doesn't mean your legs are strong. In a way, running increases leg strength; in a way. But the increase in strength is relative to your body weight. Once this increase has been achieved, your legs stop getting stronger. Muscular endurance is not the same as muscular strength. Running aloneeven like a coyote in the wildis not enough to make your legs strong and last well into old age so that you never need a walker or cane. Those legs need to lift weights.

Our muscles are the framework of our bodies. Weak muscles will not support a skeleton very well. Strength training your legs will not make you less efficient at running, but more efficient. We're not talking about competitive marathon running, in which the elite athletes are super thin and don't have much muscle. We're talking about the average fitness enthusiast who does a lot of running, but is hesitant to do some leg lifts, leg presses and hamstring curls.

Strength training will help guard against the many injuries that can be caused by running. In fact, running causes way more injuries than strength training. Who gets shin splints or iliotibial band syndrome from leg extensions and barbell squats?

Try strength training for several weeks, and see what it does for your running. You don't have to lift super-heavy. Just get in some lifting. Do it twice a week. It doesn't have to exhaust you. Your legs don't have to end up feeling like rubber or lead, but rather, pleasantly worked, like they do after one of your long runs. Do barbell squats, leg presses, hamstring curls, and other forms of squatting - two or three sets each. Make sure you fully understand correct form for the barbell squats, and start out with just the bar across your back so that you can master form, before adding weights.

Go for 12-15 reps. When 15 reps becomes easy, increase the weight. You'll start seeing improvement in your running in several weeks. The improvement may be in the form of faster recovery following a long hard run. It may be in eradication of a chronic running-related strain. It may be in improved performance while running on hilly terrain.

The weight lifting protocols described here will not bulk up your legs, especially if you are doing a lot of running. The running will offset the body's capacity to build a lot of muscle anyways, which is why bodybuilders do not include a whole lot of running in their programs.

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