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One weird trick to hit new running PBs and prevent injuries. Just kidding, it’s strength training

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Strength training for runners (how to hit new PBs and avoid inury). One weird trick to hit new running PBs and prevent injuries. Just kidding it's strength training

If you google ‘strength training for runners’ you’ll come up with a billion results. The problem isn’t that we don’t know that it’s beneficial, the problem is actually getting it done. I’ve written about developing mental toughness, how to motivate yourself to do hard things and why you need joy, not motivation – but in this episode of the podcast, Jo and I are talking specifically about strength training.

It’s easy to downplay the challenges with strength training and put it in the ‘just do it’ basket. But there can be loads of obstacles – gyms can be intimidating, especially if you aren’t used to the environment. You can get caught up in too many options and get overwhelmed. (For some strength apps to get you started you can check out these which are a great option for strength training for runners.) Or you can just de-prioritise it because it’s not something you enjoy and yep you guessed it when something is last on your list and last in your heart, it is the first thing that gets skipped.

In this episode we talk about:

  • What is strength training anyway? Is it strength training or is it cardio with weights?
  • When you can’t get going on your own – how to use group training or individual programming to help you get started or keep going
  • The big question from the community in run club – ‘what motivates you to strength train when running just fills your cup so much more?’
  • Inspirations from How I Built This – don’t fall in love with the solution, fall in love with the problem.
  • If you want motivation, you are going to need an identified problem that you are trying to solve
  • Understanding your environmental needs initially
  • Strategies around habit bundling
  • Periodising your strength training and cross training depending on your running goals
  • Second question from the community in run club – can you do too much strength training?
  • How to assess how you are recovering
  • Choosing a programming style that works for you
  • Should you change your nutrition change based on whether you are doing more strength training than running?
  • How the things you are resistant to are probably clues about things you need to work on
  • Strength training for confidence building – being able to handle a heavy weight, allows you to handle other heavy weights in your life
  • Understanding what your physical and environmental barriers are to training

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Podcast: Episode 136 – Everything you don’t know about running injuries with Brodie Sharpe

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Running image - title says everything you don't know about running injuries with Brodie Sharpeå

Running injuries can be a bit of a mystery can’t they?

It often seems like you are on some kind of detective hunt to find the cause of those pesky running injuries and often you find more questions than answers. To make matters a whole lot worse, there’s a whole lot of misinformation out there and plenty of fear mongering as well. You are constantly getting bombarded with what to do, what not to do and sometimes there’s a whole lot of conflicting advice as well.

This week, I talked with Brodie Sharpe of the Run Smarter Podcast

Brodie is a physiotherapist that specialises in running injuries and injury prevention and you can find out more about what he offers at the Breakthrough Running Clinic and Run Smarter Online He’s passionate about breaking down some of those myths about running and running injuries and helping people to make better decisions sooner so that you can prevent injuries or at least make them far less long and let’s face it very annoying! Some of the topics that we focused on in this episode where:

  • What is the cause of knee pain and what can you do about it?
  • Is rest the answer for shin splints?
  • Is running really going to damage your joints?
  • Does stretching matter?
  • Should you use supports like orthotics?
  • Why is plantar fasciitis such a persistent and difficult injury to deal with?
  • Is bodyweight training really the best option for runners? Or should you be lifting weights?
  • And how to pick up the signs of when you need help vs a niggle you can manage on your own.

We covered a lot of ground and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  

I’m writing a book about how to love running enough for it to change your life.

The book is going to focus on my journey so far, the when the why and the how of the workouts and of training, but also how it all connects to things that are far bigger than running. I’m taking up the challenge of writing a book in 30 days. Which is a lot of writing, but hopefully just enough pressure to keep the momentum going. You can sign up to read the daily words on patreon and get access to a whole range of bonus podcast episodes, and an ebook with 52 running workouts, so you’ll never be stuck for ideas ever again. Stay up to date on:

 

How to set up your home gym without breaking the bank

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The cool thing about a home gym is you can do things in your pyjamas, you can work out even when it is school holidays and you can save time if you are a bit time poor. I also really love having a space to workout on my own and listen to podcasts, rather than having to travel to a gym. Sure, there are things at the gym that you don’t have but the vast majority of things you can do with only a small amount of equipment.

But I’m going to do this in stages, so as you progress you can add to your gym, instead of laying out a whole heap of money at once.

The first thing you are going to need is dumbbells.
These are going to be the most versatile piece of equipment you own. They are more challenging than barbells because of the greater muscle stabilisation required, so you actually need less weights which is a bonus!

Cost: You can pick up a 12kg set for $49, or a $20kg set for $99. If you want to get super fancy, you can get an adjustable dumbbell set which you can set to anywhere in between 2kg to 24kg per dumbbell for $199.

You don’t need a bench just yet, but you could probably use a mat.

A bench is nice, but it’s not necessary for most things – you can do them on the floor – but you might like a yoga mat to make it more comfortable.

Cost: $5 to $49 depending on your level of fancy.

If you’d like to work on your pull ups, but don’t want to invest in a pull up rack, you can get a bar for your door frame.

Don’t worry door frame pull up bars are super safe, and if you can’t do a pull up yet a resistance band will help you while you build strength.

Cost: $29.95 for the pull up bar and $6-15 for a resistance band (you might need to buy more than one depending on the level of assistance required).

So, you want to invest in a bench? Awesome, this is a great opportunity to expand your equipment a bit more.

You could get an incline bench for around $100, but for a bit more you can get one that is going to double as a squat rack (when you get a barbell), is an adjustable bench and includes a leg developer too.

Cost: $100-$199 depending on what is going to best suit your needs.

Some extras that are going to help diversity your workouts

Things that you might like to consider are kettlebells (you can use dumbbells in the meantime, but for some exercises kettlebells will work better), a skipping rope, a medicine ball and a plyo box. It all depends on what kind of sessions you want to do, but those would be good things to consider

Cost: Kettlebells will range from $15-89 depending on weight. You can grab a skipping rope for $5-15. A medicine ball will range from $19-49 depending on weight. And a plyo box will range from $35-$199 depending on what you go for.

A barbell is an investment, but it’s also super versatile too.

Although you can get a standard barbell relatively cheaply, I’d recommend getting an olympic barbell because it’s going to be easier on your wrists and is going to a better investment. Barbells tend to start at around 10kg, but you can get 20kg bars if that is going to suit you better. You are also going to need weight plates. You can get cheaper options, but I’d recommend bumper plates because they are more durable. The great thing about weight plates is that you can use them for a range of exercises, not just on the barbell. So things like russian twists and overhead lunges and squats or even a weighted plank.

Cost: $49 for a standard barbell or from around $129 for an olympic barbell. You can get weight plates from around $35 per 10kg, and bumper weight plates from around $50 per 10kg. Weight plates can be expensive, so it might be a good idea to start with the bar and whatever weight you are at and add to it as you are lifting more weight, rather than buy weights all in one go.

You might want a more permanent pull up bar and a dip station.

If that’s the case, you can upgrade your door frame pull up bar to a rack.

Cost: $120. You’ll still be able to use your resistance bands on the rack too.

5 Great Apps to Get You Strength Training

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One thing that a whole lot of people find intimidating when they start is strength training. I used to avoid anything that wasn’t a treadmill at the gym, and it took me quite awhile to work up the courage to go to a group class like Crossfit. If you can afford a PT, I think or a group class they are well worth the investment, because quality of movement and developing good technique is so important – but, it’s great to have some options to do on your own or at home as well. It can help to boost your confidence, make the most of your time and start to work on some of your weaknesses as well.

PT in My Pocket
This is a great introduction to strength work and HIIT training. The workouts range from 10 minutes to 20 minutes and you don’t need any equipment. You can also mix and match workouts depending on the amount of time you have and it includes demonstration videos, which is great if you aren’t familiar with any of the movements. You can check it out on iTunes or on Google Play.  Cost $4.49 and there are in-app purchases.

7 Minute Workout

This is a great HIIT option that focuses on bodyweight movements so you don’t need any equipment and every workout is only 7 minutes. It also has video demonstrations for all the movements. And because each workout is only 7 minutes, there’s no excuse not to do it! You can check it out on ITunes or on Google Play. It is free but there are in-app purchases.

Strong Lifts 5 x 5

If you have weights at home or have access to a gym and would like a more structured program, 5 x 5 is an established programming technique designed to maximise strength gains by focusing on the key lifts of: back squat, bench press, overhead press, deadlift and barbell row. It works off three sessions per week with three lifts per session. It’s free to download on iTunes or on Google Play and offers in-app purchases.

Powerlifter 5 / 3 / 1

This is another program option if you have weights at home or access to a gym and want to follow a structured program. Instead of doing 3 lifts per session, 3 times a week, you do 4 sessions, but with 1 lift per session and the option of supporting accessory work. It focuses on: Back Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press and Bench Press and takes you through a strength cycle with 4 weeks in each cycle. You can download on iTunes or on Google Play. It’s free and offers in-app purchases.

Spitfire Athlete

This is an app designed specifically for women who are interested in building strength and has different program based on your goals (including strength for runners). The app itself is free and there are free programs within the app (including bodyweight and barbell), but the most benefit comes out of the pro version which starts at $169.99 for 3 months. You can download on iTunes or on Google Play

Is strength training the missing link in your program?

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“Can you open this Mum? You’ve done Crossfit like a hundred times and you are stronger than me because your muscles are bigger.” – 6 year old, getting what she wants as per usual.

Kid has a point. Unless it’s the day after arms work and I’m rendered a useless weakling unable to lift my own coffee. But I digress.

There are a lot of myths about strength work but most of them aren’t true. It won’t bulk you up, unless you want it to. Anyone can do it. You don’t have to be fit first. The people aren’t as intimidating as you think they are.

What you find in strength training might surprise you. You might find a greater love for your body. You might find more self-confidence. And you might find it changes the shape of your body in a way that cardio just doesn’t.

Weight loss has never been my primary goal but it has been a secondary one. I prioritise performance over weight loss any day of the week. And if you are trying to lose weight, here are some words for you.

Every now and then something happens to pull into sharp focus that you are never that far away from that person you used to be. If I could go back and talk to her I would say:

Shame will not motivate you.
Self-loathing will not inspire change.
There is nothing wrong with you.
Your body is capable of so much more than you believe it is.

If you want change, you have to love the body you have right now for everything it has already done for you and everything it is capable of doing in the future. You have to respect it. And appreciate it. And you have to believe in it. Food and exercise are not reward and punishment. There is no punishment. And you are the reward, just like you always have been.

But if it is something that you would like to work on then strength training is something you should consider. It will raise your metabolism (that means more food, right?) It usually involves some high intensity interval type training which helps to stimulate weight loss and it changes every week, so your body doesn’t get used to it. That’s my theory anyway. I ran for about two years and while it certainly helped lose my baby weight I didn’t see a dramatic change until I started Crossfit. I think part of that is metabolism, part of it is muscle development, part is high intensity intervals and I think a big part of it is that my body can never get comfortable with the exercise – because they are changing all the time. My body is used to running. It’s very efficient at running – so I really doubt it does much at this point in terms of weight loss.

I was reading an article the other day on different types of strength training as they impacted on running and circuit type strength training was the only one that improved your strength as much as any other form of training but also improved your running.

One thing I’ve learned in my running and strength training is that if you are doing something like weights or doing something like hard intervals in a run it doesn’t matter how heavy the weights are or how fast you are running, what matters is that you do it to fail. So if I get to the end of a weights workout and I’m struggling to get the weights up, I know I’m going to see good benefit from that. It’s the same with running if I get to the end of an interval session and I’m struggling to keep pace on the final interval I know I’ve given that run everything.