Hi everyone! For today’s Fitness Friday post we are talking about strength training for runners. It is week 1 of the Devin’s Dash 5K training program! Now is the best time to start incorporating strength as you are getting into your routine! Check out this video of exercises below—they are not just for runners, anyone can benefit from adding some strength to your life!
Need a little convincing?? According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, runners who added 3 days of strength training to their workout plan had a marked increase in leg strength and endurance. What does this mean for us… faster 5K times and less muscle fatigue! Also your body becomes more efficient with recovery.
Strength training is also vital with injury prevention. Exercises that build up the muscles around the knees and hip are important to protect these sites, which are often at risk of injury in runners.
Strength training should be done 2-3x a week working every major muscle group in the body. The lower body as well as the upper body needs to be a part of a strength training program. The upper body is where good posture and core strength are derived from. Weight training during a 5k training plan is working towards muscular endurance. This means more reps and less weight. Perform 2-3 sets of these exercises doing 12-15 reps of each and you are on your way to running a faster and injury free 5K!
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