Strength Training for Runners

There are still a lot of misconceptions about running and how to best train runners to minimize injuries and enhance performance.

Part of the problem is that there is a low barrier to entry to running. All you need to do is start running, right? No gym membership, no equipment, heck most people don’t even do anything to prepare themselves for running. They just decide to start running.

For recreational runners, running also tends to be a fitness choice. Many people pick a way to get in shape and start exercising, and feel like they need to choose. Do I want to do strength training or do I want to do cardio work?

Competitive runners also have some misconceptions when it comes to training to enhance their performance. In the past, many have believed that strength training will bulk you up too much, make you less flexible, and may even slow you down.

There is no doubt that running requires cardiovascular conditioning. But we can’t ignore how the rest of the body is biomechanically involved.

Let’s simplify running a little more.

Running is a series of little jumps. The rear leg has to propel the body forward. The stride leg has to absorb force.

To minimize your chance of running related injuries and enhance your running performance, you need to understand both of these concepts.

The key to both of these is strength training. We can build tissue capacity to handle these forces much more efficiently, especially if we build a specific strength training program for runners with these two concepts in mind.

Strength Training for Runners

When it comes to runners, my go-to resource for injury rehab and performance enhancement is Chris Johnson. Chris has an excellent website and clinic that specializes in runners. He’s helped me a ton over the years.

Chris has an amazingly comprehensive book right now, Running on Resistance: A Guide to Strength Training for Runners.

We had been talking online recently, and I thought that my readers needed to benefit from Chris’ amazing knowledge on runners. So we sat down and talked about the book, as well as a bunch of other topics related to strength training in runners:

Running on Resistance: A Guide to Strength Training for Runners

If you’re interested in learning more, Chris’s book is an amazing resource for both runners, as well as rehab and fitness professionals that want to work with runners. It is a detailed guide and program to building capacity, becoming more resilient to injuries, and enhancing running performance.