ASK FLASH: When should runners get strong?
Posted May 13th, 2007 at 3:01 PM by Joshua Flash Gordon
Section: Running & Training, Columns, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise, Ask Flash
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Welcome back to ASK FLASH! I apologize for the brief hiatus…as lucrative as the running advice industry is…law school exams beckoned. A pleasure to be back and still standing! On to the questions du jour…
As a side note, in order to gain a foundational understanding of functional training and why I believe so strongly in it, I highly recommend Mark Verstegen’s three books as part of any runner’s reference library.
Q. Hope all is going well with you! Ran a great 10 miler this weekend. I finally broke an average pace under an 8! Very exciting! Anyway, I wanted your opinion on leg strengthening during a reverse taper. I really haven’t worked on them for over a month and a half with Nashville Marathon training and all. I am running SD in June and wasn’t sure if I should continue to avoid that or not. When I do work on my legs I do things such as leg curls, extensions, press, lunges and then floor exercises such as hydrants. Stick with these low weight, high rep? I know the machines are more isolating the muscles. Is there anything else you could suggest? I have also been using the half balance ball thing to strengthen my ankles and core. I feel as if my legs have been neglected and do not care for that :(
~ Legs from Strong Pumping Station Arkansas
A. Nice to hear from you! Sounds like a great run - you are cruising along well.
I would resume the leg strength training. Running promotes imbalance and the strength training is a safe way to avoid some of the pitfalls and also stimulates healing because you keep blood flowing to the legs. My biggest suggestion is to continue to lean more toward functional exercises and less to isolation type exercises like many of the machines offer.
So, yes, I’d recommend getting back to the strength work. Personally, I do them right through my taper and just adjust the intensity a bit because it keeps my form feeling good.
Take a peak on my webpage under functional training and I have a list of exercises I do. I also have my good friend Peter DeCambre’s picture friendly functional routine posted there that is excellent. I’d like to see you move away from curls and extensions to things like squats, lunges, balancing and other non-weighted / unstable surface functional routine exercises…
Hi rep / low weight isn’t really that helpful in improving. With higher weights and a normal 10-12 reps you won’t get bulky - but it becomes kind of moot as the idea with functional is to move toward more unstable surfaces as you advance rather than piling on weight anyway.
Keep me posted…
Q: Hi Flash (forgive my English, I’m French), I want to know if it’s good to continue my strength training even when i race? It’s for fun, but i like to be ‘competitive’ in a race, even if my time are a little slow; I’ve done my first half-marathon the 22 april in 1h36min. And if it’s good, how many times a week should i go? What exercise should i do? I tend to privilege my upper body because i run 50 to 60km a week and i train 4-5 times a week. I know i’m asking much, but some people said it’s not good to train before a race and some others said it’s good. Thank you.
~ Jacques from Frenchman, Nevada
A. Jacques, other than me having to convert kilometers to miles to understand your training, your English is just fine! (roughly 30-40 miles per week, right?) To answer your first question, I think strength / functional training is important to do throughout your training year. I tend to recommend more intensity in the training at periods when a race is not within striking distance. So, while you should NOT do a two-hour strength session the night before a big race, regular strength / functional work is important. For specifics in training, see the information on my website.
As to primarily ‘privileging’ your upper body, I believe that to be a common mistake among runners who do strength work. It is a mistake I engaged in for a number of years. While it is true that you run on your legs and your legs are strong, they are also strong in a limited range of motion. Furthermore, if you have any running form imbalance, running perpetuates this imbalance. Doing a range of movement as part of your functional training is important. While I do not necessarily believe that strength / functional training has a direct impact on running performance, it certainly provides you a foundation that can handle the necessary running work to allow you to meet your goals. Good luck!
Gotta go…
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Joshua ‘Flash’ Gordon is a runner who is never shy to give his opinion. Flash has been running competitively since 1989 and can be found training hard on the roads and trails of Boston. Flash continues to compete in distances from 5k to the Marathon as part of the Boston Athletic Association (BAA).
Sometimes Flash runs fast. Sometimes Flash runs slow. But neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night can keep Flash from the swift completion of his training regimen.
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