Your Questions About Weight Training For Runners

Drae answers:

Well I’m a distance runner but we do a very similar workout to the middle distance guys. There’s a point where more weight makes the training counter productive and your legs are weighed down by muscle. I’d say if you’re only doing 8-10 reps, you’re doing plenty of weight. More reps gives you a more toned muscle and doesn’t weigh you down.

So my best guess would be for you to decrease your weight by 10-20 and add 5 more reps

Drae answers:

No it actually isn’t contrary to what above says. If you wish to incorporate weight training as part of an alternative method to help build up your muscles then yes do so but alot of us succeed just as well running alone than with cross training.

Your stomach is the core to your body mechanics for running, you want to be sure thats in shape and that will come with running alone or you may want to speed it up by doing pushups for ur upper body using weights as well for the upper body but I haven’t weight trained yet I look like I do bc my muscles are naturally defined, and run now 32-36miles on avg per week.

Drae answers:

Weight training is essential for breaking barriers and keeping you injury free.

Your maximum should change as you get better. In general you should be able to bench press 85% of your weight and 125% leg press. Your repetitions for your legs should be 15. Your arm repetitions should be 10. However there is really no limit many trainers like to see 30 reps on hard days. Sets should be 3. If your doing higher weights most coaches would advise fewer repetitions.

Also try using resistance bands and instead of repetitions try holding for 15 seconds which will fire more and more of your muscles. Your find that it will also help with doing more running motion drills or jumps and help your football skills. Terrill Owens uses the bands after he had a hamstring injury which helped with his acceleration and forearms on the cornerbacks.

Good exercises for you include – look at link below for examples:
Hip extensions
Leg abductions and adductions
Leg extensions
Leg Curls
Lunges
Squats
Resisted Jumps
Forward and Back Shuffles
Toe and Heel Raises

Also check out the Drew Brees workout for powerpulls and Incline press. In addition run some of your intervals in a swimming pool. The resistance of the water will help especially if your working on your form. Olympic runners found that running in the pool helps prepare mentally and give you an advantage on the track. Good luck!

Drae answers:

Have you ever thought of finding a power yoga studio? It can really help with injury prevention and strengthening both upper and lower body. Are you in NYC? I could recommend a few studios depending on where you’re located. This is my #1 recc.

If you’re married to the lifting idea, I would suggest getting a trainer to specifically design your program…springing for 3 sessions would be a wise investment (again, I can connect you with some amazing people). I can also personally recommend Jillian Michael’s book Making the Cut for an amazing series of circuits over 30 days that will get you ripped while only doing 40 min workouts, 4x/wk that consist of light weights, high reps in combo exercises.

I’m a licensed massage therapist and wellness coach and have a huge network of bodyworkers I can refer you to (and I don’t get paid for it). Here’s my website: www.touchstonetherapy.com. Let me know if I can help.

Drae answers:

Being toned means your muscles will show well as a result of achieving a low body fat. With a low body fat your muscles will show nicely without much fat covering them. Distance running is an easy way to burn lots of muscle mass though.

Most forms of cardio burn muscle mass, except High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT not only burns fat 9 times more effectively than any other form of cardio, but it is very popular among bodybuilders for also completely preserving muscle mass.

Yes, you are burning fat from distance running, but keep in mind, lots of muscle mass is being lost too. If you must do distance running, keep your protein intake high.

Yes, high reps are for endurance, but I though you want to have a toned look, not endurance, correct? Low weight and high reps are commonly known to tone, but that is all misinformation. All high reps and low weight do are increase endurance and completely fatigue slow-twitch muscle fibers (muscle fibers used in endurance). They do not tone at all.

Whether you want a toned look or mass, you always use low reps and heavy weight (to hit fast-twitch muscle fibers), and then, you can use high reps and low weight after that to completely fatigue slow-twitch muscle fibers, helping you hit all the muscle fibers, to give your muscles the most full, developed look.

It is physiologically impossible to put on muscle mass without consuming more calories than you burn.

Here is a site on how to do HIIT if you decide to try it:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw40.htm