Posted by Eric Brown

Strength Training for Runners

3 strength-training exercises to improve stride length and frequency

Here are three key power-building exercises that are easy to carry out, won't take much of your time, and will rejuvenate your running - because they replicate key motor movements involved in the process of running.

The power triad

Please perform the three exercises in the order in which they are presented - and only when you are well rested. Specific strength training aims for positive adaptations of the nervous system as well as the muscles. Completing the exercises when you're over-tired leads to poor neuromuscular coordination and movements that are slower than desirable.

That means that the trio of specific exercises should be completed before a running workout, not after, and in fact the best-possible time is immediately before an interval, economy, or lactate-threshold session, not before a slower workout.

One final caution: perform the third exercise, 'One-Leg Hops in Place,' only on an aerobics floor, wooden gym floor, grass, a rubberized track, or any resilient surface which offers some 'give'. Hopping repeatedly on concrete or asphalt may increase the risk of overuse injuries to the lower leg and shin.

Here are the three key exercises:

1. The high-bench step-up

This exercise strongly develops the hamstrings, with complimentary development of the gluteals (the 'buttock' muscles) and the quadriceps. Simply begin from a standing position on top of a high bench (approximately knee height), with your body weight on your left foot and your weight shifted toward the left heel. The right foot should be free and held slightly behind the body. Lower the body in a controlled manner until the toes of the right foot touch the ground, but maintain all of your weight on the left foot.

Return to the starting position by driving downward with the left heel and straightening the left leg. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions as shown in the training programme, and then switch over to the right leg. Maintain absolutely upright posture with the trunk throughout the entire movement, with your hands held at your sides (with or without dumbbells).

2. One-leg squat

This exercise strongly develops the quadriceps and gluteals, with a complimentary boost to the hamstrings. To complete one-leg squats in the correct way, stand with the left foot forward and the right foot back, with the feet about one shin-length apart (your feet should be hip-width apart from side to side). Place the toes of the right foot on a block or step which is six to eight inches high. As in the step-up exercise, most of the weight should be directed through the heel of the left foot.

Bend the left leg and lower the body until the left knee reaches an angle of 90 degrees between the thigh and lower leg. Return to the starting position, maintaining upright posture with the trunk and holding your hands at your sides. Complete the prescribed number of repetitions with the left leg before switching to the right leg.

3. One-leg hops in place

This exercise builds strength and coordination in the entire lower extremity, including the foot, ankle, shin, calf, thigh, and hip. The resilient, bouncy nature of the exercise makes it the most specific of the three - extremely close to the actual movements involved in running. Simply start from the same position you used for the one-leg squat, with the toes of the right foot supported by a six- to eight-inch block. Hop rapidly on the left foot at a cadence of 2.5 to 3 hops per second (25 to 30 foot contacts per 10 seconds) for the prescribed time period as shown in the training programme. The left knee should rise about four to six inches, while the right leg and foot should remain stationary.

The left foot should strike the ground in the area of the mid-foot and spring upwards rapidly - as though it were contacting a very hot plate on a cooker. The hips should remain level and virtually motionless throughout the exercise, with very little vertical displacement. After hopping for the indicated time on the left leg, switch to the right leg and repeat the exercise.

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