Notes on Weight Lifting For Runners

Training regimes using concurrent endruance and heavy-resistance exercise have found to improve long-duration endurance performance in untrained-to-well trained individuals more than endurance training alone.

Using strength exercises with a moderate (3 - 8) number of repetitions performed in a set and a modest number of sets (2 - 5), and not performed to failure seems to produce the largest enhancement in strength, muscle power, and performance than high training volumes and/or repetitions to failure.

In the training of athletes who want to avoid gains in body mass, it is interesting to note that concurrent strength and endurance training can result in increased maximal muscle strength and rapid force capacity without any corresponding increases in muscle fiber size and anatomical cross-section area.

Concurrent training in endurance athletes seems to result in an increased Rate of Force Development and/or reduced time to peak force.

Strength training for runners should involve multiple exercises (2-3) for main targeted muscle groups, using heavy loads (85 of 3 Rep Maximum), performance in sets of 3-5, using periodized training progression for a total duration of 6-16 weeks.

Sources:

Aagaard and Raastad, Chapter 6, Endurance Training – Science and Practice

Aagaard et al., 2011. Effects of resistance training on endurance capacity and muscle fiber composition in young top‐level cyclists.

Bishop, et al., 1999. The effects of strength training on endurance performance and muscle characteristics.

Hickson et al, 1988. Potential for strength and endurance training to amplify endurance performance.

Hoff, et al., 2002. Maximal Strength Training Improves Aerobic Endurance Performance.

Lonsnegard et al., 2011. The effect of heavy strength training on muscle mass and physical performance in elite cross country skiers.