Episode 18 - Strength Training and Running: Unlocking the Secrets to Faster, Stronger Runs

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Alison discusses the importance of rest during strength training for runners, emphasizing that strength training should focus on force production and proper recovery rather than speed. She encourages runners to see strength training as a tool to improve running efficiency, sharing how her own struggles with running led her to appreciate strength training. She introduces essential movement patterns like pushing, pulling, hinging, squatting, and lunging, and explains how these exercises can improve running form by targeting specific muscle groups and movement dynamics. Additionally, Alison highlights key principles such as organizing the center of mass over the stance leg, rotation, and co-contraction, which can enhance running efficiency. She explains how practicing co-contractions during hinge movements like deadlifts helps with hip extension before knee extension, which is essential for efficient running. Alison also emphasizes the importance of plyometrics, including landing and propelling exercises, to improve the body's ability to absorb and rebound from ground forces. She concludes by highlighting the integration of these concepts into strength workouts, offering a program to help runners implement them effectively, with a focus on progressive training and proper rest between exercises.

Key Takeaways:

• Key Movement Patterns for Strength Training: The podcast discusses five essential movement patterns—push, pull, hinge, squat, and lunge—that should be included in strength workouts to improve running efficiency and performance.
  
  
• Organizing Your Center of Mass: Alison explains the importance of properly organizing your center of mass over your stance leg during exercises like lunges and squats to improve running form and efficiency.
  
  
• Rotation and Counter-Rotation for Running Efficiency: Rotation of the pelvis and torso is crucial for efficient running, and incorporating exercises that promote this rotation in strength training can enhance running mechanics.
  
  
• Co-Contractions and Plyometrics: Co-contractions (muscle engagement around joints for stability) and plyometric exercises (landing, loading, and rebounding) are discussed as key components in building strength and improving running performance by enhancing stability and power.
  
  

Time Stamps:

[00:00] - Introduction and Importance of Rest in Strength Training

[09:21] - Key Movement Patterns for Strength Training

[14:44] - Organizing the Center of Mass for Better Running Form

[19:05] - Rotation and Counter-Rotation for Efficient Running

[22:33] - Co-Contractions and Plyometrics to Improve Running Performance

[28:02] - Conclusion and Run Strong 101 Program

Resources Mentioned:

• Fast & Free: A FREE plug and play set of run warm ups to help female runners feel strong, efficient, and confident in their stride.
• RunStrong101: A 6-week strength training program for female runners to run stronger, faster, and more efficiently without all the typical aches and pains!

Quotes:

• "Strength training is not an endurance sport, and that is a good thing. We want that rest."
  This quote emphasizes the importance of rest during strength training, particularly for runners, and highlights that recovery is essential for maximizing performance.
• "We were truly born to run- the ultimate endurance athlete. And this piece of rotation is like the reason why, in my opinion."
  A powerful reminder of the unique biomechanics of human running, this quote underscores how rotation and counter-rotation are integral to efficient and injury-resistant movement.

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