Chapter 9 - Strength Training

Chapter 9

Strength Training

In the MPR training philosophy, strength training plays an important and clearly defined role. I have 4 goals I am looking to achieve:

1. Prevent Injuries
2. Improve Running Form
3. Increase Stride Power
4. Recruit New Muscle Fibers

All four of these objectives are inter-related, as achieving each one will help us, either directly or indirectly, achieve the others.

Let’s define each of the four and talk about how strength training helps us achieve them:

Prevent Injuries – Simply defined, this is reducing the risk of injuries during our running training and racing. Strength training helps us achieve this by strengthening the running muscles in the proper proportion to one another and maintains that strength ratio. Additionally strengthening the muscles helps prevent accidental injuries which can be caused by things such as stepping off a curb, or in a hole, or having to dodge an obstacle.

Improve Running Form – This is making the running form more efficient and increasing our ability to maintain proper form for longer. This is critical for the endurance and stamina we need in the longer races. We do this by obtaining and maintaining proper strength ratios between muscles so they can use a natural and efficient running form and maintain that through-out the run.

Increase Stride Power - Making the running stride more powerful. This is very an important for running faster. We increase our stride power by increasing the strength of the muscles we use in running in the way we use them in running.

Recruit New Muscle Fibers – This is increasing the number of muscle fibers that can be used in the act of running. By doing this we increase the number of fibers that are actively storing glycogen and which can share in the effort required to run the longer races at faster paces. We accomplish this by working at very high percentages of our maximum, in exercises that include or mimic the running form.

Program Design

In designing a program to accomplish the goals listed above, I had to keep in mind that this work, while very beneficial and important, was ancillary to running. As runners who specialize in the longer distances, a marathoners’ time and energy are at a premium to be spent covering the mileage necessary to be successful at these distances. So I wanted to be sure to stay away from making any one session so difficult that it would take away from running training. So I decided to break our strength workout into 2 different parts: strength circuits and core circuits. The strength circuit focused on the muscles of the legs and the core circuit focused on the upper body and stabilizing muscles of our core region (abs). In this way we can work on things in smaller more manageable chunks.

I also wanted to design the program so that it was easy to perform and relied heavily on body weight exercises and exercises that could be done most anywhere, thus eliminating the need for and travel to gyms and expensive equipment.

The program also needed to be easy to execute and master. With some simple 1-on-1 instruction or videos the runner should be able to easily master and repeat the circuits effectively.

By making the program manageable on a time and equipment basis, and easy to master, I increased the likelihood that the runner would be able to be consistent in doing it, and would be able to do it effectively so as to accomplish our 4 goals.


The Strength Circuit

The strength circuit is made up of 8 simple exercises that are demonstrated in a video on my website here: http://www.mprunning.com/videos.php

I recommend that a runner execute this strength circuit 2 times per week during a normal training week. During the week of a race I recommend doing the strength circuit once, early in the week, if the race distance is below the half marathon in distance. If the race distance is half marathon or longer, I do not recommend performing the strength circuit during the race week.

The strength circuit should be performed on an easy or recovery day of training, never on a stress workout day. The reason for this is the extra stress of a strength circuit can take away from the quality or quantity of a stress running workout if performed before the stress workout, and can significantly increase the risk of injury if we do it after a stress running workout as the muscles are being asked to perform high intensity exercise while fatigued from the stress workout. By including our strength circuits on an easy or recovery day our muscles are better able to handle and absorb the work without increased risk of injury and the strength circuit is not difficult enough to substantially take away from our recovery between stress days.

I reviewed literally thousands of strength exercises, plyometric exercises and form drills when designing this strength program and pulled out the 8 exercises that I thought together best accomplished our 4 main goals of strength training and did so in a time and energy efficient manner. The 8 exercises I chose are as follows:

High Knee Form Drill
This is a quick paced, front half exaggerated running motion where the runner brings his/her knees up with each stride until his thighs are parallel or just past parallel with the ground. The exercise is performed with runner on the balls of his/her feet and with an upright posture (avoiding the natural tendency to lean backwards when bringing the knees up) and swinging his/her arms in a normal running motion. The forward momentum is slow even though the stride frequency is quick as the energy of the drill is more vertical than horizontal. This exercise exaggerates the front portion of the running motion and as such strengthens the muscles used to perform this portion of the stride.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 30-40 meters in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Butt Kicks Form Drill
This is a very quick paced, back half exaggerated running motion when the runner brings his trail leg all the way back until his/her heel strikes (gently) his/her buttocks. The runner maintains an upright posture and stays on the balls of his/her feet and executes this drill in a rapid fire manner where the foot is on the ground for minimal time. The forward knee movement is significantly reduced making this a quick paced but slow forward moving drill. This exercise exaggerates the back portion of the running motion and as such strengthens the muscles used to perform this portion of the stride.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 30-40 meters in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Paw Skips Form Drill
This is a form drill done in a skipping motion in which the front knee is brought up, the lower leg is kicked forward then brought back in towards the body in a pawing action at the ground (hence the name). The runner maintains an upright posture and stays on the balls of his/her feet and executes this drill. The focus of this drill is on the pawing or slapping action of the foot on the ground. This exercise exaggerates the bottom portion of the running motion and as such strengthens the muscles used to perform this portion of the stride.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 30-40 meters in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Walking Lunges
This exercise is the standard walking lunges used by athletes in a variety of sports. The athlete takes a moderately long step forward and lowers himself down until the trailing knee touches the ground. At this bottom position both knees should be bent at approximately 90 degree angles. Then the athlete pushes himself forward to a upright standing position again and takes a step forward with the other leg and repeats. The emphasis is on hitting the 90 degree angles with each stride and maintaining an upright upper body posture. This is a great dynamic power exercise for the upper legs.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 20-30 meters in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Cone Hops
Cone hops are a dynamic plyometric exercise in which a series of small cones are placed 1 stride apart (approximately 1 yard/meter) and the athlete stands with his/her feet even with each other about 2-3 inches apart and hops with both feet over each cone. The athlete draws his/her heels up towards their buttocks with each hop. It is also important that the athlete keep his/her feet even with each other so they are sharing evenly in the workload of each hop. This is a great explosive power exercise for the whole legs, especially the feet and calves.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 20-30 meters (20-30 cones) in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Diagonal Cone Hops
In this exercise we use the series of cones set out for the last drill, but move every other cone out perpendicular to the cone line by 1 stride (1 yard or meter). Then the athlete, in a slightly crouched position, takes a hoping stride landing on one foot to just behind the next cone, fully transferring his/her body weight to that foot and then pushing off diagonally to the next cone and landing just behind it with his/her other foot while again full transferring his/her full weight to that foot. This pattern is repeated for the full length of the cones. This exercise is great for building strength and resistance in the muscles on the interior and exterior portions of your legs and your ankles.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for between 20-30 meters (20-30 cones) in length and this is done 2-4 times (sets)

Box Step
This exercise can be performed using an ordinary bench or chair or bleacher. The athlete stands facing the bench and about 6-12 inches from it. He/she then steps up onto the bench with his/her right foot until they are standing upright on the bench and then steps down, leading with the same foot (right in this case), until they are back in the original position. This exercise is a great dynamic strength exercise for the whole leg, especially for the thighs.

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed for 20-30 repetitions with each leg and this is done 2-4 times (sets). 1 set equals 20-30 repetitions with the right leg leading and the same number of repetitions with the left leg leading.

Acceleration Sprints
This exercise is a 50 meter sprint where the athlete smoothly accelerates to full sprinting speed using good sprinting form. The athlete should focus on correct body position (upright with a slight forward lean) and on getting his/her knees up, running on the balls/toes of the feet and having quick leg turnover. The exercise is instrumental in building stride power and recruiting new muscle fibers.

Alternately this can be done on a short hill (30-50 meters in length) or over a 100 meters at a slightly reduced speed (i.e. 95% of top speed).

For intermediate to higher runners this exercise is performed 4-6 times (sets).


The Core Circuit

The core circuit is made up of 4 simple and basic exercises to strengthen the muscles of the upper body, with emphasis on the postural muscles of the trunk.

I recommend the core circuit be performed 4 days per week, usually the on days that do not include a strength circuit or long run, and never on race day. So a 7 day – 3 base unit training micro-cycle might look like this:

Day 1: easy run & core circuit
Day 2: stress workout & core circuit
Day 3: easy run & strength circuit
Day 4: easy run & core circuit
Day 5: stress run & core circuit
Day 6: easy run & strength circuit
Day 7: stress run (long run)

This routine was purposely kept short and simple, so that it can be done anywhere and only takes a short period of time (5-15 minutes) to accomplish. The 4 exercises included are as follows:

Push-Ups
Standard push-up, up on your toes body straight, arms straight, hands directly under shoulders, lower to within an inch or two of the ground and push back up. If the athlete can’t do more than 5 with correct form they can do them from their knees instead of toes until they have strengthened themselves up.

1-2 sets performed of as many as you can continuously do without straining or modifying form.

Bicycle Crunches
Starting laying on your back with hands interlocked behind your head, use your stomach muscles to raise your upper body rotating your right elbow towards the center, while at the same time raising your feet off the ground and bringing your left knee up to meet your right elbow in the center, then return to original position and repeat with left elbow and right knee.

1-2 sets performed of as many as you can continuously do without straining or modifying form.

Prone Alternate Arm & Leg Raises
Start in a prone (face down) position on the ground with your arms over head. Slowly raise your left arm and right leg until your hand and foot are 6 inches off the ground simultaneously. Then slow lower them. Now repeat with your right arm and left leg.

1-2 sets performed of as many as you can continuously do without straining or modifying form.

Dynamic Plank
Support yourself in a prone position up on your toes and forearms with your hands together. Now slowly raise and lower one foot up 6 inches and then lower it and raise the other foot so one foot is always moving.

Do this for as long you can (up to 2 minutes) without straining or modifying form.


I believe these 2 simple routines: strength circuit and core circuit, done several times each week give half marathoners and marathoners what they need to accomplish the 4 goals of strength training, and they do it in a simple and manageable fashion, one that leaves plenty of time and energy for our running programs.