Marathon runners and long distance runners have long avoided the weight room, but not any more.
There still is a belief among uneducated runners that if they do anything in the weight room then they will gain weight. The funny thing is that people who typically run distance couldn't put on weight if they tried. Putting on weight from lifting comes from not only training in a manner to illicit muscle growth but also eating a surplus of calories to promote that growth. There is literally thousands of these "Ectomorph" people online who don't run and only lift and their whole goal in life is to put on size and they cannot. So I wonder how these uneducated runners think that their genetics are so vastly superior and their DNA makeup is so different than the thousands of other Ectomorphs that they think they will put on weight from just looking at a heavy weight. Well of coarse it isn't and I have encountered many of these athletes over the years and one thing is true for all of them: they stop getting any faster, they get hurt, and they usually give up running.
So what is the truth about lifting and distance running? Lifting the proper way will make you a faster, healthier and stronger runner. Some of the blame is on the running community and some is on the fitness industry. The promotion of "bodybuilding" has lead to that methodology of training to be the primary one that people are exposed to. So it is no wonder that some people look at a fitness magazine and do a bodybuilding program and wonder why they aren't any faster. The running community however hasn't been quick to get the truth out about lifting for the improvement of distance running. This is primarily because a lot of the old coaches who are still in charge have not embraced the science and proof that it will help their runners. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. A lot of distance runners I come across only run as their method of training. Their times haven't moved in 5 years and yet they don't see this as insanity. We also see the "endurance" lifting programs. These are a huge waste of time to distance runners and they might as well just put in more miles than do these workouts. Doing "endurance" lifting for a distance runner is pointless as they get tons of endurance work as they run, what they really need is strength and more specifically power.
Power is the ability to apply force over a period of time. Our goal with our distance runners is to give them more strength and allow them to apply it over the same amount of time. Simply put this makes for a faster runner. Not only that but the increased strength makes them more resistant to injury. No one can completely take away injury because if someone is pushing hard all the time something may break down. But if the runner is stronger then it takes a lot more before they break down. Our marathon and distance runners lift heavy weights, get stronger, more powerful and more durable. I know that this is hard for a lot of "old school" runners to process but I assure you that in 10 years lifting will be as much a part of a distance runners routine as tying their shoes.
If you are a distance runner and you are not including power and strength training in your training routine then you are missing out tremendously. If you don't have any idea on what to do in the weight room to improve your distance and/or Marathon times then let us know and we will be able to set you on the right track. Our latest marathon client, Christina Murphy, just won the Columbus Marathon in a 2:39.15. If you don't think that power and strength training will help your marathon time, you show me that you have run a better time than her and I'll listen to what you are doing. But if you want to increase your time, be healthier and stronger, send us an email and we will get you there.
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