What are the best gym workouts for runners?
I'm interested in learning various workouts to do at the gym for runners. I'd like to know excercises other than the treadmill.
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Answers ( 1 )
It depends a little on what sort of running you aspire to excel at. For sprinters, it's important to build core strength, arms and upper body as well as leg muscles. I was told by a world champion sprinter that I should build up my arms, and it definitely helped! My usual workout is (1) warmup on the elliptical machine until my HR is at least 130 and I'm winded and sweating hard; (2) do a complete set of stretching and flexibility drills; (3) pushups, planks and side-planks for as many breaths as I can hold them; (4) biceps curls with dumbbells; (5) quad extensions with heavy weights, one leg at a time, then repeat; (6) pull-downs for triceps; (7) hamstring curls with as much weight as I can lift, one leg at a time, then repeat; (8) sitting presses; (9) leg presses, one leg at a time, with as much weight as I can lift safely; (10) inclined situps; (11, optional) explosive knee lifts and drops; (12, even more optional) standing arm swings with weights, trying to simulate sprinting motion. By then I've had a pretty thorough workout. Take the next day off to recover.
Lately our track has been torn up for resurfacing, so I've been pretending to be a distance runner. My knees can't handle more than about 5 K, but I've noticed that the gym workouts described above also help a lot with my 5 K pace. Who knew? Core, leg and upper body strength are essential for all forms of running, I think; just don't try to "bulk up" if you are going for a marathon!