Weight training benefit for 5k runners?

A few weeks back I reported (link) on some research with men who improved their 5k times by nearly 3 minutes from about 25 minutes by doing intensive plyometrics (depth drops).

More recently, some different researchers have reported similar improvements using plyometrics and resistance training (strength training using weights). These men were nearer 20 minutes for 5k before starting the additional non-running training.

Unfortunately I have not been able to access the whole paper, so I was not sure exactly how different the study was to the previous one, but thankfully a British Army PT, “Cat Riona”, posted a reel on Instagram (see her “runspace_cat” profile) that covered these two resaerch papers and additional research that made sense to me, so that I can share how I think the latest research should help your training improve your running performance.

PS Also, look up Cat for a great explanation on how to improve your VO2max (photo).

The research Cat describes was based on 652 runners, so a big study, and the key finding was that the most effective non-running training methods to adopt depends on your current speed.

So like the previous study I shared, if you are running at or over 5 minutes per kilometre (8 minute miles in 'old money'), then plyometrics gives you the biggest benefit as it develops the aspects that help with your technique the most, including tendon elasticity, which is what plyometrics are great at aiding. The next best strategy was doing low reps of heavy lifting, as this builds underpinning strength in the muscles. Least effective was high reps of low weight, e.g. bodyweight (BW) exercises, which might disappoint some of you. But in reality, you need to generate sufficient force so that the MTUs (muscle - tendon units) can be over-stressed, leading to physical adaptations. Many gym exercises using bodyweight, e.g. squats, just don't replicate the forces generated in running to create that adaptation. However, changing your squats into squat jumps will result in benefit, as that's a plyometric exercise. The benefits from high reps low weights is primarily for rehab after injury.

The most effective strategy for those running faster than 5 minutes per kilometre was strength training, then plyometrics and lastly BW exercises. This makes sense to me, as when we run faster, we do need to put more force into the ground. And there has to be a reason why sprinters lift such heavy weights - and it's not so that they can carry their blocks, which are surprisingly heavy!!.

My experience is that as you increase in speed, the force required feels disproportionally high, i.e. it is not a linear progression.

However, the graph shows the relationship between speed and force is pretty linear, so the effort must feel greater because the Central Nervous System is having to activate progressively more MTUs.

Recently, many of us have experienced that in running the Bourton Mile, which "hurts" far more than one would expect compared to a 10k or a Parkrun!

If a flat out sprint is 100% effort, at about 4Hz cadence (240 steps per minute), then endurance running is 75% effort, as it's typically done at around 180 spm. As you increase the speed you need to mobilise more muscle fibres to produce the force to cover more distance in the air, if your cadence doesn't increase, which is typical for most runners (see my previous blogs : Need for Speed and Speed 2). So strength training enables the development of more muscle fibres. Also, and really importantly, it builds into your body, resilience to withstand the shock induced by running so preventing injury. And consistent training is the “secret” to performance improvement.

FYI - impulse in graph above is 'force' times 'time', so as we run faster, we increase force initially but then additionally we reduce ground contact time, so impulse diminishes.

So if you took my advice previously and introduced plyometrics into your training programme you did the right thing. If you're running faster than 25 minutes for a Parkrun, and many of you are, and are not doing heavy weights in the gym, then you will get more improvement by doing them.

NB one should always consult an expert before starting lifting heavy, i.e. a qualified Personal Trainer (PT), as 'form' (how you move when lifting) is critical to avoid hurting oneself. It may also be advisable to consult your GP if you have not done weights before, or have a bad back or other issues. A good PT should be able to design a programme around your physical constraints.

This research and many others show the same results: you need plyometrics and strength training if you want to run faster than 25 minutes for 5k, or actually faster than 5 minutes a kilometre, whatever the distance; because the non-running training benefits your running mechanics. But the question that’s left unanswered is “what’s best for me?”. The research needs large numbers of people to be statically significant but every runner is unique and so how to we turn these general findings into something that you as an individual runner can use.

The Club’s “Most Improved Runner of the Year”, Rachel Ranger, is well known to you and most of you would have noticed her fast leg turnover. I posted previously (in "The Need for Speed Too") about how you could gain a little improvement at your optimum heart rate by increasing your cadence by about 5 steps per minute based on research that shows most runners are running slightly too conservatively. However, that option is not really open to Rachel with her high cadence.

So how can she run faster. Well, the only option is to lengthen her stride. But we don’t want her over-striding and heel striking (see picture, albeit, she’s at the end of a tri and all of us struggle with form when fatigued).

Rachel needs to get more distance in the air. She could try 'bounding' but she would collapse after about a minute, so she needs to get more distance without fatiguing herself rapidly. This is where the plyometrics come in, and Rachel has been doing them since my previous article. The plyometrics produce stronger tendons which result in greater ‘recoil’ off the ground when she runs, i.e she’s more effective at using the ground reaction force and this means she’ll travel further in the air using the same amount of energy from her muscles. Therefore, Rachel has become a more efficient runner.

Now there’s obviously a limit to how much ground reaction force one can utilise, so Rachel's next step is to get her muscles to apply more force into and off the ground. This requires greater strength and that’s where the resistance training will give her results. In Rachel’s case the correct resistance exercises will help bolster her weaknesses, e.g. her back and knees currently, so reducing them as constraints on her performance.

The plyometrics used in tandem with the resistance exercises then become the vehicle where the body’s central nervous system learns to use that strength at the rate of force production required for running = happy days!

But which specific resistance exercises should Rachel do : squats, deadlifts, power cleans, Bulgarians or what? Well, this is where you are best to get some help, because although everyone will get some benefit from general weight training, especially the whole body lifts, everyone has different needs.

Extract from my reassessment report

Here, I will share my experience on how to go about it, as I have been “going to the gym” for a few years now and although I do sprinting now, the 'mechanics' demands are fairly similar. Despite my existing knowledge and experience, I got assessed by a Personal S&C Trainer, Scott Williams, who I have known and trained with for a few years. He’s also an endurance runner (off road mainly), so understands running. Scott assessed my (lack of) mobility and ‘strength at speed’ at his “Fitness for Everyone” gym, using a variety of methods (photo - I chose this one so you couldn't see the grimaces!).

He then produced eight week training plans (mesocycle) for my development. I have just completed the second mesocycle and done the second reassessment. The exercises were tailored for me, to address my biggest needs. It all has to fit around my running training, my ability to recover and the time I had available. So the plan is unique to me and we have adapted it at times, based on my experience, e.g. changing an exercise for a different one to avoid too much soreness (I have weak shoulders with poor mobility from 40 years in a sedentary job). So I would recommend getting competent help, as you would from a running coach for your running.

NB Athletics and Running Coaches are not trained to be S&C coaches, so make sure you go to someone who has the right qualifications.

Next time, I will share how Mo Farah trained to enable him to win all those Olympic and World Championship Gold medals. Yes, as you can see (top photo) Mo does use weights, but they're only 66% of his BW. I am trying to squat 150% BW for doing sprinting; oh, and to carry those blocks.

Dorian