How to maximize your running
Running long distances requires not only aerobic endurance and a strong VO2 max (a measure of the maximal amount of oxygen one can consume at a given time) but also strength (both bilateral and unilateral), deceleration ability, stability, and power.
In this post we will be discussing one phase of the the gait cycle, the stance phase or, when one leg hits the ground while the other is in the air, and how to maximize this position to absorb the forces of landing and propel you forward for the next step.
The first step when we land on one foot is to allow the body to appropriately distribute the forces being exerted on that single leg. Research shows that the force produced from running and landing can equal 2–3 times your bodyweight [Cavanagh et al, 1980]. In simple terms, you can’t have a Ferrari with Toyota Camry brakes. You must be able to control your body under load and have the adequate stability, strength, and form to handle that load. This is where strength training comes into play.
As a runner the strength of your quads and glutes primarily, along with your hamstrings, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles secondarily, should be a major focus when prepping for a race or to simply run injury free for years. Increased strength has a two-fold effect, the first being, the stronger your muscles the more capacity you have to generate power (strength is how much weight you can move at a given time where power is how much weight you can move in the shortest period of time. The two are not directly correlated but there is causation between the two that higher levels of strength will allow you to develop more power). The second effect of increased strength is the increased ability to accept forces and dissipate the load to appropriate muscle groups. One could argue that this rests more on a proper kinematic sequence, which is important but, if you have perfect landing mechanisms with no strength then your body will still struggle to accept forces upon landing. Both are important, and both are required to be successful.
To apply this practically focus on strength training in your offseason (either after a race, if you are competing, or during the winter months for my northern year-long runners). Focus on bilateral movements like squats and hinge patterns with a rep range of 8–12 and perform 5 second eccentrics. Start with a light load, the focus for this initial block is not weight but movement quality and body stability. Then over time progress to a 6–8 rep range with 3 second eccentrics, with some unilateral leg work. Then progress to a 4–6 rep range with no eccentrics, and eventually a strength-power, or speed-strength block to follow. If you can tell the theme here, we want to start general, making sure we are moving well, then as we progress we become more sport specific and start working on increasing strength. All runners should go through these blocks every year. You can never move “too well” or be “too strong”.
The other point I wanted to touch on with the stance phase of the gait cycle is ground contact time and leg stiffness to generate power for the next step. When looking at elite long distance runners researchers found these athletes are able to maximize their economy by minimizing ground force contact and developing power through leg stiffness [Moore et al, 2019]. In other words, these athletes can spend the least amount of time on the ground while generating maximal power with each step.
How?
Leg stiffness, strength, and power generation through elevated levels of ground force contact.
The best way to develop this ability is by performing eccentrics (which we talked about earlier), but also by adding in depth jumps (or drops, whatever you want to call it). Simply, step off a box and land in a hinge position (hips back, knees behind toes, straight spine), then repeat 3–5 more times. the video below shows the hinge position previously explained, just without a box. you can start here. if you’ve never done a decel jump before then add a box in when you feel comfortable.
The height of the box does not matter. I have my athletes drop from no higher than 24 inches — the risk/reward of dropping from higher is not worth it to me, and the literature does not support higher box heights correlate to greater adaptations. Instead I look to maximize landing by either working on absorbing load appropriately and then developing power at a rapid rate. I do this by adding change of direction (COD) drills upon landing. Both of these options directly target leg stiffness since the athlete will not be able to generate force if they cannot remain stable upon landing. Do not add COD drills until you have done at least one month of traditional depth drops. This is not a race to get to the next step, if you spend an entire offseason (or 2 or 3) only doing depth drops and perfecting that movement, that is great and will pay off much more than if you skipped ahead. Form is everything. below is a cheat code you can utilize year round.
Off-season (3-6mo)
2-3x per week strength training + running
decrease running volume & intensity here to account for load from weight training
focus on compound lifts - upper push, upper pull, lower push, lower pull, lunge, carry
month 1 hypertrophy phase: 8-12 reps, 70-85% of your 1RM (rep max), no power work
month 2 hypertrophy/strength: 4-8 reps, 80-90% of your 1rm, light power work (pogo hops, decel landings, counter movement jumps)
month 3 strength: 3-6 reps, 85-95% of your 1rm, make power more sport specific (bounds, single leg hops/jumps/landing
if you do a 3 month offseason follow the plan above, if you do a 6mo off season do 2 months of each phase before progressing, if you do a 4-5mo offseason do 2 months of hypertrophy and 2-3 months of strength.
spread the compound lifts across the days you train, 3 days do 2 movements + core and accessories you like, 2 days do 3 movements + core
focus is on getting stronger across your compound lifts, strength training takes precedence over running in this phase as you should be focusing on building your aerobic base with slow, long, easy runs paired with increasing strength and muscle mass to improve running economy
in-season (3-6mo)
1-2x per week strength training + running plan
still focus on compound lifts - upper push, upper pull, lower push, lower pull, lunge, carry
months 3-6 strength maintenance: 6-8 reps for compound lifts, 8-12 for accessories, keep sport specific power on high intensity days (bounds, single leg hops/jumps/landing on track or workout days)
goal here is not to increase weight but maintain strength achieved from offseason
compound lifts should be the focus, work traditional strength (4-6 reps) for these for 3-5 sets then keep accessories at a low weight high rep scheme
if you’re fatigued, lower the weight and sets - don’t be a hero, more important to be primed and ready to perform your runs well then PR in the weight room when you’re in-season. focus is on maintaining the strength you built in the offseason, weight training is not the most important thing in-season but don’t skip as continuing even just once a week will keep you healthy and injury free
Thanks for reading,
Miles
