Learn How to Prevent Injury & Improve Speed!

The longer you run, without doing running- specific strength training, the weaker and tighter you’ll get!

All runners want to get faster, have less injuries, run farther with less fatigue and have better form while doing it. Many pieces work together to get to these results. First, you must know how your body works – where the weakness, tightness, poor movement patterns leading to poor running form or biomechanics lies and what may be setting you up for injury or holding you back from running faster and longer. You can get an assessment of how your body works through an expertly analyzed video running gait analysis, functional movement testing, and personalized coaching or training plans. The next step is applying what your personal analysis reveals about your body to a movement retraining program.

Even without a personalized functional assessment, significant improvements in race time, running economy, VO2max, and time until fatigue have been found in runners who perform structured running-specific strength / resistance training programs. In those runners with history of injury or specific injuries at the time of starting a resistance training program, elimination of the injury, decreased pain and return to full running training can occur when the strength and resistance training program is specific to their needs. By performing a strength program specific to runners’ unique biomechanical and form-specific needs, you can prevent any injuries from occurring.

In distance runners who perform a strength and resistance training program 2 times a week and implement it at least 8 weeks before their goal race, significant reduction in injuries occur and significantly faster race times are performed compared to runners who did not participate in the program.

Key Factors to Know about Strength and Resistance Training for Runners:

• All runners need strength training.
• You should strength train all year round.
• You should taper back your strength training length of workouts (intensity and duration will decrease, do not cut out the strength program completely) during your goal race taper period.
• Plan your strength sessions and training runs together. Try to do your strength workouts on the same day, after your hard running sessions – this can be later in the day or directly after your running workout. The goal here is to keep your easy / recovery days truly easy – if you were to do the strength program on a recovery day, you would not get as much benefit as you need from your recovery days.
• Your strength program MUST be specific for runners. It is absolutely imperative that your strength program incorporates the muscles that control running movements and are essential to supporting running form or decreasing abnormal movements during running that lead to injury. Performing strength training that does not focus on running – specific needs will make you a stronger person, with better body composition, however, your running will not prevent injury or make you a more efficient runner. Many studies have found no benefit to runners’ form or reduction of pain or injury when performing a general strength training program without focus on movement retraining or running – specific needs. That is why you need a running – specific program.
• Strength training for runners is not only about pure strength. Runners need the muscles to be “retrained” on what location / time in the stride cycle to turn on or “fire” and this “muscle timing” is essential to efficient running form. This is the concept of “neuromuscular control” or “neuromuscular retraining”. This concept is central to the Refined Run Strength and Resistance Training Program for Runners.
• Circuit training types of strength training provides a big spike of improvement for novice runners, however, as runners continue to train, they need a change in their strength training program, as well.
• The fastest and greatest changes in speed, performance and power are the result of Plyometric strength training for runners. However, this is the most risky type of strength training with many participants getting injured if they attempt to start this type of program before their body is ready.
• The Refined Run Strength and Injury Prevention Program for Runners is based on the participants’ needs, and what their body can handle. Dr. Brown Budde will be assessing each and every one of you with a brief functional movement assessment before the program starts and following your movements throughout each session. If your body is compensating, or you don’t have the mobility or stability to perform a movement perfectly, then the exercise will be modified for you to make sure that each movement is effective, will not place your body at risk of injury and will keep you progressing. This ensures that each participant gains the maximum outcomes from the sessions.
• Muscle soreness is good. Your muscles should be sore for a couple days after the strength sessions. This tells us that we are making changes in your muscles! When you no longer notice soreness or fatigue with your strength program, it’s time to modify it to ensure that your body continues to reap the benefits of strength and resistance training.
• You may continue to perform pilates, other core exercises, yoga and other cross training. It is good for you to know that these exercises are not strength training and do not take the place of strength training for runners. they will not produce the same results at running specific strength training.
• Cross Fit. Cross fit can consist of many different types of strength and power exercises. While many of these movements can be beneficial for runners, most are not specific enough for your biomechanical needs. You will definitely get stronger and have more muscle mass with performing these workouts, however, you will not be working on the specific neuromuscular control of the muscles that you need to support your form and prevent injury. Another thing to note here is that increased fatigue with fast – paced movements (see circuit training, above) using heavy weight has been shown to decrease proprioception and without a great therapist or trainer guiding you in perfect movements for each part of your body, performing these movements can lead to injury (as with any strength or any training program). While participating in the Refined Run Strength & Injury Prevention Course for Runners, I recommend holding off on any Cross Fit activities. After the Refined Run course, you will know more about how your body is able to move and what specific muscle groups are the most important for you to focus on for your specific performance and injury prevention needs when you get back to strength training on your own.

Online Sessions / Videos coming soon!

With my upcoming video sessions you can watch and perform the strength & injury prevention course any time that works in your schedule! If you want to be one of the first to have access, email Kari@RefinedRun.com

Ready to Improve?! Email questions or to sign up now: Kari@RefinedRun.com