A strong upper body certainly helps the speedsters to run even better times. For me it is not about speed, but about long hours of running. Go run a long distance of more than 6 hours and feel how stiff your shoulders are the next day. Train your upper body with lots of work on your shoulders and it is a completely different story.
It is even more important for trail running. The trails put your whole body through a workout. Run on a tough trail for 6 hours and more and feel how your whole body is punished. Upper body and core strength is the answer.
I never log my upper body training and never really say anything about it, but I do it religiously 3 or 4 times per week. I don't go to a gym and just do the old fashioned dumbbell and sit-up routines at home.
My trusty dumbbells.
3 or 4 times per week I do:
50 sit-ups/crunches
followed by
routine of 25 reps with my 6kg (13.2lb) dumbells
routine of 30 reps with my 2.5kg (5.5lb) dumbbells
followed by another
50 sit-ups/crunches
followed by another
routine of 25 reps with my 6kg dumbells
routine of 30 reps with my 2.5kg dumbbells
and then I end with another
50 sit-ups/crunches
This is all I do apart from running and it is all I need. Believe me it makes a world of difference for the longer runs. I've been doing this for years and years.
Some common dumbbell exercises.
14 comments:
I'm in total agreement here. When the legs start to tire at the end of a long run/race, having some upper body strength to help you power through is key. Strength training becomes especially important as we age, too.
I definitely need to add strength training back in. I love doing it, and I have a great gym membership I'm paying for anyway!
I've started doing some as well, but haven't been doing it for long. I think it's a great idea.
Only the young can get away without core and strength work. :)
Great post, Johann! I think upper body strength is also important for half marathon. Unfortunately, I can do it only twice a week ... but it's better than nothing.
You're right - I often have sore, stiff shoulders that day after a long run. I've got dumbbells so I guess I've got no excuse not to give it a go.
I do a few (10) pushup in the morning and the same again in the evening, but I really just do them to warm up...
I did core and upper body training at home with dumbells when I was marathon training, but I find it so boring! It's been a while since i did it, but I know I should get round to it again...
Great post! I always know I should be doing more strength and core training overall, but I'm not always good about it. I had been doing it at least twice a week til my recent wrist injury. I'm still trying to be creative to keep my arms and back in check.
So true! But I must admit that I've been very lazy in this department lately...
I don't, and I need too because I feel my upper body getting tired on harder runs. Last year I had a free 1 month gym membership and it made a noticeable difference in my upper body strength/tone in that short time. I'd been thinking about getting some dumbbells to use at home, so thanks for the prompt!
couldnt agree more johann..getting a strong core is critical too :-) hope all's well with you and your family!
I think it's important to keep the body 'balanced'! Our legs do a lot of work for us, we should be working out our upper bodies too.
You are right but just now I wouldn't be able because I have a broken shoulder.
However I swim (not now of course) a lot and it is a very good exercise for the upper body.
Post a Comment