Running Faster... It's Not Just for the Guys.
Today's post goes along with the string of themed posts about our new running program we're launching next week. Yes, that's right, a running program. But not just any ol' running program where you plod seemingly endless mile after mile. It's called RunFast... a simple name that explains exactly the purpose of this program. I strongly recommend reading the other blog posts this week, if you don't already, as they're stellar.I'm a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Or, the title I prefer, Jedi Training Master. Either way, my job as an SAPT coach is to strengthen the bodies and minds of our trainees to support excellence in life (aka: cultivating Jedi Skillz). As SAPT athletes know, I advocate incessantly for hoisting heavy things on a regular basis and eating your vegetables. While I know the a solid strength foundation is essential for success in life, I also know that training the cardiovascular system (outside of a lifting session) is essential for across-the-board excellency. Most of you, I'm willing to bet, immediately thought of running for miles or hopping on an elliptical...
This post is specifically aimed at my ladies out there who think high intensity training for running is either a) for football players or other male athletes or b) inferior to long-distance running (eliptical-ing) for body composition changes. Both are incorrect suppositions.
*Note* I know I have a lot of distance runners who read this blog. I'm in no way advocating that you cease your running; however, I do think you'll benefit tremendously from training the other energy systems mentioned in Goose's post from Monday and cultivating a higher rate of force development.
So, convince me Kelsey, why should I step outside the cardio box and perform sprints, hill sprints, shuttles, and other such bouts of heart-pounding exercise?
1. They teach your body to produce force faster- Remember that Rate of Force Development thing? Ladies, if you want to run faster (and this means during a competitive sport, like soccer or lacrosse, too) you need to push off the ground harder (this propels your forward further) and increase your stride frequency (more steps per unit of time). There's an old adage, "Train fast to be fast." Training at a slower, continuous pace will NOT cause the adaptation in the muscles required to produce that burst of energy needed in sprinting down the field or court. What about sports that don't run much, like tennis or volleyball (only a few steps in each direction)? Training for power will make those few steps explosive and get you in contact with the ball sooner. Therefore, unless you're a cross country runner.... stop. the. slow. speed. stuff.
Excellent point.
2. It trains your phosphagen and anaerobic systems- As Goose laid out in his post, these two energy systems are responsible for the quick, explosive, and often the first movement, in sports. Every sport requires the use of these two systems to some degree; therefore, in order to maintain a high level of force output throughout a game or match, it's terribly important to keep these systems up to snuff by challenging them through training. An example to train the phosphagen system would be a short, but all-out, hill sprint lasting around 10 seconds or less. For anaerobic training, shuttles of 25-50 meters, or a burst of activity lasting 30-45 seconds or so. The cool thing is, the more developed these two systems are, the longer your body can rely on them for energy. This translates into the ability to produce high outputs of force for sustained amount of time, aka, sprinting further at higher speeds. Strong girls win right?
You'll also win lightsaber duels.
3. Higher intensity training is superior for body composition changes and maintenance- *This of course assumes you're eating a clean diet with lots of vegetables, lean proteins...* Without going into the physiology of it, high intensity exercise is a great way to raise your metabolism (even for hours after the activity is over, depending on the intensity) which leads to favorable body composition changes. Not only that, but high intensity exercise is muscle-sparing, meaning you maintain your hard-earned muscle mass (and ladies, we need all the help we can get in that department!). Long distance training tends to decrease muscle mass. Again, with a solid weight training program and carefully managed physical stress levels, a long distance runner can be perfectly healthy. However, from a body composition standpoint, it's more efficient for us non-runners to perform high intensity training. Plus, it's also quicker than spending 45 minutes on the elliptical... I'd rather to hill sprints for 15 minutes.
Want a visual? Look at the difference in body types:
Marathoner vs sprinter
Also, have you ever stood at the finish line of a marathon? How many people are limping? If body composition is on your list of goals, high intensity, short duration, cardiovascular training is the way to go!
No thanks....
4. Most people don't train this way- if 99% of the people are doing something in the gym, it's a safe bet that it's not the best nor most efficient way to accomplish your fitness goals. 'Nuff said.
If a TV is involved, you're not working hard enough.
Hopefully the above reasons are enough to convince you to step outside the standard "cardio" box, both from an athletic and body composition standpoint. Even my long-distance runners, train for power and watch your times decrease!
because he employed high intensity training...
Lifting & Running = Monster Benefits - An Intern Post!!!
This week we're going with one theme: RunFAST. This is the new program we've been developing that we'll officially take the lid off of on Friday. I have to acknowledge, we're offering something totally new, so we're gonna take it slow and start with a post a bit more traditional in terms of the usual SAPTstrength banter. But check the blog every day this week. We've got 5 killer posts lined up.
For the first RunFAST post, one of our interns has written a fantastic post describing in detail the benefits of lifting for ALL TYPES OF RUNNERS (yes, you distance folks can enjoy this, too!).
Why should you listen to this guy who I just admitted is an intern, well, he's a special intern. His name is Gustavo Osorio (or Goose from here on out) and he just graduated from George Mason. Goose was a member of the track team and a stellar decathlete who very recently repeated as CAA champion! Pretty cool, right? This guy knows his stuff. I learned a few things myself and, given that I was his strength coach, that means he really knows some awesome details about high-performance.
I opened up comments again, so please post your thoughts and share with friends. Here we go:
Lifting And Its Benefits For Runners!
“Strength is the foundation for excellence,” this is a mindset I’ve come to respect and adopt for myself after my short time here at SAPT. When you think about it a strong body is a health body, one capable of efficiently moving in any way and letting a person’s athleticism truly shine. Strength is without a doubt the foundation for speed and agility. This concept that may seem foreign to many runners because of all the myths regarding resistance training and running. Many runners and even some running coaches are under the impression that hitting up the weight room once in a while will only result in injury, getting “bulky”, and losing that speed they’ve worked so hard to achieve. When, in reality, a well-structured resistance training program can make the body bulletproof, make your muscles more efficient without bulk, and boost the training effects of your running workouts (aka make you faster).
Myth #1: Lifting (squatting and deadlifting) is bad for your back. Don’t do it!
When performed correctly and with the appropriate assistance work squats and deadlifts can help you build a bulletproof back, glutes, and hamstrings. All three of these muscle groups also happen to be three of the most common sites for sprains and injuries on runners. Coincidence?? I think not! When running you’re lower back acts as a shock absorber, while the glutes and hamstrings are used for force production to propel the body forward. If an individual doesn’t strengthen these muscle groups and continues to constantly hammer them with more running eventually the muscles breakdown from overuse and an injury occurs.
On the other hand, if an individual strengthens these muscle groups they reduce their chances of injury and increase the work load their body can handle. This means they’ll be able to put in more work on the track during practice and, when meet day arrives, fast times will be run!
Fun fact about elite runners, whether it be a sprinter or a distance runner, is that they have some type of year around resistance training program implemented into their training. When you get to the Olympic level and everyone is tenths of seconds away from each other, keeping your body healthy through resistance training makes the difference between being an Olympic medalist and not making the final.
Myth #2: Lifting will make you bulky and slow
A big fear amongst runners is that resistance training will put on too much “useless” muscle for them to carry around. Truth is, a resistance training routine will make you bulky and slow ONLY if you completely stop running and if you have no idea of how to make it sport specific. Just because you’re lifting weights doesn’t mean you’ll turn into the hulk overnight (or ever... let's be real here) but it can make your muscles more efficient at what they do. By training your energy systems through lifting you’re running can be exponentially enhanced. Think of your body as a car and that the energy systems providethree different types of fuel it runs on. These BIG 3 are: the phosphagen system, the anaerobic system, and the aerobic system.
The phosphagen system provide the equivalent of jet fuel for the body. It gives you tons of energy but it burns out super fast! How fast you ask?? Well it gives you enough for 6 to 10 seconds of all out exertion. It provides the energy for the beginning of every race and it is the most dominant energy system during short running event, 60 meters to 100 meters. It is also involved in any sport that requires any sudden bursts of speed and explosion such as basketball, baseball, football, and volleyball. This system is primarily trained through plyometrics and lifts that require high force production at high speeds.
The anaerobic system gives you a mix between jet fuel and regular gas, it still yields a high amount of energy and manages to last a bit longer, between 1 to 3 minutes depending on the intensity of the event. This system is the most dominant for the 400-800 meter distances.It is also involved in sports that require prolonged bouts of speed and some endurance such as boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, and soccer. This is a tricky energy system to train because it requires a mix of power training, muscular strength training, and some muscular endurance training.
The aerobic system gives the body the same effect gas would in a car, it doesn’t let you go blistering fast but it give you a constant stream of energy to keep you going for miles. This is the dominant system in athletes who compete in endurance events such as triathlons, marathons, long distance swimming, and cross country skiing. This energy system can be trained through circuit training and low weight/high rep/low rest lifting.
**WORD OF CAUTION: Train a certain energy system through lifting does not mean you’ll necessarily get faster. When you integrate a lifting program on to a running program correctly the two can complement each other quite nicely. However if all you do is lift aerobically and then expect to go run a marathon you most likely won’t finish.**
Myth #3: Lifting has no positive transfer to running.
Another great benefit of resistance training is the improvement in something called your Rate of Force Development (RFD). [Side note: Kelsey did an amazing job of going into great detail on RFD, if you haven’t read her posts I strongly recommend them! Part 1 and Part 2.] Basically what that means is how fast your muscles can produce a high amount of force. This is beneficial to runners and all athletes because producing higher amounts of force at a faster rate enable you to move faster. Through training this can help optimize your stride length (amount of distance covered per step) and increase your stride frequency (how fast your feet hit the ground) both of which will also make you faster.
This last bit is something most people often neglect, but it makes a world of difference in their running. Aside from improving energy systems and Rate of Force Development lifting can be used to improve running posture. When performed correctly the squat and the deadlift teach people to brace their core and to properly align their back so it’s in the neutral position. A lot of people can go through an entire running career (like myself) without ever realizing that this has a massive positive transfer to running.
The two pictures above demonstrate how the body should be aligned during the deadlift and squat. If you take a side picture of yourself you should be able to draw a straight line from your hips to the base of the head.
Let’s take a look at Tyson Gay coming out of blocks. You can make a straight line from his hips to his head, JUST like a squat or deadlift! Coincidence?? I think not! By keeping his back in a neutral position and bracing his core he is getting the most propulsion out of the power he is putting on the ground. By keeping his core rigid (not tense) all the force being placed on the ground is not lost or being absorbed by an arched or hunched back. Same thing would happen if you lifted with a rounded back, the spine would absorb a lot of the force going up (deadlift) or down (squat) instead of letting your legs and glutes do the work.
Now take a look on the right at Carl Lewis, he is in the Maximum Velocity phase of the 100 meters which means he is trying to maintain his top speed for as long as possible. The line from the hips to the head is still there which means he is getting the most out of the force production. But that’s not all! Notice how his hip are neutral and not anteriorly rotated, his butt isn’t sticking out. This allows him to get a higher knee drive, cover more ground with his stride, and keeps him from kicking his leg too far back. A great way to teach this to people is the finishing position in the squat and the deadlift often referred to as the “lock out”. And like the squat/deadlift lock out phase if his hips were too posteriorly rotated, too far forward, he would put his back out of alignment and sacrifice kick back range of motion.
Accountabili-buddy
Great teams hold each other accountable. They are held accountable not just by the coaches, but by the players as well. It’s the players that don’t allow one player to be bigger than the team. The players ensure each player is doing their job. The players often dictate the culture. The players enforce the standards, expectations, and rules of the team. So, as a player, do you have an accountabili-buddy? The accountabili-buddy is a “buddy” or teammate, who will hold you accountable no matter the situation. It needs to be someone you respect, who won’t be afraid to put you in your place when you are acting against your own standards. Teams that have accountabili-buddies are better able to police themselves and meet their daily expectations.
Who is your accountabili-buddy? Who can you rely on in stressful stituaations? What other systems are in place to ensure accountability exists on your team?
How to Squat When Squatting Hurts
It’s your favorite day of the week, SKWATZ day! You’ve been looking forward to it all week and you’re ready to go, but when you get under the bar you realize something’s off… Your insert joint/muscle groupis tweaky. Before you burn down the gym in a sad and frustrated fit of rage consider some options that will still allow you to get some quality squat work in.
Angry Knees
Sitting into a deep free squat with bum knees is not fun. If you feel like your knees really don’t enjoy sitting into deep flexion at the bottom of a squat try going to a box. Using a box to sit waaaaaay back makes it much easier to attain that vertical shin to take a ton of stress off the knees. It shifts the demand of the movement into your hips much more and you can still work the squat without sacrificing the well being of your much-needed cartilage.
How high of a box?
Whatever height allows you to move in a pain free range of motion. If that means that the box is 4 inches above parallel then so be it.
Above parallel?! But every awesome squat guru says squat low! BLASPHEMY!
Keep in mind that this is a “work-around” for the time being, and as your knee starts to feel better you can slowly increase the range of motion by lowering the box and eventually incorporating free squats again.
Bum Shoulders and Elbows
Getting into a tight back squat requires cranking your shoulders into what can be an uncomfortable and vulnerable position. If you feel like putting the bar on your back is really irritating your shoulders or elbows try a front squat with a clean grip or a “cross-arm” grip. This position can be much more upper-extremity friendly.
This is where specialty bars also come in handy. A safety squat bar is an awesome tool to have access to. It allows you to sit the bar on your back while keeping your arms relatively relaxed. A giant cambered bar is also a great option as well.
Lower Back Whackness
If your back starts to get all uppity when you sit back into your squat, contrary to popular belief, you do not have to give up lifting weights and take up ping pong (a chiropractor actually told me this before…).
Again, try a front squat. Moving the load to the front can help “turn-on” the anterior core and help keep the spine more stable during the squat. Also, the nature of the movement allows for a more vertical torso angle, which goes a long way in reducing the sheer stress applied on the spine compared to a back squat, especially a “powerlifting-style” back squat.
You can keep moving the load even more forward by opting for a goblet squat, using a kettlebell or a dumbbell. You don’t need to be heaving around a barbell with the plates clanging to achieve the stimulus you so desperately crave.
Be Smart!
Remember, sometimes you aren’t just tweaky or a bit banged up. Sometimes you’re injured and you need to take a break, see a health professional, and get your body back in order.
RunFAST - SAPT's Secret Program Development
I’ll be honest, I’ve got a secret... it’s about a new program SAPT is developing. We’ll actually be launching all the info about it next week, but I’ve got to let on about it at least a little! I’m simply way too pumped up and have had a little too much coffee to keep this under my hat any longer.
It’s so exciting and will introduce yet another innovative, high-octane training method to the area via our resident performance coaching geniuses at SAPT.
This is the type of program that is born from those really special places that foster high-levels of both creativity and respect. An incubator for ideas where art and science merge. The type of place that values quality, service, and creativity above all else. That’s where these kinds of innovations come from.
The program is called RunFAST... that’s all I’m going to mention, as I think the name tells enough.
And, I have to also tell you this new innovative approach we’ll launch next week is just the tip of the iceberg. I wish I could let on about all our projects. But, for the moment, I’ll simply leave you with SAPT’s Big 3: Purpose, Vision, and Mission. Read into them as you like...
Our Purpose: Strengthening bodies and minds to support excellence in life.
Our Vision: People of all ages, abilities, and resources will have access to, appreciation for, and engagement in regular physical fitness training that will lead to improvements in all aspects of daily life.
Our Mission: To develop, research, and share our comprehensive approach to physical fitness training that fosters long-term engagement, promotes excellence in life, nurtures human relationships and inspires the lifelong pursuit of health through exercise.
Please stay tuned to next week on the blog... we’ll be devoting the whole week to RunFAST details!
SAPT at Rock the Pink Festival!
We'll be out at The Side-Out Foundation's Rock the Pink Festival this weekend at Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, VA.
If you head down there, be sure to drop by our booth. We'll be offering an a la carte menu of performance screens and will be giving out special promotional codes for discounts on training packages!
Once the rain clears later today, we'll be in for a beautiful weekend of volleyball!
