So I'm here in North Vancouver at Legacies Health Centre where I just finished a workout with
my strength and conditioning coach Adam. I've actually been working with Adam twice a week,
one-on-one since coming back from an injury a few months ago. Back in December, I tore my hamstring.
So I immediately got to work with the team here, starting first working with a physiotherapist
my friend Jackie before transitioning to working with Adam on a strength program.
And all of this hard work has allowed me to come back for my injury stronger than
ever and it's really renewed my commitment to strength training. But you don't need a
personal trainer or even access to a gym like this to do strength training yourself, at least
not at first. And there are some exercises that you can do right at home if you're just getting
started. Audree's just starting her own workout so why don't we go check in on what she's up to.
Every good strength training program for runners should be based around a handful
of foundational movements: Squat, hinge, push, pull, and core work.
There are many variations possible for each of these movements, but beginners should stick to
exercises that rely primarily on body weight. This will allow you to focus on your form
while you begin to address any muscle imbalances that you might have. Mastering these movement
patterns first before adding an additional load with things like dumbbells will decrease your
risk of injury and will ultimately allow you to lift more weight down the road.
Once you are ready to hit the gym, it's a good idea to start by working with a trained
professional. They'll do some assessments of your movement patterns to help you begin
to address any issues while making sure you're not developing any bad habits.
It's likely that they'll recommend what can be referred to as accessory exercises like step ups
or lunges with added weight that will help further develop your stepping strength, something that's
so important for trail runners. Adding an element of instability by doing exercises on a single leg
or on a ball can make them even more functional for runners. But remember, strength is about
stimulation not simulation. As runners we tend to under develop certain muscles and over develop
others, and this is where those main foundational exercises play such an important role.
If we really wanted to make everything completely functional, we'd be better off just running more.
But that's what creates these imbalances in the first place.
So let's take a look at some exercises that you can do from home when you're just getting started.
Body weight squats are one of the best exercises for beginners.
Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart and your feet facing forward.
Look straight ahead and keep your arms out in front.
Slowly lower down as far as you can go, keeping your chest out, shoulders back and abs tight.
Your weight should be on your heels and your knees shouldn't go forward past your toes.
Glute bridges are great for improving hip mobility and for strengthening your lower back.
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
Squeezing your glutes, lift your hips until your hips and shoulders
form a straight line. Hold it there for a couple of seconds before easing back down.
Double the difficulty by doing these with one leg stretched out, straight in the air. And by the
way, for each of these exercises aim for three sets of eight to ten reps or five reps per side
for any of the single leg variations to start. Another great exercise for your
back are hip hinges which will more easily allow you to progress to deadlifts in the
gym with heavier weights down the road. Our trainer Adam recommends these for this reason.
Audree is demonstrating the single leg variation which really helps to engage those stabilizing
muscles. With your hands on your hips, send one leg straight back to make a straight line from
the top of your head to your heel. If this is too difficult, focus on just the hinge while standing
with both feet on the floor, hip to shoulder width apart. Push-ups should be familiar to you.
Start in a plank position with your arms extended. Lower your body while keeping it in a straight
line, with your elbows close to your sides until your chest is almost touching the floor. If you're
having trouble with this, try keeping your knees on the ground and your feet crossed in the air. To
make them even easier, do them standing with your hands on a raised platform like a kitchen counter.
Rows are a great way to improve your posture and prevent upper back and shoulder problems, but
they're difficult to do without proper equipment. One option that you can do at home is an incline
row using a bed sheet over a doorway. Tie a knot near the end of the bed sheet and place it over a
door, closing it tightly, and be sure the door opens in the opposite direction that you'll be
pulling from. Stand close to the door and grab the edges of the sheet about chest high to start.
Slowly lean back to straighten your arms and bring your shoulders back and down
then drive your elbows behind you. To make these more difficult, hold the sheet further
down at closer to hip height so that your body drops lower to the ground.
Last but not least, planks are a great way to strengthen your core, and a strong stable
core is essential for remaining injury-free and to prepare you for other more challenging exercises.
You can do them on your hands in a push-up position, on your sides for more of a challenge,
or on your forearm like Audree is demonstrating. Place your arms shoulder-width apart and keep your
shoulders stacked over your wrists and your heels over your ankles. Be sure to engage your core by
hugging your belly towards your spine so that it doesn't drop down or stick up in the air. Try to
hold the position for up to 30 seconds and then lower your body and rest which will be one set.
So how often should you do these exercises? Well, twice a week is likely optimal for a runner during
training, and when I'm tapering for a race, I'll usually drop this down to just once per week,
while also lowering the number of reps that I'm doing of each exercise. This is similar to
how you would lower your overall running volume during a taper while maintaining the same level
of intensity. But you could choose to cut your strength training out altogether during a taper.
I just find that maintaining a certain level of consistency allows me to more easily get back in
the habit once I've recovered from a race. Because like they say, what you do every day, or in this
case every week, matters much more than what you do once in a while. So I hope you found this video
helpful and if you did, give it a like, and be sure to subscribe for more videos like this.