Before you start your track and field season, or begin training for a big race, it is important that your legs are strong. The best way to strengthen your legs is to do conditioning exercises with a weight lifting routine. Runners want strong muscles to protect them from injury and help them run faster. If your legs are not strong enough for sprinting and speed workouts you could get a muscle, joint, or bone related injury like shin splints, tendonitis, sprained ankle, or knee injury. Running injuries can be minor or very serious, resulting in a prolonged absence from your sport. You could get an injury from the constant pounding your legs do while running on a track or you can pull a muscle on the rough terrain of a long distance run. Therefore, even distance runners need to make sure their legs are strong enough. No matter what distance you run, speed workouts designed to help sprint to the finish can be as damaging no matter what distance you run. Lifting weights strengthens the muscles that surround the connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments. To prevent an injury and get faster you must condition your leg muscles with weight routine designed specifically to target all muscles in your legs.
Runners want to tone and lengthen their muscles, so make sure you don’t put too much weight on each machine. The goal is not to max out, but to have endurance when lifting. You don’t want to bulk up unless you are a short distance sprinter. Put enough weight on the machine so that you can do about 8 to 10 reps on each set. On an easy day you may even want to put on less weight so you can do 12 or more reps for each set. Do three sets of each machine per session. For best results, go on a circuit. In other words start on machine number one and do a set then move to the next machine and so forth. When you have done all the machines start at the beginning and go through until you have done all machines three times each.. It is a good idea to do abdominal crunches or other stomach and back strengthening exercises. A strong core (abdominals and back) make for a stronger runner.
Start lifting at least a month before your season starts and lift 3 to 4 times a week. Once your season starts it is best to lift no more than 2 or 3 times a week. No matter how many times a week you lift, don’t concentrate on the same muscle group two days in a row. Doing this could cause muscle fatigue and do more damage than help. Muscles need 48 hours to recover. Remember, it is normal to experience a little soreness, especially when you first start your lifting program.
Before lifting do a warm-up of 10 to 15 minutes. Jog, use a treadmill, or cycle to bring blood flow to the muscles and sinovial fluid to your joints. Also do some stretching before you lift. After you are done lifting, stretch your muscles longer than you did at the beginning of you work out . Stretching while your muscles are still warm will maintain or increase your flexibility.
Here are some tips to keep your lifting session productive.
Stay focused when lifting. Don’t start conversations with the people around you because this causes you to loose focus.
Don’t compare yourself to other people, do what is best for you. It doesn’t matter if someone is lifting more than you.
Make sure you know the proper form for each lifting machine or exercise and don’t get careless with your form. If you get careless, you may do something wrong and cause an injury.
Remember not to hold your breath when lifting. Exhale on the contraction or the exertion and inhale on the recovery.
Keep a log of how many repetitions and sets, and amount of weight used for each exercise. Write down how you feel when doing them. When you feel very comfortable with the amount of weight, it is time to increase weight. You could also increase the number of repetitions.
It is normal to experience some soreness when lifting but don’t lift if you feel a lot of pain during the lift. Tell a trainer or your coach to figure out what is wrong.
Stay consistent with your lifting program; try not to miss a day or take off more than a week. Your lifting will decrease in effectiveness and it is like starting over again.
Here are a few leg exercises to get you started:
Dumbbell squat-strengthens thighs and buttocks
Hold dumbbells at your sides. Keep your back straight and your chest up when you squat. At the bottom of your squat, your thighs should be parallel to the ground but no lower. Return to the standing position slowly. Keep your knees behind the toes when lowering down.
Standing calf raise- strengthens achilles and calves. You can use the calf raising machine or use free weights in each hand at your sides. With heels hanging off of a step or riser lower and lift the heels for three sets of 12.
Lunges with weights-strengthens thighs, specifically hamstrings and quadriceps.
While doing lunges, hold dumbbells at your sides. When you step out make sure you step far enough so that your knee will stay behind your toes. Do 10 lunges per leg, equaling one set. Also, you can lunge your way across a field or gym.
Supine leg curls- strengthens hams strings and gluteus maximus. Laying face down on the leg curling machine, bend at the knee and lift the bar that is hooked onto your ankles. Try not to let your back arch or strain. Do not straighten your legs or lock your knees out on the recovery.
To prevent an injury and get faster you must condition your leg muscles with weight routine designed specifically to target all muscles in your legs.
