Written by Morgan Vasiliu DPT, PT, ATC
Do you really have to keep up strength training as mileage ramps up in marathon prep?
With Boston around the corner, for many of you, it’s about that time that mileage starts to ramp
up. And typically around this time, cross-training takes the backseat. But what if I told you adding strength training can improve your running efficiency by 4-8% and equate to shaving minutes off your time, without ANY changes to your aerobic
fitness.
Here’s why:
● Strength work improves your ability to recruit muscles while running, allowing your
tendons to be better at storing and releasing energy. This makes every step more
powerful with less effort from you.
● Time spent in the weight room also helps you manage fatigue in those late miles. When
the hills are climbing – they dont call it heartbreak hill for no reason – muscles that have
worked in the gym help fight that fatigue and keep your mechanics better.
What a Strength Program looks like during marathon racing
- Frequency
- Minimum 2 sessions weekly
- Placed to avoid interference with long runs
- Training
- Includes single leg and double leg quad, hamstring, and glute exercises
- Quad: squat, split squat
- Hamstring: deadlift, single-leg leg curl
- Glute: Short lever side plank, hip thrust
- Intensity
- Keep the reps low and hard! Reps between 5-8 that feel like you only could do
2-3 more reps before failure at the end of the set is ideal
Training for a marathon can increase your incidence of injury as high as 90%. And you
are 3x more likely to get injured when weekly mileage creeps above 40 miles per week!
If you want to stay healthy and strong for the big race day, fight the urge to add that extra run in
during the week. Instead, swap it out for 30-45 minutes in the weight room to not only build
strength for those last miles, but to also resilience in your lower body to manage the increase in
running volume needed in those final weeks of marathon prep.
Have a nagging injury thats keeping you from training fully? Book your free discovery call here
to see if physical therapy with us at Move Strong Physical Therapy is the right fit!
Movestrongphysicaltherapy.com (774) 421-9031
Located at 560 Main St. Hudson, MA 01749
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