Weightlifting with Running: Benefits and 6 Exercises for Runners

Research Shows Runners Improve Their Performance by Weightlifting!!

The stereotypical physical appearance of a professional runner is of a slim, thin, and athletic build with veins popping out through the thin layer of skin.

Naturally, weightlifting is not something we associate with runners.

Runners usually do not have big huge muscles like some of the other athletes such as football or baseball players.

Also, we don’t see running and weightlifting in the same frame due to a few other reasons. One of them is the immense popularity of weightlifting as an integral part of only a muscle-building regime.

As a result, people do not see much significance in weight lifting for runners.

The truth is completely different.

Weightlifting is as useful for runners as it is for muscle-builders. Let’s have a look at the importance of weightlifting for runners…

Why Should Runners Lift Weights?

A runner is supposed to run fast and long. So, logically, having the lowest body weight is in their favor. And weight lifting is considered to be an exercise to bulk up.

Then why runners should lift weights?

The answer is simple!

Weightlifting effectively increases endurance, strength, and stamina. It’s not only a tool for building your muscles. 

Here are some benefits of weightlifting for runners:

1. Reduced risk of injuries
2. Better running performance 
3. Improved bone density
4. Enhanced metabolism
5. Better posture and balance 

Weight lifting not only strengthens your muscles to restrain any kind of serious injuries but also contributes to fortifying your neural pathways. This improves neuromuscular coordination.

Somehow, better and healthy neural connections improve your athletic performance.

It won’t take you to be a genius to understand the importance of mind-muscle connection for better coordination during response and reflexes needed in athletic performances. 

Running is also an athletic activity. This way weightlifting is helpful in boosting your performance at running.

Some of the key benefits of weightlifting for runners are:

#1: Decrease the Risk of Injuries

Weightlifting, along with muscle strength, improves your capacity to withstand the load, resistance, and fatigue. 

While running, your feet make an impact with the ground on every stride. This impact exerts a force back on your body having an intensity of more than 2-3 times your body weight.

Regular weight training improves the strength of your bones, ligaments, tendons, and of course the muscles to withstand the load of such impacts.

The best benefit of weight training for distance runners is that it can significantly decrease the frequency of load-generated injuries to the runners. 

Furthermore, with a formidably strong body structure, you can push yourself harder and make longer and more intensive strides while running without risking injuries.

#2: Improves Your Running Performance

As the above point states, improved strength due to regular weight lifting enables you to make longer and much more powerful strides while running. 

This will naturally increase your running speed and capacity to run longer distances. Eventually, this is responsible for a considerable enhancement in your running performance.

Also, the increase in strength due to weight lifting improves the biomechanics of muscle movements while running.

Along with the performance, this also improves the efficiency and the economy with which your energy drains out during long runs.

#3: Improves Bone Density

Regular weight lifting for a prolonged period of time delivers a wide range of benefits. Improvement in your bone density is also among these benefits.

Running long distances non-stop can negatively impact your bones. They are at risk of fatigue failure and fractures. 

Constantly fluctuating load on the bones while running weakens their structure and lowers bone density.

That’s why it becomes important to include weight lifting in the routine strength training for marathon runners.

This gives them enough cushion to put their bones under the stress of long-distance running non-stop.

#4: Enhances Metabolic Rates

Not everyone runs to win a marathon. A lot of people run frequently to lose some of the excess weight from their bodies.

In that case, you must definitely add weight lifting exercises to your daily routine. Studies prove that weight lifting/resistance training improves metabolic rates.

However, the improved metabolism itself has the potential to shed a few pounds off your body. But while running, this works even better to speed up the rate of calorie burning.

#5: Improves Your Overall Profile as an Athlete

Weight lifting works on your core and body posture. This builds up your confidence while competing with other athletes.

An upright and seamless posture helps you to maintain a better balance while running. This balance leads to better speed, efficiency, and eventually performance.

Additionally, the weight lifting exercises for runners are more legs-oriented where the largest muscle groups are present. 

The activation of these muscle groups at once stimulates high testosterone release. And there’s no need to tell you fitness freaks what role testosterone plays in athletic performances such as running.

Though all these benefits are quite diverse. But they all contribute to making you a better and more prominent runner. They must know about all these benefits of weightlifting for runners.

So, that’s all about the benefits. Now, we must head on towards weight lifting plans for runners. This plan will include the best weight lifting exercises for runners.

Let’s see…

6 Weightlifting Exercises for Runners

There is a wide range of weight training exercises. However, all of them have a different set of benefits. But for runners, some are more beneficial than the rest of them.

Following are the best weight lifting exercises for runners:

#1: Deadlifts

It won’t be wrong to call it the king of the weight lifting exercises. This exercise belongs to every list of activities to improve any aspect of your physical prowess.

This exercise is a combination of compound movements of all the major muscle groups of your core, back, and lower body.

However, the deadlift is among the best muscle-building exercises. But you can’t rule out the significance of this exercise for runners. 

Runners can benefit a lot from the core stability and strength deadlifts provide.

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Load the long barbell with a moderate weight you can handle
• Place your legs in the middle of the barbell and open them your hips-width apart
• Bend down to reach the barbell and hold it your shoulder-width apart
• Now, push your chest out and set your back straight
• Pull the weight right up in a straight line and then go back down slowly

#2: Weighted Squats

Another great exercise for your core and legs. Weighted squats put your thigh and calves under concentration. 

It’s axiomatic what difference will stronger thighs and claves make in a runner’s performance level.

Furthermore, this exercise is a key movement to boost the natural testosterone release within the body. This is a quality that makes this exercise a must-have in runners’ weight lifting program.

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Stand upright with your chest open, back straight, and core aligned
• Place your feet shoulder-width apart
• Put a barbell on your shoulder
• Load it weight you can handle (start with the empty rod)
• Now, squat down gradually and get slowly back up

#3: Bench Press

A bench press is a compound movement that trains all the small and big muscles around your chest area.

There are multiple variations of this exercise that leads to all-rounded chest development. You must be wondering how this exercise can improve running.

Yes, the primary muscles to aid your running are the lower body muscles. But a strong upper body such as a broad muscular chest also helps in improving your body’s control and stability while running. 

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Lie flat on a bench with your chest facing upwards
• Hold a barbell with moderate weight upright above your chest
• Bring it down maintaining a 90-degree angle between your elbow and forearms
• Take it straight back up
• Repeat the movement

#4: Box Jumps

Box jumps are again for training your legs and core. However, the name of this exercise is self-explanatory to an extent. 

But the exercise is much more about jumping on a box. It helps to improve the strength of your calves, knees, and ankle joints eventually leading to better and bigger strides while running.

Additionally, this exercise contributes to improving your mind and muscle coordination. Hence, Box Jumps is an amazing exercise to include in strength training for endurance runners.

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Stand in front of a box or platform that can withstand the impact when you jump on it
• The height of the box must be around your knee
• Place your feet shoulder-width apart
• Squat a little and make a stance for jumping 
• Exert the force to jump on the box and simply jump back down
• Repeat the movement 10-12 times

#5: Weighted Lunges

Unlike all the above exercises, this one works on your legs one by one. Separate concentration on both legs improves balance and stability.

Weighted lunges also cover the stretching of your lower body muscles along with the hips. This gives proper concentration and relaxation movement to these muscles.

Furthermore, the movement of weighted lunges also positively affects your spine. This improves muscle mechanics while running at high speeds.

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Stand upright with moderate weights in your hand
• Place your feet shoulder-width apart
• Take a full stride forward 
• Bend the forward knee to an angle of 90 degree 
• Stretch the back leg to its full potential
• Hold an upright straight spine
• Repeat the position with the other side as well

#6: Renegade Rows

This is the crux of several major exercises that mainly includes upper body movement. Renegade Rows is an exercise to improve core strength.

Also, the exercise helps to improve your static and dynamic posture. Furthermore, it aids to keep your form right while running and other athletic activities.

Renegade rows combine the stance of push-ups with hand movements of one-hand-rowing. It has benefits to offer for both your upper and the lower body.

Steps to perform the exercise:

• Place your body in the initial position of push-ups 
• Except putting your hands on the ground, hold dumbbell rods with them
• First, try to stabilize your weight in this position
• Now, lift one dumbbell in a straight line along your chest
• Repeat with the other side

So, these were the top six exercises you must add to strength training for runners at home or the gym.

Now, it’s time to take you through the weight lifting routine for runners.

Weight Lifting Routine for Runners – How to Combine Weightlifting and Running?

Well, this one’s the tricky part. Running and weight lifting both are different domains in themselves. 

However, both are physical activities and require strength, stamina, and endurance. But the skill set to master both crafts is different.

Running is something that you can do without any guidance as well. You’ll need professional help only when you are preparing for any professional running competition.

There you’ll need some pro tips to alter your running and breathing patterns for better performance. On a personal level, going for a run or jogging in the part does not require any training.

On the contrary, weight lifting is a far more complex procedure. It requires proper training to make your form, technique, and movements correct.

Now the question is- how to combine running and weight training?  

However, combining running and weight lifting is not an easy task. But you can carry it out with a bit of adherence to simple calculations and discipline of course. 

Take a look at the following points:

• Running and weight lifting both are energy-draining activities. Hence, you must avoid doing both of them together.
• You can select alternate days for running and weight training.
• Do not lift too heavy in squats the day before an important run.
• After a high-intensity weight training session, your body needs time to recover.
• Runners are generally not used to heavy lifting. Hence, they must start slow and light.

All these above points are must-follow for the runners who want to incorporate weight lifting into their routine. Weightlifting for runners is definitely challenging, but it’s equally rewarding as well.

After this, there’s an important question left to address. Let’s get it over with…

Should Runners Also Change Their Diet Plan When Weightlifting?

Yes, the diet plan will undergo some changes, but not a lot of them. Adding weight lifting to the routine will increase energy consumption.

So, you need to get in some extra calories to burn.

However, the goal of weightlifting for a runner is to improve their strength, stamina, and athletic performance. But it’s only natural to put on a bit of lean weight due to weight training.

It all depends on your protein intake. You’ll need to deploy the calculations there. 

However, combining your running with weight training will take a lot out of you. You’ll need to keep track of your calorie intake and adequate ingestion of essential minerals and salts.

Hence, runners have to change their diet a bit when they start weight lifting. 

ALSO READ: What to Eat After Lifting Weights 

Now, before your go, let’s go through a few weightlifting tips for runners…

Weightlifting Tips for Runners

We almost covered every important aspect of weightlifting for runners. Still, here are some final points you need to keep in mind:

• Start really slow with lighter weights and more repetitions. It would help improve your form and prepare your body to open up for heavy ones.
• Gradually increase the weights, don’t put your body under extreme stress.
• Plan your weightlifting sessions in such a way that it doesn’t fall just before or after your running.
• Take a healthy and nutritious diet to fulfill your body requirements.

So, that was all on ‘weightlifting for runners’. It’s now time, to sum up…

Summary

Weightlifting and running are quite different things. Even these are different sets of professions as well.

Successfully combining both within the same routine is a tough task to accomplish. However, there are several customized weight lifting programs for runners that make this task easy. 

If you take care of your diet and routine, weightlifting can substantially improve your running performance. 

So, make the most of it. Start lifting!

Hope the blog was informative and helpful for you.