How will strength training impact my running?

Will strength training make me faster or slower as a runner?

The short answer: Done right, strength training will likely make you faster, not slower. And no, it won’t turn you into a bodybuilder, unless that’s your specific goal and even then, it’ll take years and years of training to get there. Just like going for one run won’t make you an ultra runner! And driving your car won’t make you a Formula1 driver.

Let’s dive deeper...

How can strength training help me become a better runner?

Strength training isn’t just for building muscle or “putting on size” – it’s about building better functioning and stronger muscles. When you start adding strength sessions to your running program, you are working to develop stronger, more efficient muscles that will propel you forward with more power and less fatigue! Who wouldn’t want that?!

But how does that even work?

1. More power, less effort – stronger muscles generate more force with each and every stride, so you’ll cover the ground faster without having to work harder. Win!
2. Increased endurance – strength training boosts your muscular endurance, just like running builds cardiovascular endurance. This will help you hold your form (and save energy) when the running gets tough.
3. Greater stability – having stronger muscles will reduce your injury risk by stabilising your joints (think ankles, hips and knees!) throughout the impact of each stride.
4. Better posture – by targeting certain muscle groups, you can improve the way your body stands and moves. This will save you energy and reduce the risk of injuries by improving your running technique.
5. Increase your speed – your fast-twitch muscle fibres are responsible for making you go faster! Explosive exercises like squats, plyometrics, deadlifts and more will train these muscle fibres, which results in speed.

It isn’t about what we look like.

While we don’t focus so much on how our body looks here at Femmi, the good news is that strength training won’t make you bulky, or slow you down. Elite runners strength train and they strength train hard! As there are different types of resistance training, runners training for performance are focused on functional strength, not necessarily gaining huge amounts of muscle mass. In fact, it takes years of specific training (hypertrophy training) and a lot of food (significant surplus) to put on enough muscle mass to worry about it getting in the way of you running!

Key movements.

The key is tailoring your strength routine to complement your running. You can do this by focusing on compound movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts and hip thrusts, which have good carryover for the muscles and movements you want to develop to improve your running.

What are we missing out on?

And hey, if your focus is improving your performance (just like us!), who are we to be afraid of gaining a bit of muscle mass along the way? This is where your big goals matter! While it can be easy to get caught up worrying about how training might make you look, this could be holding you back from your ultimate potential as a runner! Strength training won’t slow you down—it’ll make you faster, stronger, and more resilient. But not doing it and worrying about getting ‘bulky’ will definitely slow you down, as you’ll miss out on all of the benefits that strength training has to offer! So grab those weights – it’s time to make some gains!!