Just wondering what type of weight training or X-training most of the faster college 800m runners do. do they lift upper body and legs? How often? Some maybe don't touch weights, just run?
Just wondering what type of weight training or X-training most of the faster college 800m runners do. do they lift upper body and legs? How often? Some maybe don't touch weights, just run?
I think it varries quite a bit among programs. Anyone know any examples of good Middle-dist. programs workouts?
i lift twice a week in season, mondays and wednesdays (assuming i'm racing on the weekend). if no race i lift on fri too. I usually do
mon- jump squats ( 2 sets of 10 pretty light - about 65 lbs)
dead lifts - 2 sets of 10 about 55lbs
3 sets 20 x 90lbs bench
3 sets 10 pullups
3 sets 30 crunches
3 sets 10 leg raises on incline
wed - 2 sets 10 lunges forward each leg about 95 lbs
2 sets 10 lunges backward each leg about 95 lbs
repeat upper body
fri - upper only
calf raises, squats, hamstring curls, leg press, leg curls 1 day a week, bench, bi's, tri's, pull downs, pull ups 2 times a week, I also do alot of plyometrics and hill sprints.
fresh-1:57
soph-1:53
jun-1:50
Is leg lifting necessary to run fast in the 800? Or does it vary by individual?
depends, can you naturally run about 48 in the 400 without lifting? Or can you run mid 3:50's without lifting?
Scientologist wrote:
depends, can you naturally run about 48 in the 400 without lifting? Or can you run mid 3:50's without lifting?
I don't know, I've run 49 and 1:53, with lifting upper body and abs a lot that season, no leg stuff really because I tweaked a hammy once doing light squats. I've stopped lifting altogether for xc (I still do abs/core )and gotten lighter, skinnier, faster. I am wondering what to do come track. I'm thinking of lifting only upper, but trying to stay lighter too. Thanks for the feedback.
im a 156 guy with 51 speed and ive never lifted with my legs.. im thinking about just moving up to the 1500 now but was wondering if im going to make a jump to the next level if i should lift with my legs
in my experience lifting with legs has been an invaluable tool. the key is to keep it to lifts that are highly eccentric (hence the dead lifts and jump squats posted earlier). lunges are good for training yourself to put all your motion in a forward direction down the track, as you can look in the mirror and critique your form. i also do plyometrics (non weighted) and form drills which i feel have been highly beneficial. i think this extra work makes a huge diffrerence in the business end of an 800, i.e the final 200-300m sprint.
800man,
I ran 1:47.80 my Senior year at the University of Arkansas in 1998. I was not lifting leg weights at that time. However, I do believe strengthening the legs are very important. At 30 years of age now, I currently do Squats, Hamstring curls, Box Steps, Jumps with weights, Bounding. Strength training with optimal running technique and training volume protocol gives any athlete the ability to run his/her fastest. I believe this regardless of whether or not I ever run faster than my current Pb. In my current training I have run 1:54.00 in a time trial by myself. I am very pleased with the results of my strength training. At the moment I have a max Squat of 339lbs and I weigh 142lbs. Conclusion: I recommend you lift leg weights. Good luck!
Jeremy-(
)
I guess I'm posting as a counterpoint to Jhuffman. I ran 1:48.01 my senior year, and had 47.x speed (relay split). I never lifted with my legs. I did plenty of upper body stuff - 2-3 times per week. Sophomore year, I got a little crazy and supplemented with Creatine. That was a bad move for me. I put on 5 lbs. and did not improve on the track that year. My bench went up quite a bit, but that wasn't the point. I was hoping for recovery benefits from the supplement.
Outside of that year, the lifting I did do was the low-weight high-rep you traditionally hear prescribed for distance/mid-distance runners. For me, I felt this helped to provide the muscular endurance I needed at the end of an 800. I emphasized all upper body areas...chest, shoulders, lats, traps, tris and bis. In addition to this lifting, I did a ton of core strength stuff (i.e., abs, obliques, lower back).
This probably only confuses you more as Jhuffman and I had similar success in the 800 and recommend opposite lower-body strategies. But you can at least see that success can be had from either strategy. I'd be interested to see what Jhuffman's basic speed was like. Maybe that is the difference?
reply
How deep are you going down? I can rep over 405 if I do quarter squats.
It is a very, very rare distance runner who actual descends to the proper depth for a true squat.
Most of them are doing 3/4 squats and calling them parallel.
thanks for feedback, keep it coming.
I ran 1:49 off 49 second 400 speed. I lifted a lot the year before I started running in college, then tapered it off as I got more and more competitive and as time went on. Almost without fail I did at least 12 reps. If you do this enough it will still bulk your upper body up some, so I went to the occasional use of doign the running motion holding light dumbells for a couple sets of a couple minutes. I was usually around 150-155, and when I naturally (through training) dropped to 149 I also ran 1:49. In my opinion upper body lifting is overrated for mid-distance runners.
I never lifted legs, especially because when I tried things like hamstring curls my hamstrings would cramp up. I did do plenty of training runs in the hills throughout the year. Derrick Peterson I know used to do some leg lifting and I think occasional plyos, and he has run 1:45. Don't know if he reads this crud but he had it figured out pretty well. Didn't lift upper body very much if at all if I recall, but I could be wrong on that.
Weight training is important early on. It helps supplement the volume of work an athlete should be doing. As you get older, I don't think it is as important as doing running specific exercises. It does not matter how much you can bench or squat, curl or extend. What does matter is that you do exercises that carry over to running. So, stick with multijoint exercises and focus on core and hip strength. Run hills, do bounding drills up hills, and make sure you drive the knee through.
Cheers
I was doign squats and plyos before they were cool. Is 1:41 still considered fast?
*doing
Seb, you're an unfatiguable (aerobic) anomoly among human beings, but that's not to say you didn't work hard.
If the training you did was so good, though, how come we haven't heard of any other stars that your coach coached???
Hart, Lydiard, and Bowerman found ways that can get anyone to an elite level with the right work.
Curtsey or Squat wrote:
How deep are you going down? I can rep over 405 if I do quarter squats.
It is a very, very rare distance runner who actual descends to the proper depth for a true squat.
Most of them are doing 3/4 squats and calling them parallel.
When I squat I am attempting to go as close to parallel as possible. Since I don't video them I am not 100% certian that I am going parallel. As always going closer to parallel will be most beneficial. When I do them I strive for the best technique possible. Thanks for the concern!
Jeremy