Debunking the weight training myths in running

I agree with you.

Which is also what many WORLD STREAKRUNNERS CLUB runners do. We have people who have ran for more than 50 years and I interviewed the top three in history. One of them had a longer exercise streak than mere running. He always did pushups and pullups before running!

I don't know if I'd call it "idiotic," but truth be told, I think your sentiment isn't without good reasoning.

Many strength coaches argue that the overhead press is the superior upper body compound movement as it has the longest kinetic chain of any lift (think - uses the most of your body). It works your arms, shoulder, back, core, and your legs get activated as they need to be stiff to prevent energy leakage and maintain proper form. After doing heavy presses, anyone will tell they can feel it in their abs, as long as they were performing the lift properly.

It's funny because the overhead press used to be the primary upper body lift. You look at old school body builders/strength athletes up until the early 70s and they all had huge shoulders and what would be described as "underdeveloped" chests by today's standards. They wanted big presses as lifting weight over your head was considered the "gold standard" of strength. That is until the Olympics eliminated the clean and press from the competition program (it became too hard to judge) and football coaches began emphasizing the bench since pushing is more important than lifting things overhead in teh sport. Plus, most people bench more weight than they overhead press, and chasing big numbers is more appealing.

But bottom line, it's very easy to argue that the overhead press is a more useful lift for most people, and runners could get some benefit from adding it into their routine, due to it's kinetic chain carryover.

Why do you have to swear to make your point? Although I agree with your post I hope that you do not coach. Clean it up and that is easy for us to do on social media like this one! No excuse.

Yes, and No. The military press is more useful than the bench press for American football. Certainly the overhead press has lots of value but no lift is perfect for anything.

Again, swearing is not necessary and does not make you sound cool or hip. Plus I hope you do not work with kids. Set a good example, especially on social media where you have 100% control of what words of wit you use!

You are 100% correct, however remember that working on weaknesses often results in improvements. If that weak kid does not lift at all, you might want to make an adjustment, but seldom is going super heavy for a full range of motion going to help even the best distance runners. I said seldom and I am primarily applying that to those who run the 5K on up.

Except quarterbacks, holders and kickers, in D-1 Am. football and N.F.L., how close are all other athletes on team to 600/400 standard? That is 600 lbs. free weight squat (all the way down) and 400 lbs. bench press. The somewhat go together, bench press and free-weight squat. There is a minimum amount of upperbody strength required to hold and balance bar with weight in order to free weight squat.

I totally agree, but you can add these sentences:

Can a kid improve at distance running by adding resistance training and cross training to his running program? Yes, if done with intelligence and patience.

I recommend using ChatGBT or another advanced form of Artificial Intelligence. It is a good way to Debunk people like me who argue against you. Plus you might learn something new that will help yourself and the kids you coach. Thank you for answering, I am not on an ego trip but a success trip.

Lots of studies out there on overall health and wellbeing, where resistance training and aerobic exercise combined results in better health, longer healthy living, and longer lifespan, than just aerobic exercise or resistance training alone. I'd think increasing your chance of being healthy increases your chances of running well, no matter your age/ability.

The resistance training decreases your chances of getting all sorts of ailments, even at younger ages. If I'm not going to run more, I wouldn't mind spending time doing something that boosts my immune system and other important bodily functions.

Elle Purrier St. Pierre is jacked.

I have always been fascinated by the East Africans way of training, which involves running MANY hills (usually running up mountains). I decided to do an experiment on myself, testing whether running on hilly terrain for easy runs makes a difference on general fitness. I began by running loops in my neighborhood, which gave roughly 150 ft of gain per mile. I would do this for 8-12 mile runs, usually 3-4 times a week. After about a month and a half, I noticed my easy pace on flat terrain had dropped by about 15 seconds per mile, and my heart rate at easy effort had also dropped, despite the increase in pace. I noticed that my threshold sessions were about 10 seconds faster per mile, and I felt much stronger than I ever had before. My track workouts followed suit, I found it easier to run at faster speeds, and I could hold these speeds for longer without tiring out. The only thing that did not seem to directly benefit was top end speed. Top end speed was only pushed along by actually running top end speed. Note that I did not do a single hill workout or hills sprints, and if I had, this probably would have helped my top end speed. I firmly believe that running on hilly terrain for easy runs is MASSIVELY overlooked and provides a simple way to improve general fitness and strength.

I get it. You're trying to keep your thread alive. But calm down a bit, you are trying too hard.

If by "somewhat," you mean, "hardly," then yes. Bench and "free weight" (fyi no one calls it that) aka barbell squatting strength have very little cross over. Every strength coach will tell you not to hold the weight in your hands and that your shoulders/traps need to hold the weight in the squat, which will also get stronger as your squat numbers go up. Your arms/hands are more for stabilization and making sure the bar doesn't roll off of you. You don't need to do any upper body work to prevent this from happening, minus stretching and mobility exercises.

Proof - Squatting is obviously essential and absolutely necessary for Olympic weightlifters yet they rarely, if EVER, bench press. You WILL see tons of overhead pressing, push pressing, and jerks for sefl evident reasons, though. The muscles worked from the bench don't really carry over to the clean and jerk/snatch, and many lifters will tell you a l more developed chest restricts the mobility needed to catch a snatch or jerk.

You do not hold the bar on your back with your hands. You use your traps/upper back as a shelf and the hands are basically there to ensure it remains in position.

Also....do people on the spectrum flood Letsrun by the dozens now?

Alan

Actually, I am trying to help you. Pay attention!

Then you’re failing

Yes, Arthur Lydiard did not recommend weights, he recommended hills. However, he also said that if you did not have hills you should lift weights. Seb Coe was a maniac about weight training and cross training. At times he trained like a gymnast. Now there was a guy with speed!

How old are you?