Strength training for competitive master's runners over 50 - yay or nay?

I would side with those who would favour strength training past a certain age for health reasons. Surely improved overall health will, directly or indirectly transfer to running?

I would do this however with a couple of caveats.

1) You may want to modify or drop certain exercises and replace them with others that are more biomechanically sound. Eg bench presses with the bar to the chest are not great for ageing shoulder joints and neither are full range shoulder presses. Barbell back squats are a potential back injury waiting to happen and so are deadlifts, especially when you get carried away in trying to progress. We unfortunately do not live in the world of the perfect rep. Split squats with the rear foot on the floor and the dumbbells held in the hands could replace both.

Also, as another person said, be very conservative with plyos. I tried a program of simple two footed low hops, done almost daily, for five to seven sets of ten seconds found online from an older running influencer’s website. It was supposed to progress to fifteen sets. Didn’t take long for my Achilles to feel tender. Didn’t make it to the end. Won’t be doing that again. Lesson learnt, fortunately before any true damage done.

2) There a few studies meta / analyses showing that for longevity benefits only 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week is required. That is the sweet spot. After that results plateau and start to reverse with 140 minutes per week showing results as bad as if no training done at all. Arterial stiffness is one of the theories behind this. So don’t go too mad, a little is enough.

I am only 49,have a few M40 M45 National wins ranging from 800m to HM. I do weekly 2-3x strenght training,all body mostly calinestics kind of training. Ring dips,rows,abs,pull ups,push up,one legged piston squats etc. + one heavy lift with sandbag mostly carry 3x20-30meters and ground to shoulder a few times. One can do these at home,without going to gym.

My competition also do strenght training,some of them regular gym work with bar. Benchpress,deadlift,squats (albeit only quarter or half squats) overhead press etc.

Some plyo work is in the weekly training bounding (flat and hill too) in-outs,stairs etc.

You and the other couple of most recent posters, I'm assuming, are from outside the US, probably Europe (given the time stamp on your posts), and I appreciate you guys weighing in. I appreciate the information all have contributed. This particular post is especially insightful, and I think makes a lot of sense. Do you have a link to any of those studies?

Many thanks!

No problem. Happy to contribute to a worthwhile post. Just glad that you found my comment helpful.

Here is one link. A quick AI search should land you some more.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

How much resistance exercise is beneficial for healthy aging and longevity?

Resistance exercise (RE) is an important physical activity modality conferring major health benefits that are partially complementary to benefits from endurance exercise. Recent meta-analyses reveal a U-shaped relationship be...

Open link

You start to lose muscle mass in your 50's, so it's a yea independent of running performance.

This is how I view this topic from a beginner point of view. If you go into a gym and don't know what all of the equipment is and does, take a few weeks using each machine. Save the free weights until you've progressed in your knowledge. Keep the weights light and do up to 3*10 set/reps. I know this is counter to what elites do, but you need to start at a much lower risk intensity and get the neurological adaptations first. Once you feel confident in the movements and resistance involved (balance could be a limiting factor), move to higher weights and lower reps. As mentioned above, don't push for more weight simply for progression. Being good in the gym isn't the end goal. Getting stronger (at running) and staying healthy is. Gym routines should be highly individualized. Do not strictly adhere to some cookie cutter program. Lift by feel and and know that there are good days and bad days.

Also, get dedicated gym shoes that have proper stability. Running shoes are some of the worst footwear for lifting.

Really good information in this thread, I think as an older athlete you REALLY have to be careful when you read about the latest X type workouts, or watch some fitness influencer, or even info someone with real skins on the wall. It's just an easy trap to fall into when you are interested in fitness and maximizing your time and effort, you're always looking for new info.

What might be a great thing at age 35, might be pretty horrible at 55. Lifting heavy and doing box jumps might be great, but if you're hurt and spend the next 3 mo. on the sidelines, so what?

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Keith Baar Isometrics for the win

Started rehabbing tendons (achilles/calf,patellar and hamstrings) May 2025 using Baar's methods.

Put running into low gear. Jogging a mile or two per day with twice weekly accelerations .

Nov 2025 went over to the track spiked up and ran a 17.30 100 with a flying start . At about 400 meter effort.

I am 69 and this is the best 100 I have ran in 5 years .

Felt smooth with good spring.

Background : chronic calf pulls and pf for 20+ years.

Baar's isometric approach is a game changer.

Next spring I just might try running a 400 under 69 , really thought that goal had sailed away.

How are you implementing these isometrics? I believe Dr. Baar prescribes short bouts of isometrics in the 10-30s range.

Rehab of the calf/achilles interface I have done 3x4minutes for each leg alternating. Take a few minutes of walking recovery after each 4 minutes. so 12 minutes each leg total. I use an angle board. Forefoot resting on the board with heel a few inches off the board. I use the back of a chair for balance.Initially this is super easy to hold but after 2 to 3 minutes the calf muscles start to hurt. The last minute feels like pulling a muscle. It HURTS. This technique exposes weak areas in the achilles tendon and stimulates repair of these weak areas. I still do these 3 times per week. As part of warming up I do the same rehab tech but stop when the calf starts to hurt.

I use similiar techniques for patellar and hamstrings. Baar has many youtube videos where he demonstrates these. I arrived at a 4 minute hold for the achilles thru trial and error. The idea is to stimulate the weak areas of the tendon. I had a bunch of them. The weak areas created injury as well as weakness in the tendon which results in poor energy transfer from the muscle to the bone.

Yay. Simple stuff. Squats, lunges, calf raises. They're needed more now than 10 years ago.

A useful thread. I'm 70. After decades of a niggly calf injury whenever I ran more than twice a week, I followed this advice: Runners' tribe "How to rehab calf strains in runners" (I'm too new to post a link). As recommended, I now do 2 sets of 10 weighted single leg calf raises on a step with a 35% of bodyweight kettlebell 3 times a week. It took me at least 6 months to work up to this. It worked perfectly. And I can do as many hops as I feel like for plyometric gains with no problems.

As others have said, at my age, I feel I need to do three one hour session per week including upper body exercises (pushups, pullups, core, kettlebell swings, goblet squats) and lower body (Poliquin stepdowns, shrimp squats wall sit, tibialis, reverse Nordic curl, banded fire hydrant/crab walk), but also stability (wobbleboard, hand balance - crow pose) and yoga for mobility.

This. Each runner will have to experiment to find which “simple
lifetime” exercise works best for them. The goal is to do just
enough to keep the core strong and the inevitable muscle imbalances
in check.

At 65, I joined one of those fitness centers that does organized workouts with a coach. It was a great move, not because it motivated me to workout, but because the trainer taught me how to do the moves correctly. I moved on from that gym and now I use Jeff Cavaliere's Athlean X Youtube channel when I want to know the proper form for an exercise, but it's not as good as having a trainer who can spot your mistakes. Fortunately, I have a training partner who spots for me and points out little mistakes. Now at 78, I hit the gym... Planet Fitness or Gold's Gym... twice a week.

Thirteen years ago, my running friends asked, "Does it make you faster?" I responded, "I'm not lifting to be a faster runner next week or next month. I'm lifting to be a better runner 5 years from now!" So far, that has worked for me.

I'm not a distance runner. I stay under 20 mpw... typically around 12-15. For all its benefits, distance training has some downsides: It constantly floods the body with cortisol, which in turn suppresses the immune system. It lowers testosterone levels, which decrease by up to 90% with age. With SIIT training and several sets of various lifts to exhaustion every week, I'm typically between 550 and 730 in my annual testosterone checks. If you're a distance runner over 60 with a T level below 300, you would probably benefit health-wise by considering T supplementation.

Weightlifting boosts testosterone naturally.

Other than dumbbells, I don't use free weights. I lift to exhaustion on some sets and it's safer to do that on a cable machine than with free weights. Most of my leg exercises are single leg: skater squats, Bulgarian squats, etc.

A few years ago I started doing strict burpee style workouts, not like cross fit, (in the style of Iron Wolf), 50-100 strict burpees a few times a week. Really like the strength they give me. I also do targeted hip exercises as well as pullups and other body weight exercises. I've learned a lot in this thread...Thanks!

I agree with some lunges, but ignoring the other 99% of the muscles in your legs, pelvis, hips, lower back, when you get old especially, is foolish. You dont have to squats, plyo, and do deadlifts and concentration curls, but stability, core and hips etc...is all win win. When you get older you get a lot of niggles around lower back, hips, hams, achilles etc..

That guy has some good stuff. He's not selling you some fast "fitness hack" BS.

Yeah I agree, I used to have chronic lower back issues and worked on strengthening my back and now I never have back pain. I do several other things for preventive maintenance including stability ball hamstring curls, pullups, pushups, donkey kicks, single leg squats with front foot elevated, etc. None of this involves heavy weight, which I think most of us agree on. Heck even Jakob trains with very light weights.

This is just my personal opinion, but in the context of over 50 strength training, if one has to ask how will they fit it in to their running schedule, they're probably doing too much.

This thread is off the rails. The OP asked about strength training for “competitive” masters.

For a 5k, that is generally going to be in the 16-17 minute range for 40+ and 17-18 minute range for 50+

To train to that level at those ages, you can’t do most of the routines described in most of the posts. The routines are about health and fitness, not performance.

If you want to run fast as an old guy, you have to prioritize running. Your S&C has to be limited to the bare minimum to prevent longtime injuries from getting in the way.

Most of the stuff in this thread is worthless for a master trying to perform at a high level. That master is better off running more, not doing heavy squats and deadlifts.