Squats / Lunges for distance runners?

If you are talking about unweighted squats, I don't think there is a limit to how many times you can do them per week.

I had a couple of guys about 10 years back. Neither of them really wanted to buy into the high mileage off season thing, but they liked to work out and be fit. During the winter base period leading up to track, they would do a 3-4 mile run at a quick pace, followed by 20 min or so of alternating things like lunges, short sprints, push ups and pull ups. They got up to where they were doing 3-4 sets of lunges for length of the football field. They did this 4-5 times per week. Both notched significant PR's that season, with one boy dropping his time from 4:52 to 4:31 for 1600.

If you don't do lunges, you will be sore as hell the first couple of times you do them, but after a while, you won't be sore at all. If you are going to do a lot of lunges, make sure you do them properly...use a relatively slow cadence and drop your center of gravity straight down on every step. Don't let the lead knee go ahead of the lead ankle. Keep your torso upright and focus on balance and stability.

Check out the "lunge matrix." It's pretty easy and basic, but it is good for glute strength. Some elite groups use it too, but I can't remember which ones!

I think they do it every day, by the way.

And what about squats? Also more than once a week?

I like the DVD "building a better runner" . Do the Myrtle and lunge matrix every run day.

2-3 times per week. For someone running a lot, 2 is probably optimal. I run 100mpw and have found twice a week to be ideal. More than that mostly just tires me out. There've been studies that have shown strength training once per week does almost nothing as 7 days is long enough for the training stimulus to be virtually nullified. One gets the most bang for their buck with twice per week, still more at three times per week, but then it levels off. Strength training should be supplemental for runners, and doing too much will take away from your workouts, which is why I suggest twice a week.

Squats and lunges are different exercises that work different muscles though. If you don't believe me go do squats for a few weeks and then switch to lunges. You'll be sore for a week. I would suggest doing both.

Yes, it really depends on what type of runner you are. If you are a mid distance guy, with minimal mileage, you could do squats and lunges every day. If you are a high mileage guy, Guppy's advice is right on the money.

Just do 1/4 squats not full, as that is nearer the range of motion for running power. Follow first reply about not getting knee beyond ankle, all the throwers in college used to tell me to keep my shin from moving too, and use a mirror, or perferably a strength trainer to coach you on proper form - back straight, chest up and out, that sort of thing.

All this weight work should be done properly - good technique, so get good visual assistance.

CoachB wrote:

Yes, it really depends on what type of runner you are. If you are a mid distance guy, with minimal mileage, you could do squats and lunges every day. If you are a high mileage guy, Guppy's advice is right on the money.

Squats and lunges every day? If you've decided that doing squats and lunges is good, then I would assume the goal would be to increase strength via these exercises. That being said, I would not do what CoachB says.

If you're going to spend valuable training time, don't just do things that sound cool. If you really want to add some strength training on the side, pick up one of Tudor Bompa's books (or the like) and learn the what, where, when, how and why's of strength training and what kind of sets/reps effect you. You can periodize your strength training to get meaningful gains for your events, but it's not going to happen by just "doing squats and lunges every day".

Guppy wrote:

There've been studies that have shown strength training once per week does almost nothing as 7 days is long enough for the training stimulus to be virtually nullified.

Can you clarify what you mean here? I stopped running for a few years after high school and got into lifting weights. I used a 4-day rotation - chest day, back day, legs day, then shoulders & arms. Now, granted there would have been some overlap in those upper body exercises, but I was hitting legs once a week and that's it. I grew stronger. My legs got bigger. So the idea that it was doing almost nothing is flat out wrong.

Unless you're suggesting that the 3 other days a week were contributing to my leg gains, maybe by stimulating additional testosterone and HGH production or something.

But basically, in my experience, once a week per body part was definitely enough for growth.

Squats - done properly, with a bar or very light weights are excellent for building strength and flexibility. Hip flexibility is something that is neglected. Mostly due to the fact that we sit on our a$$es all day ... quite literally.

What do you mean by 4-day rotation? Were you lifting every day on that schedule?

Anyway, according to what I have read, hitting one particular muscle group only once a week is not frequent enough to cause significant adaptation to training. Anything is better than nothing though... If it worked for you, power to you. No strength training book would ever recommend hitting legs (or core, back, etc) only once a week though, and the gains made at 2-3 times per week are substantially greater than only once per week, which is why I would suggest that frequency of strength training. I like your idea that lifting with other muscles may have stimulated hgh etc to help increase strength gains in other areas not worked out on that specific day though. I'm not sure if there's any truth to that or not.

I'm not a strength training expert though. I'm just sharing what I've read from a few books and studies and my own experiences.

Oh, sorry. Lifting 4 days a week. 3 days off.

Interesting thread. Bump.

I seem to suffer from knee problems whenever I try squats or lunges. Even just once or twice a week, with a set or two of very light weight. It doesn't happen immediately but after a weeks or two of the weights I start experiencing knee pain that I never get from only running. I guess my knees are very sensitive past a certain degree of flexion. I have the same problem with cycling.

I'd like to be able to do squats and lunges but they always just seem to make me more injury prone.

Inf wrote:

I seem to suffer from knee problems whenever I try squats or lunges. Even just once or twice a week, with a set or two of very light weight. It doesn't happen immediately but after a weeks or two of the weights I start experiencing knee pain that I never get from only running. I guess my knees are very sensitive past a certain degree of flexion. I have the same problem with cycling.

I'd like to be able to do squats and lunges but they always just seem to make me more injury prone.

Same issue here. I spent some time doing just body weight type stuff like prison squats, jumping squats, all sorts of lunges etc... and it seemed to help. These were explosive type exercises done in a 'metabolic' class. I am now using light weights and trying to build strength without hurting my knee (pain mostly in the right knee).

Someone mentioned hips and hip flexibility. I believe this to be one of my problems. I read that doing what are call Ass To Grass, ATG, squats if best for lower body training. Basically squat down as far as possible. This goes against everything I've ever heard about squats (don't go below parallel). I've been trying this and so far so good. I was having pain within my glutes and the little bit of weights I'm using has fixed the issue so far.

I think lunges definitely give me a "pop." I live in a relatively flat area, and I can get a similar feeling in my stride if I do lunges for a while to the feeling I get from hill sprints.

I said COULD do them every day, not should.

Any exercise you do will see diminishing returns the more you do it, including running. At what point does piling on repetitions of lunges become a waste of time? I don't know. At what point does piling on the training miles become a waste of time? I don't know. It's different for everyone. The OP asked if doing squats and lunges once per week was enough. I said you could do them every day if you wanted to.

You could ask this guy

He went on to have a pretty good senior cross country and track season.