Bodyweight Strength Training Regimen

There are lots of body weight strength routines/activities on the internet for runners. The best ones are the ones you will actually do. Some are more effective than others.

To start with I would do a decent plank routine 3-5 times/week on basis aerobic days and the Gambetta Leg Circuit on your hard days (2-3 times/week). My experience with high school athletes is that the first time you do the leg circuit it might seem easy, but the next day you end up very sore. I highly recommend that you follow the introduction sequence to the circuit:

http://www.functionalpathtrainingblog.com/2010/12/the-gambetta-leg-circuit.html

Remember that you never want ancillary training to negatively impact subsequent running workouts. Give your body time to adapt while optimizing the effectiveness of actual running workouts.

Add push up and pull up/inverted rowing variations 3x a week for your upper body. Given that I don't how many can do you I can't give you dc oecific reps and sets. Form needs to be excellent as well which usually is not the case (straight back- if you put a dowel on your back it should touch the lower back upper back and back of head).

I have some homework for you....

Define strength.

How does a bodyweight only program improve strength?

Are there more efficient ways to improve strength?

Lookup research on strength training and running or resistance training and running economy, etc.

Now, assuming your only means of strength training is bodyweight it needs to be explosive.

2-3 days a week

3 sets of 10 jump squat

3 sets of 10 single leg bounds each leg

3 sets of 10 Plyo push-up

3 sets of 10 Pullups

60s rest between sets

Alan

Wait Alan, before you have someone do weight training they need to be able to control their body, they need to master body weight exercises. Before you have an athlete do explosive movements they need to be able to stabilize under control, they need to have proper balance. You shouldn't do jumping squats unless you can do basic controlled slow squats. The same holds true with push ups and any single leg exercise. These are harder than most people realize hence the number of hip and shoulder injuries.

Single leg exercises are harder, but they should not lead to injury if done correctly. I have recently started doing single leg RDLs (among other things), and found that keeping the weight low and breaking it up into smaller sets helped me focus better on form. I have become stronger since (about 3 months) and now my sets are longer with a modest increase in weight.

Runningart2004 wrote:

I have some homework for you....

Define strength.

How does a bodyweight only program improve strength?

Are there more efficient ways to improve strength?

Lookup research on strength training and running or resistance training and running economy, etc.

Now, assuming your only means of strength training is bodyweight it needs to be explosive.

2-3 days a week

3 sets of 10 jump squat

3 sets of 10 single leg bounds each leg

3 sets of 10 Plyo push-up

3 sets of 10 Pullups

60s rest between sets

Alan

Alan, I appreciate your presence in this message board. I'm 54 years old and no longer compete as a runner or in any sports activity, but I work very hard to improve my fitness.

I swim four days per week. On the other days, I do a mostly free-weight workout on Tuesday (but it includes pull-ups and chin-ups). On Thursday I do a body-weight/balance workout. On Sunday I do a medicine ball/jumps (ballistic and plyometric) workout. I feel that much of my non-explosive body-weight work has great value. Yes, I'm 54 and find it hard to justify explosive work, but non-explosive dips, pull-ups, chin-ups and all manner of work on a fitness ball and BOSU work me in ways that I cannot or do not by using free weights. Yes, I would probably be a bit stronger if I switched to two free-weight workouts while alternating between my body-weight/balance workout and my medicine ball/jumps workout for the third workout each week, but I avoid overuse this way and get into some movements I would not otherwise get as frequently.

I'd do more resistance training if I didn't have to share filthy, sweaty equipment with gym rats. What are some good quad strengthening exercises that don't require a leg press machine?

Even though you addressd this to Alan I'll jump in. Youre doing the right thing by training power, studies show that as we get older we lose power unless we train for it regularly. Once a week of exisive training is necessary and enough.Your other training sessions appear to be balanced and comprehensive, you're doing everything right. Too many older athletes talk about how much they were able to bench press and dead lift when they were young but could no longer reach overhead, scratch their backs, or get up and down to the floor.

Explosive not exisive

Coach wrote:

Explosive not exisive

(Spellchecker, right?) Thanks.

filthy animal wrote:

I'd do more resistance training if I didn't have to share filthy, sweaty equipment with gym rats. What are some good quad strengthening exercises that don't require a leg press machine?

Goblet squats, back squats, and front squats come to mind.

Coach wrote:

Wait Alan, before you have someone do weight training they need to be able to control their body, they need to master body weight exercises. Before you have an athlete do explosive movements they need to be able to stabilize under control, they need to have proper balance. You shouldn't do jumping squats unless you can do basic controlled slow squats. The same holds true with push ups and any single leg exercise. These are harder than most people realize hence the number of hip and shoulder injuries.

Alan has many times stated that someone starting strength training from scratch should start with a few weeks you months of basic bodyweight work.

He answers these threads so many times that he can't possibly give a complete answer every time.

Thank you Alan and Coach. Both of you are two of the most productive posters on LRC (unless one of you is secretly a troll)

Hey, Snakes! wrote:

filthy animal wrote:

I'd do more resistance training if I didn't have to share filthy, sweaty equipment with gym rats. What are some good quad strengthening exercises that don't require a leg press machine?

Goblet squats, back squats, and front squats come to mind.

Sorry, I forgot to add my doc has forbidden me from doing squats due to an injury. TIA

filthy animal wrote:

Hey, Snakes! wrote:

Goblet squats, back squats, and front squats come to mind.

Sorry, I forgot to add my doc has forbidden me from doing squats due to an injury. TIA

Then I'd rehab your injury until you can squat. Once you can do body weight squats start slowly increasing weight.

If you can't squat safely you shouldn't be doing lunges, deadlifting, leg press or any other lower body strength exercises.

Jagwah wrote:

I've read a lot of threads but have yet to find a consensus on an appropriate routine for push-ups, pull ups, squats, lunges, etc. I'm a 16 year old HS runner running 6 days a week for roughly 50 miles and swimming twice a week, and just want to do everything in my power to get better. I am totally clueless in this area. What exetcises should I be doing, how many, and how often? Please help!!

All depends on what you want to accomplish with your strength training...

Could you please provide more detail on this basic bodyweight work? That's exactly what in looking for!

Bump, you were so close to exactly what I asked for!

Northern Star wrote:

All depends on what you want to accomplish with your strength training...

http://www.runningwritings.com/2014/07/the-different-roles-of-strength.htmlhttp://www.runningwritings.com/2015/08/designing-general-strength-circuit-for.html

Thanks for posting this. I've skimmed over it and plan to read it in more depth later.