Vista, CA     760-216-6047
Olympus Movement
  • Home
  • Naturopathic Medicine
    • Naturopathic Services
    • Hormone Optimization
  • Performance Fitness
  • Physical Therapy
    • Sports Rehab/ PT
    • Sport Specific Training
    • Post ACL Surgery
    • Gymnastics Back Pain
    • Ankle Sprains
    • Shoulder/Overhead Pain
    • Concussion Management
    • Sports Myofascial Therapy
  • Gym Membership Options
  • Wellness Store
  • Staff
  • Contact
    • Contact Info For PT >
      • Free Discovery Visit
      • Ask About Availability & Cost
      • Free Trial Session
  • Blog
  • The Olympus Store
  • Home
  • Naturopathic Medicine
    • Naturopathic Services
    • Hormone Optimization
  • Performance Fitness
  • Physical Therapy
    • Sports Rehab/ PT
    • Sport Specific Training
    • Post ACL Surgery
    • Gymnastics Back Pain
    • Ankle Sprains
    • Shoulder/Overhead Pain
    • Concussion Management
    • Sports Myofascial Therapy
  • Gym Membership Options
  • Wellness Store
  • Staff
  • Contact
    • Contact Info For PT >
      • Free Discovery Visit
      • Ask About Availability & Cost
      • Free Trial Session
  • Blog
  • The Olympus Store

How Strength Training Can Make You Better at Running

2/2/2022

0 Comments

 
What is strength training and why should you care?
     Strength training is a type of exercise that improves muscular fitness through isolation of either a specific muscle or a muscle group by adding resistance through the use of equipment such as: free weights, resistance bands, machines, body weight and more. There are many different ways to strength train and a ton of benefits that can be obtained when done properly and consistently. 
Picture
What does strength training have to do with running?
     Strength training offers a ton of benefits to runners such as: more body control, core strength, stability, injury prevention, and an increase in overall speed. In addition, strength training can also help athletes with what is known as the mind-body connection. When athletes are actively thinking about the exercises they are performing, it has a direct effect on the difficulty of the program and the results. For example, if I tell two athletes to perform 10 squats and one goes through them as fast as possible while the other focuses on their breath, core engagement, foot placement, and where they feel the tension, one athlete is going to get much more out of those squats than the other. This is a great example of how the mind-body connection requires more overall body control and awareness. Furthermore, as an athlete progresses through a structured program they will see strength gains over time which has a direct relationship to an increase in speed. This is because strength training the lower body allows a person to push something (like their body) faster. Not only does it make a person faster at their sport, it helps with core stability and core strength especially when we train in different planes of movement. Having a strong core is especially important when running because it allows us to control our body as it moves through space at different speeds and directions.  
​
The single leg squat and why it matters
The single leg squat offers a great deal of benefits because it requires the athlete to control the knee bending aspect of the movement. If we train an athlete’s single leg squat, then we will see an improvement in the stride because of the carry-over from the movement to the stride of the run. If we look at the bend of the knee in terms of running you will see that we land, the knee bends, then the knee extends. Thus when we work on the control in the single leg squat then we get better running mechanics during our stride as stated by Dr. Victoria Sekely. In addition to the single leg squat, there are other forms of squatting that can and should be incorporated into an athlete's strength training program such as back squats. Back squats are good for adding heavier loads and can be used to add variation to any program. For example, the back squat can also be performed as a tempo thus increasing the time under tension, and they can also be performed (at lighter weight) as a plyometric exercise to help with explosiveness. These slight changes in the squat pattern can help add variation to any strength training program. ​
The deadlift
The deadlift is a very important movement to incorporate into a strength training program especially if an athlete is trying to improve their running. This movement loads the posterior chain which includes all of the powerhouse muscles such as: the back muscles, glutes, and hamstrings. Dr. Sekely states that the posterior chain muscles allow you to sprint and push forward into your stride which is why it is so important to train different hinging movements. She even ranks it as one of the top five must have movements in a runners strength program. Equally important to the deadlift is the single leg RDL. The single leg RDL offers a different variation of the hinging movement pattern, in order to increase the difficulty by adding stability, balance, and control. Both the traditional deadlift and single leg RDL should be incorporated into every athlete's strength training program not only for improvements in their sport, but for injury prevention too. ​
Where do I start?
It can be tricky getting into a new program especially if you don’t know how to properly perform certain movements or how they should feel. Body weight exercises are a great starting point for any athlete that is new to strength training. Start by learning how to perform different movement patterns by doing bodyweight only. This means you don’t need any equipment because you are just learning the basics and it keeps it very low risk. As you get comfortable in the movements, you can start by adding resistance through the use of bands, household items, or light weights. For examples on how to perform different movements you can go to the Olympus Movement Youtube page where there is a library of videos that show how to perform different movements including the ones mentioned in this blog: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPpYLgbPGKU49h1FuiX0Mw/videos. ​
Do your teens / youth athletes need a positive community to stay fit and improve athletic performance?

We offer Performance Fitness classes, Team Sports Performance Classes and Private Sessions. 

Call to schedule a tour of our facility and meet with one of our amazing Performance Coaches!
Phone: (760) 216-6047
Email: info@olympusmovment.com
Olympus Movement Performance
North County San Diego
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author: Annemarie Alf

    "We Specialize In Optimizing Teen And Active Adult Lives In North County San Diego By Addressing The WHOLE Person.  We offer A Holistic, Integrative Approach To Performance And Wellness That Will Assess And Address The Root Causes That Lead To Pain, Hormonal Imbalances, Fatigue, Weight Gain And/ Or Decreased Performance."

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    September 2016
    June 2016
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Ankle Sprain
    Anti Inflammatory Diet
    Anti-inflammatory Diet
    Athletes
    Athletic Injury
    Botox And Fillers
    Cash Based PT
    Cholesterol
    Cold
    Core
    Core Stability
    Crossfit
    Cupping Therapy
    Cycling
    Exercise
    Flu
    FMS Or SFMA
    Food
    Gluten And Dairy Free
    Gym Memberships
    Gymnast
    Gymnastics
    Headaches
    Health
    Holiday Season
    Hormone Optimization
    Hormones
    Hydration
    Ice
    Inflammation
    Injecting Nutrients
    Injuries
    Injury
    In The News
    Lipids
    Low Back Pain
    Mobility
    Movement
    Nutrition
    Nutrition Plan
    Olympus Movement Physical Therapy
    Pain
    Pain Relief
    Peanut T-Spine
    Physical Therapist
    Physical Therapy
    Post-injury
    Power
    Recovery
    Runner
    Runners
    Running
    Skin Health
    Sleep
    Sleep Health
    Sprains
    Sprints
    Strength Training
    Stress Management
    Thoracic Mobility
    Training
    Unbalanced Hormones
    Vitamin Injection
    Vitamins
    Workout

    RSS Feed



Olympus Movement Performance

Address: 
1281 Liberty Way, Suite A, Vista, CA 92081

Phone Number: 760.216.6047
Fax Number: 760.216.6159


Email: 
info@olympusmovement.com

Office Hours: 
​Mon-Thursday: 8a-8p
Fri: 8a-5p
Sat: By Appt Only    
​Sun: Closed

    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to Newsletter

Privacy Policy (click here) 

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
All information on this website  is intended for instruction and informational purposes only. The authors are not responsible for any harm or injury that may result. Significant injury risk is possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied on this website. 
© Olympus Movement Performance All Rights Reserved