How to Gain Distance in Running? Pick Up a Weight!

How can we gain distance in our running program? One of the cardinal rules of training is that you always focus your energy doing the exercise that you want to enhance your performance on.

In the study, the effects of concurrent explosive strength and endurance training on aerobic and anaerobic performance and neuromuscular characteristics were studied in 25 distance runners, who were split into an experimental group (13 runners) and a control group (12 runners).

All of the runners trained for eight weeks with the same total training volume, but in the experimental group 19% of the endurance training time was replaced by explosive-type training, including sprints and strength drills. After the eight-week training programme, all the runners were evaluated for various aspects of performance. Some of the findings:

*Compared to the controls, the maximal speed during tests improved in the experimental group by as much as 3.0%.
* The increase in thickness of quadriceps muscles after eight weeks was nearly double in the experimental group compared to the controls;
* Importantly, the maximal speed during an aerobic running test, the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and the running economy (how efficiently the runners used oxygen to for any given running speed) remained unchanged in both groups.

The take-away: if you are an endurance athlete whose event also demands brief bursts of high-intensity work, substituting some of your endurance training (up to 20%) with anaerobic work needn’t necessarily involve a drop in aerobic performance, and may even give you a competitive edge.

And if you aren’t competing… something to think about. It may improve the workout as you stress your body out to reach maximum potential.