Benefits of Strength & Conditioning for Runners

Benefits of S&C for runners

Incorporating a simple strength and conditioning training plan into your running programme will help you keep injury free whilst making you stronger and improving your running efficiency. What does this mean? Essentially it will help you get faster!

So why as runners do we miss this crucial part of our training out and then get annoyed with the physio when they tell us to work on our glutes? I mean it’s our fault that we have been neglecting them! I think it is because if we are not out on the road running it doesn’t feel like we are training for some reason. 

If you don’t have time to fit in a S&C session into your week at the moment you are better off dropping one of your easy runs and doing a S&C session instead or better doing it straight after or before an easy run and combing the sessions. 

What are the benefits of S&C?

• Injury Prevention – Injuries unfortunately are part of a runner’s life but with S&C we can stress and strengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones in our bodies to be able to be more resilient with the impact and stresses that running puts our bodies under. Additionally, stronger muscles and connective tissues tend to repair quicker when they do get injured so you can bounce back quicker!
• Improved flexibility – Focusing on exercises that follow a runners movement path and take the muscle through its full range of motion will aid in mobility and flexibility of the structure allowing your muscles to have a greater range to work with which will in the example of your hips lengthen your stride and make you faster!
• Strengthen bones – Strength training leads to increased bone density resulting in stronger bones that are more resilient to injury. This is especially important with female runners who’s risks of osteoporosis and stress fracture is greater than males.
• Increased performance - Speed and endurance are improved by fundamental muscle strength. All activities require force production and incorporating S&C into your programme is the easiest way to improve these qualities quickly.

So, if S&C is so important and a quick way to help see those performance gains that you are trying to achieve on the road then join SCY for Runners. Do our session once a week and start to see those improvements. I have planned the sessions specifically for runners and with just one S&C session a week lasting between 30 – 45 minutes max you should be able to find the time to squeeze it into your weekly routine. Get involved and improve your running today! 

To find out more head over to www.carlamolinaro.com/scy