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Arms Like Garth - a weight-training wire

39 watchers

Gooner 31 Mar 3:03pm, 31 Mar 2025 23,374 posts	Quote Pin Gooner I agree for the most part, strength improvements will most likely be of the greatest benefit for endurance runners due to increased economy with a greater number of muscle fibres to recruit and on the whole, a lesser chance of injury. Whilst, as you say, lower reps ranges are more optimal for strength gains, they can lead to complications such as, what is currently called 'CNS fatigue' (though the exact mechanisms or if the CNS is actually even affected itself aren't yet fully understood). With more intense exercise, come greater risks of reduced performance and injury, at least in the short term. That's one of the reasons that I don't discount hypertrophy based training for runner as they can gain some benefit from increased muscle mass itself (as long as it's not too much mass that then causes a disadvantage) and it will also increase strength, just not as well as training with a more strength based plan, in the same way that training for strength will also lead to some hypertrophy. It also tends to see less chance of performance decrease or injury, on the whole. It really depends on the whole picture for the person, how well they recover from lifting heavier, what sort of running sessions they are doing alongside the weight lifting, their sleep/recovery, their diet....etc. but most importantly in a way, as you point out, their ability to train consistently over extended periods of time. I personally prefer strength based training, not because of the benefits to my running, but because I have always much preferred lifting something heavier for less reps. Sets of 10+ reps have always just felt like a chore by comparison to me. Sadly, that's not where my priorities lie at present and so I'm training mostly between 6-9 reps and to failure every set. I'm aware of the pitfalls this brings but I also find that, for me, sticking to a good periodized training plan increases my adherence.
HappyG(rrr) 31 Mar 3:20pm, 31 Mar 2025 52,315 posts	Quote Pin HappyG(rrr) Very interesting to hear all the above. Yes, I was still in a 1990s mindset of low weight, high reps for strength/speed/tone (as opposed to high weight / low reps for bulk). Interesting that strength for runners or anyone else is recommended as low reps / high weight. (I'm defining high as 12 - 20. I tend to do 15. And 3 sets.) In terms of preferences, I quite like low weight, higher reps, because it feels lower risk. But partly just being a woose. I still go to failure, so still feel that same joy/pain! Also, I'm not actually training legs for running with weights! I'm talking about core and upper body, bit of "cross train", bit of vanity! Though I don't want to hurt my back, shoulders etc. too much obv! You can't hurt your abs, which is nice (unless you have a hernie, which is more of a physiological weakness/failure). So I might go up a bit on weight, and down a bit on reps. Thanks for this folks. Fascinating! G
SPR 31 Mar 3:24pm, 31 Mar 2025 47,407 posts	Quote Pin SPR Good points made there @Gooner
Gooner 31 Mar 3:28pm, 31 Mar 2025 23,375 posts	Quote Pin Gooner Good chat altogether. @SPR Glad we could be of assistance in some way, @HappyG(rrr)
Nellers 1 Apr 11:23am, 1 Apr 2025 44,901 posts	Quote Pin Nellers Still a bit Domsy (is that a word? It is now.) today but I'm keen to re-establish the habits with strength work so I did the other preset session today that broadly works different muscle groups than the first one. These are sets of exercises mostly set by the physio to strengthen me to avoid injuries when rowing, particularly in the lower back. Session 1: Deadlift, Hip Thrust, Calf raise, inverted dumbbell row, Single dumbbell overhead lunge, press up/bench press, deadbugs Session2: Bird dogs/ Quadruped, Back squat, single leg hamstring bridge, push press, power clean I get that there's a degree of crossover between the 2 this split does seem to work quite nicely when I keep it regular in my routine.
Gobi 1 Apr 2:28pm, 1 Apr 2025 82,282 posts	Quote Pin Gobi I'm doing work between 4 and 8 reps right now and trying to do more legs but then I'm fatigued and it becomes a 2nd upper body session
EarlyRiser 1 Apr 2:52pm, 1 Apr 2025 1,619 posts	Quote Pin EarlyRiser First session with the hack squat. Definitely weird with feet in front of the barbell instead of behind, but some progress with learning the movement. Low weight first, add more next few sessions. Otherwise no improvement so far with right-hand grip.
Oranj 19 Apr 12:07pm, 19 Apr 2025 4,511 posts	Quote Pin Oranj I've been training at the same gym for 2 years now and I think I'm starting to get accepted by the regulars. One of them swapped into one of my sets today - him doing Romanian lifts (he was twice my size), me doing deadlifts. Encouraging me with "You've got good form on those deadlifts, put more on the bar". I managed two repeats of 1rep @ 90kg A bit later I got props for doing Russian twists with a sizeable plate. (They're a great exercise for torso stability in skydiving so I've worked hard on them.)