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Why free weights or bodyweight exercises trump machines

For strength training, runners are better off using free weights or bodyweight exercises. Here's why

strength training with weights for running

There are all kinds of good reasons for runners to follow a weightlifting regime: to get faster, to round out their fitness, and to avoid the inevitable loss of muscle that comes with age. Working out with weights may also help you control your weight and maintain your bone density as you get older.

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Healthy weight loss.

But there are different ways of working out, and for runners at least, some are better than others. The reason free weights are better than machines is that they allow you to move in all directions, recruiting other muscles involved in balancing while building muscle strength. For example, squatting using free weights, a kettlebell held to your chest or just your body weight recruits your core and legs for balance, which also takes some of the strain off your knees (as opposed to a Smith-machine squat).

 

Strength work

Also, you can choose muscle-building exercises that mimic the motion of running, rather than being locked into a posture you would never actually use in running. Just be careful to use good form and not lift too much weight too early, to avoid injury.

The muscles around the knees and ankles are good examples of stabilizers you don’t want to neglect in favour of training only major muscle groups like quads, hamstrings and glutes. (This is why lunges are better for runners than the quad machine.)

Bodyweight exercises such as planks, pushups (which use your core as well as your upper body muscles) and squats are also excellent for building strength and stability, and they have the added advantage of not requiring any equipment not found in your home. Moreover, says Lee McCarron, head coach of the Halifax Road Hammers, “It’s faster, and easy to fit into a busy schedule.”

Athletic woman warming up doing weighted lunges with dumbbells workout

 

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