For most runners, December and January offer a natural break between training cycles. The races are winding down, mileage is dropping, and there's finally an opportunity to shift your focus away from running. Spending the offseason on a couch watching Netflix may seem nice, but I encourage runners to use this time to rebuild strength.
Why? When you are running, it is very difficult to make strength a priority. All your time and energy is focused on making progress with your runs. When you are in your offseason, you can focus on weight lifting without worrying about your running performance taking a hit.
There are two major benefits to incorporating weight lifting into your offseason.
1) Stronger Strides
Running is a repetitive movement that requires you to produce force with every stride. Stronger muscles can produce more force, which may help you generate a more powerful stride without working as hard. Improving your strength can also improve running economy (you use less energy to maintain a given pace). Over time, this can translate into better running performance.
2) Reduced Risk of Injury
Running places repetitive stress on your muscles, tendons, joints, and connective tissues. Weight lifting helps build your body's capacity to tolerate those forces. Stronger tissues and muscles can better handle the demands of running and reduce the risk of overuse injuries. Less injuries leads to less training interruptions and more overall progress.
Five Weight Lifting Fundamentals for Runners
So, how should you approach weight lifting during the offseason? Here are five things to keep in mind.
1) Lift Heavy
One of the biggest mistakes runners make in the weight room is relying ONLY on light weights and high repetitions. While muscular endurance is appropriate for certain exercises, the offseason is a great opportunity to develop neural strength.
Incorporate compound exercises such as squats and deadlifts with a rep range of 3 to 6 repetitions. This heavy weight improves your nervous system's ability to recruit muscle fibers to produce force.
Remember, the goal isn't to turn every workout into an endurance competition.
2) Incorporate Single Leg Exercises
Running is essentially a series of single leg movements. It makes sense to include single leg exercises within your program. Single leg exercises help address any imbalances that may not be apparent when doing bilateral leg exercises. They will develop hip stability, coordination, and control in each leg individually.
Some of my favorites include Bulgarian split squats, forward and reverse lunges, single leg Romanian deadlifts, and single leg hamstring curls.
3) Increase Your Training Volume in Phases
Don't go from running five days a week to suddenly crushing your legs in the weight room. Your body needs time to adapt to the stress of heavy weights. The key is progressive overload.
Spend the first few weeks establishing a foundation. Start with manageable weights, moderate volume, and exercises you can perform confidently. As your body adapts, gradually increase your weights, repetitions, and sets.
Once you've established a solid foundation, you can begin pushing heavier compound lifts and incorporating more explosive movements, such as jumps and other power exercises.
4) Track Your Workouts
When you run, you track your mileage, pace, and heart rate to make sure you are making progress. A similar approach should be taken with weight lifting.
Keep a record of your exercises, sets, repetitions, and weights. This allows you to see whether you're getting stronger and helps you make informed adjustments to your program.
The offseason is a relatively short window, so we want to make the most of it. Having a plan and tracking your progress gives your training a purpose, instead of guessing every time you walk into the gym.
5) Deprioritize Your Running
This might be the hardest adjustment for runners to make. If you want to make meaningful strength gains, you need to shift some of your time, energy, and recovery toward weight lifting.
That means dialing back your running volume and intensity. You don't need to stop running altogether, but you should give yourself enough recovery to make progress in the weight room.
Think of it as temporarily changing your priorities. You're not losing your running fitness; you're just trying to maintain a solid base. Instead, you’re investing in the strength that will support your next training cycle.
Need Help Building Your Offseason Strength?
Your offseason is more than just a break from racing. It's an opportunity to address weaknesses, build muscle, and develop the strength that may have taken a backseat during months of running.
You don't need to spend hours in the gym or follow an overly complicated program. Two or three well-structured strength sessions per week can go a long way.
If you want to get stronger, but not sure where to start, I'd love to help. My One-on-One Online Coaching provides a custom training program built around your goal, schedule, experience, and available equipment. I’ll be there to keep you accountable every step of the way.
Learn more about online coaching HERE.
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