3 Common Weight-Training Mistakes Runners Should Avoid
Here, Fitzgerald shares some common weight-lifting mistakes to avoid:
→Going too heavy: The weight room is no place for ego, so check it at the door. “Not every lift has to be super heavy and super hard. Don’t risk injury trying to be a hero in the weight room,” he says.
→Lifting too light: On the other hand, if you’re always lifting low weight for high reps, you’re building endurance in the weight room. That’s a fine place to start if you’re new to weight training, but you want to work toward going heavier for fewer reps. “Runners work on endurance all the time with every run. The goal with weight training needs to be strength and power,” Fitzgerald says.
→Focusing on specific body parts: “Runners don’t need to lift that often, for as long, nor isolate individual muscles. You can lift full-body twice per week for 30 to 60 minutes,” Fitzgerald says. You’ll get everything you need with that setup.
Below are nine weight-training exercises that are the most beneficial for runners according to Holder and Fitzgerald. To build your own workout, you can choose one from each area (upper body, lower body, and core) and create a circuit of three moves. Each move is demonstrated by Christi Marraccini, instructor and head of production at NEO U.
For a quick cheat sheet of moves, scroll to the bottom of this article and pin, share, or screenshot the workout.
Works chest and core muscles
How to do it:
Beginners: Use your own body weight
Advanced: Add a weighted plate (15-35 pounds) on back
Works back and core muscles
How to do it:
Beginners: Use your own body weight
Advanced: Use 10- to 25-pound dumbbells
Works back of shoulder and rhomboid (mid back) muscles
How to do it:
Beginners: Use 5-pound dumbbells
Advanced: Use 10- to 15-pound dumbbells
Works all muscles of the core, especially the transverse abdominis, and shoulders
How to do it:
Beginners: Use body weight
Advanced: Add a weighted plate (10-25 pounds) on your back
Works abdominal muscles, particularly the rectus abdominis
How to do it:
Beginners: Use body weight
Advanced: Add a 10- to 25-pound medicine ball between ankles
Works core muscles, including obliques
How to do it:
Beginners: Use 5-pound dumbbell
Advanced: Use 15-pound+ dumbbell
Works hamstrings, glutes, back, and core
How to do it:
Beginners: Use 15- to 25-pound weights (make sure you master the hinge motion first)
Advanced: Use 25+ pound weights or a weighted barbell
Works quads, thighs, and glute muscles
How to do it:
Beginners: Use 10- to 25-pound dumbbells (or bodyweight if you haven’t done a lunge before)
Advanced: Use 25-pound+ dumbbells
Works glutes and hamstrings
How to do it:
Beginners: Use bodyweight
Advanced: Add a 10-pound weighted plate or dumbbell to hips, hold in place with hands
Images: Julia Hembree Smith
Amy Schlinger is a health and fitness writer and editor based in New York City whose work has appeared in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, The New York Post, Self, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and more; The National Academy for Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) is extremely passionate about healthy living and can often be found strength training at the gym when she isn’t interviewing trainers, doctors, medical professionals, nutritionists, or pro athletes for stories.