Strength Training for the Tely 10: 4 Exercises You Should Be Doing

If you’ve had a Tely 10 prep spoiled by shin splints, knee pain, or plantar fasciitis then you know how frustrating it can be trying to get rid of pain once it starts. Mixing in some strength training along with your runs this year might be the secret to hitting a pain-free personal best, and making it to the post-run brunch with fresh knees and a medal around your neck. You don’t have to wait for the snow to be totally gone before starting your Tely 10 prep.

How Do Overuse Injuries Happen?

Most running overuse injuries boil down to progressing your running too fast after time off - going from 0 to 100 too quickly. The everlasting Newfoundland winter creates the perfect storm for this - six months of slushy pavement means six months off of running for most people. After that much time totally off, even the first spring time 2-3km trot can be too fast of an increase. Your lungs might be able to handle it, but your muscles, tendons, and joints in most cases won’t be able to keep up with all the impact of running that you haven’t been exposed to all winter. This can create the beginnings of an overuse injury - which won’t get any better on its own as you increase your mileage.

How Does Strength Training Help Running?

Luckily, your neighbourhood gym has a roof and heating all year round, so you can start working on becoming a more resilient runner right away. A well designed strength training program will strengthen areas that are vulnerable to overuse injuries, helping your muscles handle more of the forces of running and taking a load off of your connective tissues and joints [1]. Getting a head start on your Tely prep with some strength training before piling on the kilometres will have you better prepared, a little more resilient, and ready to hit the road when (if..?) this winter ends.

What Should I Include in My Strength Training?

For a lot of runners, the distance you can run will be limited by your joints and muscles before your lungs and aerobic fitness. What you include in your strength training as a runner should be geared at building an overall strong and resilient body, while giving some extra attention to areas that are heavily taxed with lots of running. That way you can remove muscle and joints as your limiting factor, and just focus on improving your fitness through running gradually longer.

4 Exercises You Should Include

1. Jump Rope on 2 Feet

You can think of 2-footed jump rope as a stepping stone to running - it strengthens all the same things running will (like your capacity to handle impact, foot, calf, and knee strength, and aerobic fitness) - but on the support of two legs, not just one at a time like you do when you're running.

If you can work up to around 10 minutes of consecutive 2-foot jump rope, your joints, muscles, and tendons will be a lot better prepared to take on that first 10 minute run - which is essentially just jumping from one leg to the other for 10 minutes.

Instead of going from 0 to 100 with your first run, 2-foot jump rope takes you to 50 first. Then as your body adapts to handle more kilometres, the jump-rope can be taken out of your workouts.

2. Split Squat Variations

(Or other single-leg squat variations)

The hip and knee are two of the most commonly injured areas in recreational runners [2] and split squats will strengthen almost every muscle surrounding these joints. They strengthen the hip abductors which may play a role in preventing IT band syndrome [3], and the quads which may play a role in preventing knee pain [4]. By strengthening these muscles, it prepares them to handle more load, and rely less on passive structures like tendons, bones, and ligaments that take longer to repair. Strong legs make a strong runner.

3. Calf Raise Variations

(And variations - single leg, double leg, bodyweight, weighted, machine)

Strong calves may serve a similar role to any strong lower body muscle when running - the muscle can take on more load so that connective tissues don’t have to. But calf raises have a secondary effect of being a great calf stretch in the bottom portion of the exercise. Those with limited calf mobility seem to show a higher prevalence of developing plantar fasciitis [5], so working on an exercise that both stretches and strengthens the calf muscles before going out and racking up the kilometers seems like a no-brainer.

4. Tibialis Anterior Raise Variations

(Including wall tibialis anterior raises, KB tib ant raise, DB tib ant. Raise, band tib ant raise)

The tibialis anterior muscle runs down the front of your shin, and functions to pull the foot up towards the knee, preventing your foot from “slapping” the ground when running. It shows an even higher level of activity than other muscles surrounding the ankle when running which may make it especially vulnerable to overuse injuries like shin splints [6]. Strengthening the tibialis anterior can help guard against injuries of the shin and lower leg, which are another one of the most commonly injured areas among recreational runners [2].

The Workout Template

While these are all great exercises to support a successful Tely 10, any athletes’ strength training is built on a foundation of becoming a well-moving and healthy “human-being” - then all the “athlete-" or "runner- stuff” can only be built on top of that. It will be very tough to be a great runner if you don’t move well as a human-being first. So those 4 exercises should be built into a well rounded program, alongside exercises that cover all the movement bases that will make you a healthy human, like in this template:

Tely 10 Prep Workout Template:

Warmup: 2-Foot Jump Rope (gradually increasing from 1-10 mins) followed by your normal “specific” warmup.

A1) Split Squat Variation
3 sets of 6-10 reps per leg

A2) Calf Raise Variation
3 sets of 10-12 reps

A3) Rowing Exercise Variation
3 sets of 8-12 reps

B1) Hamstring Exercise Variation
3 sets 6-10 reps

B2) Tibialis Anterior Raise Variation
3 sets of 10-12 reps

B3) Pressing Exercise Variation
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Using the Template

Each slot gives an exercise category - choose an exercise in each category that suits your needs, and you’ll have an individualized program that will help you get stronger and crush the Tely.

For example someone in their mid-20’s who is a frequent lifter, worried about their ability to maintain strength and size while preparing for the Tely 10 might pick a Barbell Split Squat because it is heavily loadable, and can be progressed similar to a barbell squat. A middle aged person with some lifting experience who works a desk job might choose a Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat because elevating the rear foot will stretch the quads and hip flexors of the back leg - which are commonly tight with people who work desk jobs.

If you’re not sure which exercises suit your needs best, I’m happy to help out - send me a message here. You can also come in to see me for a free first session at EC Fit, where we run through this workout, try out different movement options, and see which are the best choices for you to work on during your Tely training.

The workout is structured in circuits of 3 exercises (do your first set of A1, then A2, and then A3, take what rest you need, and repeat that pattern for all 3 sets of “A”. Then repeat the pattern for B1, B2, and B3). I like this structure for runners in particular because they typically can’t be bothered to strength train, or to take rest between sets when they do. It keeps things time efficient and entertaining to occupy the runner-brain.

Book in For a Free Session

A little bit of well-structured and well-thought out strength training can go a long way towards keeping your body running smoothly (pun intended). If you’re in the beginning stages of your Tely 10 preparation and want to get set up with strength training that will have you finishing the race stronger than you started - I want to help you do it. Send me message here or on Instagram to book a time with me at EC Fit for a free first session. We can tailor that workout template above to you, and design a strength training plan that will help keep you in running shape all the way across the finish line to your post-Tely brunch.

References:

[1] Lauersen, J. B., Andersen, T. E., & Andersen, L. B. (2018). Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: A systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(24), 1557–1563. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099078

[2] Kluitenberg, B., van Middelkoop, M., Diercks, R., & van der Worp, H. (2015). What are the differences in injury proportions between different populations of runners? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 45(8), 1143–1161. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0331-x

[3] Mucha, M. D., Caldwell, W., Schlueter, E. L., Walters, C., & Hassen, A. (2017). Hip abductor strength and lower extremity running related injury in distance runners: A systematic review. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(4), 349–355. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2016.09.002

[4] Kooiker, L., Van De Port, I. G. L., Weir, A., & Moen, M. H. (2014). Effects of physical therapist–guided quadriceps-strengthening exercises for the treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 44(6). doi:10.2519/jospt.2014.4127

[5] Riddle, D. L., Pulsic, M., Pidcoe, P., & Johnson, R. E. (2003). Risk factors for plantar fasciitis. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery-American Volume, 85(5), 872–877. doi:10.2106/00004623-200305000-00015

[6] Reber, L., Perry, J., & Pink, M. (1993). Muscular control of the ankle in running. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 21(6), 805–810. doi:10.1177/036354659302100608