Discussion: strength training

why do it?

i see benefits from doing some core/torsal strength exercises for terrain running. what else is necessary? does running up and down hills not suffice?

how much/often per week (minimum/ideal)? where would it in with the runnning schedule (e.g. not straight after a long hard run...)?

i'm curious - some of the canadians seem to be into it (salal, hammer...)

The research in exercise physiology shows that the training response is extremely specific. I understand this to mean that, all else being equal, one's time is best spent training the activity that one wants to be good at. In other words, if you want to be good at orienteering, practice orienteering. If you want to be good at lifting weights, then lift weights. I think the argument for strength training and stretching is that they directly address/change conditions of the body which make one prone to injury. (When stretching has been studied, it has been observed to cause no improvement in running economy (efficiency), and if I'm remembering right, one study even suggested that stretching hurts running economy. Whether or not this applies also to orienteering is anyone's guess.) I think the argument for cross training is that, for a given amount of activity time (training volume) per week, one is less likely to get injured if one splits the time between a variety of activities than if one does just one activity, which is more likely to cause overuse injuries. The bottom line is that, if you can spend all the training time you have available on the activity you are trying to perform well at without getting injured, then that is your best course to reaching your peak performance. If you need to do other things to avoid getting injured, then it's probably a worthwhile compromise.

[The above opinion is based on a series of articles that a friend of mine, Greg Crowther, wrote titled, Research Based Coaching. His area of post-graduate study is exercise physiology, and he wrote the articles addressing a variety of training-related questions in response to what he observed to be the prevalence of running coaching advice that appeared to be semi-superstitious, based purely on anecdotal evidence, or at least not based on hard data from controlled studies.]

P.S. - I won't fault anyone for cross-training (including strength training). I'm the poster child for cross training, which I do for fun, to avoid injury and fatigue/burnout, and to give myself some variety to maintain my level of motivation.

ndobbs asked why do it?
Wash-board abs and monster pipes baby - any other questions? Seriously though I believe core strength to be very important for woods running. Gympa or circuit training in Sweden is a common winter excerise to build strength for woods running.

I agree with Hammer.

The angle you are running at requires strength in different muscle groups. Running uphill requires stronger hip flexors than running downhill etc.

By adding a few leg strength exercizes you can help strengthen muscles that you'd otherwise have to run uphill and downhill in the forest to work.

I guess if one doesn't live near forests with hills, then one is relegated to weight training. I used to do a lot of weight training, and while I noticed my hill running improve, I also think my economy and coordination got worse. My hypothesis is that, since the weight training used the muscle groups in isolation and often at a slower speed than a run, the training was not as specific and therefore not as beneficial as simply running hills.

Well, there are several aspects to fitness that I think an orienteer needs to work on:
- Aerobic Capacity = basically the area under your vo2 max curve
- Aerobic Power (more important for shorter distances?) = the maximum ability to do aerobic work, ie height of vo2 max curve
- Muscular Endurance = ability to perform repeated contractions of a muscle

The Anaerobic system is basically useless for us (except maybe that final spurt at the end of a race)

Now, where strength training comes in is Muscular endurance. Since we are not looking to be able to bench press a large amount (low reps, more weight), we need to do high repetitions, low weight, to condition the muscles to longer sustained effort.

Although I have been seen in a weight room (not recently though...) I tended to do things that were lower weights higher reps, and also things like steps with weights, core, and stretching. But I do agree that some of the machines do isolate certain muscle groups, which may not be as useful to us orienteers.
In sept/oct I joined a training thing where we were made to do many different types of exercises: Lunges, tons and tons of squats, other weird walks and crawls.... I found that the muscles in my legs were often sore, but eventually adapted, I think it really improved the strength in my legs (or at least my ability to do tons and tons of squats).
Strength training where it is partially aerobic as well is good (sprints across a field with many sit ups in between...). Hill training is basically a form of strength training too.

On the topic of arm strength:
Ever try running with your arms behind your head (especially sprinting across a field)? We definetly use our arms when running (some more than others). They can contribute power to your running, but I think this matters less in terrain running...

On the topic of stretching:
If you cannot lift your leg over the log, how will you jump it/get over it? I have read somewhere that it is not that pertinent to orienteers to stretch since most of our injuries are acute. However flexibility contributes to agility, a useful skill in orienteering I believe!

The value of weight training has been much debated. The progression in each sport has gone something like this:

1) Denial and ridicule.
2) Misguided and failed adoption.
3) Correct application resulting in some surprisingly good results.
4) General acceptance.
5) Demolotion of every world record set prior to step 4.

In sports with a high anaerobic component, the world marks set prior to weight training are routinely bested by high school athletes.

Running and cycling are two of the holdout sports that haven't yet made it to step 4. I think the reason is that both of these sports are limited almost entirely by the cardiovascular system. Therefore gains in the skeletal muscles have less impact on performance. This allows the skeptics to cling to their positions for much longer.

I would say that if time is limited, Mr. Bone is correct in advising that most, if not all, training be directed towards the specific activity. However, I am quite confident that the day will come when serious competitors (who are already maxing out the amount of running they can do) will look back at the pre-weight training days with nostagic amusement.

A quick note on the low reps/high reps debate (and on this point I'm merely offering an opinion from experience - I don't have studies to back this up). The purpose of weight training is to increase the strength of the muscle. This is most efficiently done with a lot of resistance. Low rep weight workouts do not necessarily result in significant increases in muscle bulk - when I was cycling semi-pro, I raised my squat from 400 to 600 pounds while taking my body weight from 178 to 172.

The important thing is to move the weight fairly quickly. Isometrics and negatives will result in bulking up if done A LOT. But with normal positive resistance training, you can do real quality workouts with a lot of weight without adding much mass. Nobody turns into a bodybuilder by accident.

flicking through RBC, I think it was the strength training article, they referred to a study involving finnish elite orienteers.

Apparently these guys were averaging 18 minutes for a 5km race... now I think Jani Lakanen was doing that when he wwas 12 (was it an o-sport article?), but perhaps he was an exception.

In any case, the non-control group were sent off to do lots of strength/speed work and amazingly knocked 30 seconds off their 5km time... is anybody else unsurprised???

so far, my opinion hasn't been changed too much - core strength work is very important, but that leg work say is helpful but perhaps inessential, at least in the short to medium term, if enough hill-running is done. Having said that I lose time climbing walls/logs/etc...

ps mike, what are monster pipes?? and would i know one if i saw one?

I agree with a lot of what has been said about strength training. Here is my take as a conditioning coach: Traditional strength training can be a drain on the precious energy and time each endurance athlete has to spend on their sport (cycling and swimming excepted). Doing squats and lunges may improve strength but the resulting fatigue and muscle soreness will take away from the next run workout. Also, some open chain exercises like leg extensions or leg curls can actually increase the risk of injury by throwing off the synchronicity of muscle firing (essentially, you are developing strong, but stupid muscles); just a fraction of a second delay in synchronicity can lead to hamstring or other muscle tears.

All of that said, I feel that strength training has an important role to play in rehabilitation and muscle balance restoration. These exercises would be very specific to whatever issue the athlete was addressing. Strength training could also be of use to an athlete who might have a great VO2, but poor strength relative to peer athletes.

Also, I agree that core conditioning is important, but that traditional crunches are not the best way to go. There are a lot of “functional” exercises you can do with pulleys and stability balls which will give you a much better bang for your buck. And let’s not forget to train the low back!

Now, if you want to increase the strength in your legs, why not throw on a 10-40 lb pack and run some hills? This maintains specificity while adding a load that will induce strength increases. It will also hit the lactate and alactate systems to varying degrees, depending on how long and steep the hill is.

On that note, I disagree with salal that the anaerobic system is useless for orienteers. Unlike a road runner, cyclist, or triathlete, an orienteer cannot strike a perfect rhythm and stay at a specific percent of VO2; an orienteer dips into the alcatate system every time he/she jumps over a log, or makes a quick turn on a trail; he/she dips into the lactate system every time they climb a steep hill; and a sprint race will derive a significant portion of energy production from the lactate system. It is so much harder to maintain a steady O2 demand. Now, both alactate and lactate systems are paid back aerobically, but if you don’t have theses two systems developed, your performance will be hindered. Orienteers train these two systems naturally in their running. Would targeting them specifically improve performance? I think so.

Flexibility is a very controversial topic. The research is often contradictory as to how effective it is in adding to sport performance, when it should be done, and how it should be done. This is one big topic! An orienteer obviously doesn’t need the flexibility of a gymnast, but he/she does need to be able to jump over logs etc. So there should be an optimal level of flexibility. How you would determine that, I have no idea. I personally believe that anything but a very gentle stretch before or after running can increase damage to cold or tight muscles. I think stretching should be done all on its own. I also think that massage may be just as good as stretching.

And on this note, has anyone heard of “The Stick”. Lance Armstrong’s team used it last summer to massage out post exercise metabolites and to loosen up the muscles. Does anyone have experience with it?

P.S. You only have to see Mike's monster pipes once to know what they are.

Here is an article abstract that claims that explosive strength training improves 5Km times and running economy.

http://coachsci.sdsu.edu/csa/vol103/paavolai.htm

Might be worth a try.

As for monster pipes, don't bother looking for them on the Hammer. Probably Big Bad Brent Langbakk will be impressive with all the early season skiing he's doing.
Didn't some of Canada's National Team in the 70s resemble a rugby team, possibly relying on intimidation, ie. Steve Pearson, Gord Hunter and others.

Beowulf makes some good points. A good weight workout does leave you flat for a couple days. That's why I do my heavy lifting during the off season. I also strongly recommend doing any heavy work with free weights rather than machines. This reduces (but not entirely eliminates) the "strong, stupid muscle" problem.

Running with a pack is a good strength workout (something we adventure racers have to do quite a bit of). For orienteering, loaded hill workouts would probably be quite sufficient. I lift for the cycling and paddling legs.

a note of caution:

Be very, very careful if you are considering running or running hills with weights - this can be quick and easy way to screw up your knees/stringy bits... i'm not saying don't do it, just start with little extra weight and allow for recovery

As a bit of anecdotal evidence, I was perhaps in my best shape ever in the fall of 1991, after having spent two months of the summer in Europe primarily doing two things: 1) Orienteering about every other day, and b) Walking around, rather slowly, with a backpack that was close to half my body weight.

In cross-country skiing, core body strength is very important. A strong core enables one to maintain good body position/posture, which enables one to use the skiing-specific muscles effectively.

I noticed an article in Runners World on Alan Webb a few months back showing him doing core strength exercises and saying that it was extremely important for his track running.

My guess is that orienteering running is somewhere in between x-c skiing and track running in style/need for core strength. In any case, I would think that a strong core would definitely help running ability in difficult terrain and also lower injury risk.

I thought JJ's anecdote was interesting. This summer after I didn't qualify for WOC, Pippa and I did a week long backpacking trip which was awesome but I didn't think it would do anything for my running speed. Especially at that point in the season. I had an easy week of running after that and then I ran the local trail marathon. I ran about 10mins faster than my goal and 15 faster than what I thought was realistic. I was totally surprised.
thoughts about why?

Sore muscles? Read this article in yesterday's New York Times that quotes Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club member Mark Tarnopolsky

http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/mac_inthenews_single....

One of the things about weight training to remember is that it represents a genre more than a specific. What your goals are dictates what you ought to be doing with the weights. Think about it as part of a program. As for myself I am unquestionably better at an activity when I make the time to think about my weaknesses and design a weight program strengthen them compatible with the underlying activity. I was in a weight room 3x/week for 45 minutes when I broke 15 for 5k but mostly core and lower body with high reps. By example of high I mean 40-50 reps x 3 sets on the leg press.

When I moved out to CA and started surfing I did a ton of shoulder and chest work. I didn’t run very well or very much but man could I catch the big left at Blacks and I did manage 50 dips once on a beer bet.

The value I get in injury reduction is building the strength and loading the muscles in a low risk situation. At maximum fatigue in the weight room you don’t tumble down a hillside/capsize/endo… nevertheless you build the strength to avoid doing same when it matters and the situation is more precarious.

As far as the shadow goes my supposition is that the value was more in the taper than anything else. The “easy week” in particular gives me this opinion.

It's also possible to combine strength and endurance. When I trained for XC Skiing we would often do what we called 'circuit training' where we would rotate between 5-8 high rep. exercizes with little (10-20 seconds) rest in between.

We would even do anarobic jumping exercizes for leg strength - I think some of these may apply to orienteering on steep slopes.

When I lived in Minneapolis I used to do 7:30 minute long double-poling intervals up a long, gradual hill on the south bank of the Mississippi. (Keeping my legs completely still.)