Ask The Coach: Too Little Too Late???

As I re-enter PT for mild ITB Syndrome (damn shoes--well, damn me for not replacing them sooner), I am peppered with questions about doing too much. Most popular among them is the following:

Q: Should I scale back my leg work in the gym when I amp up my miles?

A: No. The secret to your success is the combination of long runs and your weekly (or bi-weekly if you reeeealllly mean it) leg workouts in the gym. One keeps you health so you can do the other! It's really that simple.

However, there is no need to go hog wild and kill your legs every single time you go to the gym. Adding 5 pounds to a leg exercise isn't going to make you so sore that you can't walk the next day and is an easy way to build strength without sabotaging your runs. You should be adding weight incrementally as you become more and more comfortable with your exercises and less sore from performing them.

The most important area that runners tend to ignore (and then complain about ad nauseum) is the glutes. Oh, your hips are sore. Oh, you can't sit down on your buns after a hill workout. Oh, your ITB is soooo tight. All butt problems, people. So many muscle groups attach at the hip/glute area that it seems insane that the vast majority of runners regularly scoff at the idea of performing simple lunges. Really?

Let me put it plain and simple for all of you out there who may be confused:

Running does not make your legs stronger. Period. Sorry to be the bearer of such frustrating news. I know, I was under the illusion that the more I ran, the stronger I would get. Not so. If you want to be strong, hit up the gym, my friends. If you don't know what to do, please reference my first post with all the exercises you need. If you're still confused, email me directly. I want to help you to be less afraid of the gym and leg exercises! Help me help you :)

In conclusion, dear runners, hit up the gym more, not less. Don't be afraid of the soreness or a little fatigue. You are in training for a very serious athletic event and you should expect all of this. Build in those mandatory rest days and get it done on the pavement and in the gym on the other days. Go forth and run!

Run hard!
Coach Abby