Link of the Day: The Effect of Squats on Distance Running Performance
The Effect of Squats on Distance Running Performance
Distance runners have all heard the myths or opinions that back squats are bad for distance running. Many people and coaches believe in order to become good or increase performance in distance running you need to stay away from back squatting and just increase your mileage for the week. Unfortunately, this is a mistaken concept by many people today. In reality, the back squat can be beneficial and effective for distance running. When you think about it, most of the muscles being used for the back squat and distance running are the same such as gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The beneficial effects that the back squat has on distance running are reduced risk of injury, increase in performance, and running posture.
People are always concerned with pain and injury when they start distance running. An easy way to alleviate this problem is to implement back squatting into your training at least once or twice a week. “Back squatting will also help in making your muscles stronger surrounding a particular joint and creating more stability for that joint”. These joints, such as the knee, can become more stable and have less pain during long runs. Back squatting can also help with recovery time for your legs after long runs throughout the week. If you’re running at least four times a week this will help to lessen the fatigue after runs.
As well as reducing the risk of injury, back squatting can help with increasing your performance in distance running. Back squatting a moderate or light amount of weight can help a runner in developing a faster tempo and being able to go for longer runs. “An increase in the 1RM of the back squat allows a runner to produce more force through the ground, even as the ground contact time becomes significantly lower at high velocities”. This simply means that you will be able to produce more power, creating a faster tempo for your runs while having a faster turnover with less foot contact to the ground.
For runners who have poor posture during their long runs or towards the end of any run, this could be due to many issues, such as lower back pain, mobility of hip flexors, and weak quadriceps. The back squat will help in creating the strength needed for the lower back. The back squat can help increase mobility for the hip flexors and strengthen the lower back by stabilizing the barbell during the movement. This is all due to the technique involved during the back squat and the activation of multiple muscle groups. Runners can become more upright when they run as a result of back squatting.
Overall, the back squat is beneficial and a proficient strength exercise to distance running for everyone, from beginner to advanced runner. The main thing to understand is that maxing out or squatting heavy amounts of weight isn’t necessary to carry over benefits to distance running. Light or moderate sets are sufficient to be beneficial to distance running. Remember, back squatting can help you with most problems you may encounter with distance running or to take your performance to the next level.
View Darius’ original article here.