How to Train for a Half Marathon – Gym Work
Now, there’s a question! It really depends on your current level of fitness and how much running you have done prior to your decision to run 13.1 miles, however, for the purposes of this post, we are going to assume that you have a “reasonable” level of running fitness. Most people probably wouldn’t decide to make a half marathon their first race and would, in all likelihood, start with a few 5 or 10k races before moving up to the half marathon distance.
So, let’s begin our training schedule based on the premise that you have a few of these 5 and 10k runs under your belt and you are looking to move up to the 13.1 mile distance.
To cover this topic in enough detail, to do it justice, I am going to split it into four separate posts:
1. Gym Work
2. Long Distance Runs (Including Warm-up Drill)
3. Hill Training (Including Warm-up Drill)
4. Interval/speed Training (Including Warm-up Drill)
Let’s take Gym Work as our first topic today as it is an area that a lot of Runners neglect but is so important!
In order to train effectively for a half marathon, or indeed, for any race distance, you need to prepare your body correctly before clocking up too many miles on the road.
When you run, planting your foot down with each stride means that something along the lines of 3-5 times your body weight goes through your foot and up into your body.
That means it’s really important to spend time in the gym preparing your body for this!
Upper-body exercises are important for running, as this area needs to be strong to help maintain good posture as you run. Good posture is important whilst running, especially if you start to get tired towards the end of your run, as it will put less stress on the rest of your body and allow you to take in more oxygen. So, work through this routine:
Single Arm Row on Cable Machine/Press Ups 3 x 12 each
Upright Row with bar/ Rear Delt Raises with Dumbbells 3 x 12 each
Standing Shoulder Press with Dumbbells/Lateral Raises with Dumbbells 3 x 12 each
Deadlift with Bar/Lying Hamstring Curls* 3 x12 each
Front Squats with Bar/ Swiss Ball Leg Curls 3 x 12 each
Seated Leg Extension/Calf Raises 3 x 12/3 x25
*When performing lying hamstring curls, take the pads up with both legs and lower down with just one leg, alternating legs each lowering rep. This is because, in general, most people don’t use their hamstrings properly when running so they need to be strengthened individually.
Core muscles are nearly always forgotten about but, again, they are very important for running. A strong core can help prevent injuries to other areas of the body. These exercises will strengthen your core:
Swiss Ball Back Extensions/Ab Curls on the Ball 3 x 12 each
Lo-hi Cable Wood chop/Lying Leg Lowers 3 x 12 each
Lying Single Leg Hip Raise/Side Plank with Hip Raise 3 x 12 each
Begin your training schedule with one visit per week to the gym and make sure you continue with these sessions throughout your training programme. In order to progress your strength gains, you can introduce more challenging exercises as you go through your schedule or simply keep to the same exercises but increase the weights you use. Bear in mind you should aim to increase the weights you use by approx. 10% every week.
