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Science of Sport: Do You Need Three Strength Workouts Per Week?

Research suggests that three sessions are better than two - and may be just as good as five!

By Owen Anderson, Running Research News

How often do you need to strength-train each week to improve your strength for running to the greatest extent?

In a classic study carried out on this important question, Dr. J. E. Graves (at right) and his colleagues at the University of Florida asked 50 healthy young subjects (male and female) to carry out strength training twice a week - and requested that 41 other robust young subjects complete strength-training sessions three times a week (1). This research seemed to give the nod to the three-times per week strategy. Individuals who trained three times each week improved strength by 21 percent after 10 weeks, compared with a gain of just 13.5 percent among individuals who worked out twice a week for the same time period. Over an 18-week time frame, three-times-a-week trainers boosted strength by 28 percent, compared with 21 percent in the twice-a-week gang.

The results of this study have often been cited as constituting strong support for the three-sessions per week plan, even though there were many potential problems associated with the research. For one thing, the workouts utilized in the Florida study consisted of just one set of the chosen exercise (knee extensions), with only seven to 10 repetitions. For another, the selected exercise involved concentric contractions of the quads, but strength of the quads was then evaluated during isometric work. Finally, the subjects participating in the study were all sedentary before the research began. It is quite possible that different results would have been obtained if experienced athletes had been chosen for the investigation (for well-trained individuals, an extra strength session with just seven to 10 reps might not be a big deal; bear in mind that as strength improves it becomes more and more difficult to advance it further).

However, a review subsequently published by Matt Feigenbaum (at right) and famed researcher Michael Pollock revealed that three strength workouts per week were almost always better than two weekly sessions from the standpoint of increased strength (2). This was true over a broad range of workout types, ranging from 18 sets of one (maximal) repetition to three sets of 10 sub-maximal reps, and across a wide array of different exercises, including bench presses, knee bends, knee extensions, and cervical rotations. In addition, squatting is an important exercise for runners, and in a very interesting study carried out at Louisiana State University it was determined that conducting squatting workouts three times a week was superior to hitting squats just twice a week. In fact, three weekly squatting sessions were just just as effective at bolstering strength as five workouts per week featuring squats (3)!

But if three strength workouts per week are truly the way to go, how can you fit all three sessions in to your busy training weeks? You have plenty of things to do already, without trying to include three great resistance-training sessions in your weekly program. The answer is simply to limit the strength workouts to about 20 minutes in duration. A lot of work can be accomplished in 20 minutes, and 20 minutes of strengthening can also be blended easily with either a quality running workout or an easy-day running session.

As you are aware, one set of 10 reps of an exercise can usually be completed in about 30 seconds or so. Since most resistance exercises for running should be completed on a single leg at a time, that means that a set of 10 reps on each leg requires only a minute. Two sets would then take just two minutes. Allowing for a bit of rest between exercises (and an opportunity to move to a different set-up or piece of equipment), you can see that two sets of 10 reps on each leg for about eight different exercises can easily be finished off in a 20-minute time frame. The consistent completion of eight exercises would have a very broad and balanced effect on your running-specific strength. For example, you might match heel walking with toe walking, heel raises with toe taps, dead lifts with partial squats, and bicycle leg swings with reverse bicycle swings to create a beautiful octet of exertions which would have a profound effect on running-specific strength; two sets of all eight could be performed in 20 minutes or less.

20 minutes per strength workout - three times a week? It's a great way to conduct strength training during a busy running season. Incidentally, other desirable strengthening movements can be built in to your warm-ups to provide an even-more expansive effect on strength.

Visit the Running Research News website at: www.runningresearchnews.com to get the latest information about training, sports nutrition, and injury prevention.

Copyright © 2006 Running Research News, All rights reserved. Posted with permission.

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