THE BRIDGE OFF SEASON STRENGTH TRAINING FOR RUNNERS - 2024

OFF-SEASON RUNNERS STRENGTH PROGRAM

Congratulations on signing up to complete a 12-week RUNFIT off-season strength program! Whether you are getting into running, aiming to improve your injury resilience, or trying to become faster, the RUNFIT Offseason Strength program is designed to prepare you for next season's running goals. By providing a consistent, progressive plan, you will work to increase your confidence with strength training, your overall strength, and your physical capacity for running.

Running is an innate human skill, but like all skills, it requires significant practice and cross-training. While running, each foot's contact transfers force ranging from 1.8-6.5 times your body weight through your body. With gradual progressions in both exercise difficulty and intensity, the program aims to increase your mobility, core control, single-leg stability, agility/power, and strength in a safe and effective manner.

Think of yourself as a car. When running, you are upgrading the car's engine – your cardiovascular system, which involves the heart and the lungs. However, you must not neglect the rest of the vehicle; the frame, shocks, and electrical systems must be strengthened to accommodate the newly acquired horsepower. In terms of the body, you must consider and effectively train your muscles, tendons, bones, joints, and neuromuscular systems, allowing all systems to work together. Runners sometimes do not consider their training outside of running and how it relates to overall health, injury prevention, and performance. The importance of comprehensive training is also an integral part of the Canadian Physical Health Guidelines. The goal is to help increase your performance and keep you healthy while running and to help you perform other various activities of daily living.

PROGRAM OUTLINE

The program runs three days per week, with two strength days and one shorter mobility/upper body strength day. After six weeks, there is a recovery week (week 7). There is an alternative for many exercises if the programmed exercise is too difficult. You do not need to complete the program on the scheduled days; you can complete them any day of the week, trying to avoid completing back-to-back days as this will decrease the program's effectiveness. The program is designed to be completed at any gym facility, including free weights and squat racks.

Day 1: Strength - 45-75 minutes 

Day 2: Mobility and Upper Body Strength - 30-60 minutes 

Day 3: Strength - 45-75 minutes

BRIDGE ATHLETIC APP

Bridge Athletic is a free third-party app that allows us to provide exercise programs with videos and descriptions, ensuring exercises are performed with proper technique and adherence. It also includes a feature to track your progress throughout the program. If you would like to have your exercise technique assessed, please contact The Bridge Sports Therapy and Training (South Edmonton) at (780)-988-9668 to book an appointment with our program designer, Running Coach, and Physiotherapist James Greene (MScPT, CAT(C), CSCS) or any of our other qualified strength coaches.

HOW TO USE THE APP

After being assigned to the program, you will receive two emails. The first will ask you to download the Bridge Athletic app and create a profile. The second email will notify you that your program is ready to complete. The only information you need to input is your name and email address. All other data (age, gender, weight, height, etc.) is voluntary.

After completing this step, your program will be in the calendar. It does not matter which day you complete a particular day so long as it is in order. For example, if you missed Tuesday but would like to complete it on Wednesday, you can still access and complete it. If you miss a day, do not worry. Try to complete each day as able; do not try to make up for missed days the following week; just continue with the program.

The app will ask you to complete a physical preparedness questionnaire at the start of each workout. This will ask you health-related questions such as daily sleep quality, hydration levels, soreness, stress, etc. This should take you very little time - do not think too hard about these values, but try to score them honestly. This will help you better understand why some sessions feel harder than others or why specific aches and pains creep up.

• https://intercom.help/bridgeathletic/en/articles/3824327-athlete-registration-on-bridgeathletic
• https://intercom.help/bridgeathletic/en/articles/3824157-athlete-mobile-experience