Wolffs law and Strength Training

Wednesday, February 08, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

Grab your coffee and pull up a chair.

The week is not exactly off to a great start but today is a new day! The plan for now is to run the Reservoir after my last class this afternoon and that will be the first time I do anything all week. Between classes and a click in my knee, I am off to a slow start this week. I most definitely must get back on the move! The weather here has been fantastic and I have no one to blame but myself for my inactivity.

Classes are monumental struggles! I am holding my own and learning some amazing stuff, but it is not easy and I will not be real confident until the last test is taken in May. It is likely that these may be the only classes I take, but they both will benefit my coaching and NFLR. Learning so much about how things work and that knowledge will only strengthen my ability to understand the technical side of running. I am falling behind with my ACE certification course, but I am hoping that I can make some progress with it over the next week or so.

Wolff's law, developed by the German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff (1836–1902) in the 19th century, states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.

Runners really like to focus on running and I get that, but strength and conditioning is an important component of an overall healthy existence. The fact that the aging process depletes the collagen in our bones, which means, void of any stress (see above), our bones will become brittle. Wolff’s law is the good news, it essentially means that our bones will adapt when loads (tension and weights) are placed on it. The opposite is true as well, no loads means negative adaptions (lose of collagen). Running certainly has a great deal of cardiovascular benefits and some bone loading, but most definitely, we need strength training.

Strength training does not have to be extreme to receive the benefits and it can benefit our running tremendously. NFLR has a certified ACE trainer as a part of our team and Kathy continues to educate herself on not only strength and conditioning, but also nutrition. We are fortunate to have a professional that understands running and can combine their need for running with a healthy strength training plan. I would like to run for years to come, but I understand better now than ever before, the importance of maintaining a strength training regimen. I am constantly evaluating my strength training and in fact, I am almost ready for a new one. My training is always based on helping my running, but now, I will target areas that I had not previously. Its seems that my backside muscles (posterior), are weak, which directly impacts my posture. Understanding this helps me to develop my strength training plan to encompass important areas, as well as my running specific muscles.

So, my continued education is already paying off and I am excited to gain even greater knowledge of all that matters to runners of all levels. We have always understood that strength training is valuable for runners, but now we have more specific knowledge that we can use to guide us.

NFLR understands that trying to run can be challenging enough on your schedule, so we now have the knowledge needed to include strength and conditioning in a training plan, and taking only 90 minutes total a week. In some cases, we can set up a plan for less than 90 minutes and one that can be done right from home. Putting loads on your body, does not have to mean heavy weights and other stereotypical weight training, but instead it means a routine program of stressing your muscles. There is no better feeling than finishing a good strength training session!

If you want more information about NFLR’s strength training programs, contact us at info@nofinishlinerunning.com or go to www.nofinishlinerunning.com and contact us from there.

Time to move along. If you want to leave a comment encouraging me, I would surely appreciate it!

God Bless!

Mike