Can weight lifting help me run faster ? (sprinter)?

Question

I have always been a lean bodied person, pretty skinny. Im very sucsessful at running 100-800 meter events. However i look at olympic sprinters and they're huge. By huge i mean muscular.

Im going to be a freshman in highschool this year. Last year our schools best track athlete who is also skinny, came in second place in state. The guy who beat him was about the same height but he was scaled up and looked pretty muscular.

That bothered me and thats why im considering lifting weights. So will lifting weights help me build speed in my events? Ive heard that too much bulk will slow you down. Is that true?

What is the best course of action?

Answer 1

it depends bench presses curls and pull ups work good

Answer 2

Weightlifting is an important part of any runner's training, from sprinters to marathoners. Talk to your coaches and look online for potential programs, but I would focus on chest, quads, calves, hamstrings, biceps, triceps, and core. For sprinting, I'd try to do 3 sets of 10 repetitions at the highest weight you can comfortably manage.

In great amounts, bulk can slow you down, but as long as you don't spend all your time power lifting, you should be fine. Good luck!

Answer 3

yes, too mumuch bulk will slow you down. i guess weight lifting would help you because my sister does that over the summers for cross country with other runners at the high school. but weight lifting also compacts your muscles(makes them group up in the center) which is really bad. it ruins your flexibility and speed. its best to keep your muscles longated so if you have a pool with swimming lanes you should do laps to increase your stamina and with the water resistance if you do it enough to where you can do top speed for 5+ minutes that will help your speed if you focus on getting your arms and legs out of the water as fast as you can.

Answer 4

Definitely (if done properly)

The key is to build relative strength (strength/bodyweight) - improving strength at a greater rate than your bodyweight is increasing (or losing bodyweight at a greater rate than strength is decreasing - not that you'd want strength to decrease!).

Building absolute strength (improving strength only) without improving relative strength is useless to sprinters (and most other athletes for that matter) - this is what happens when people refer to too much bulk slowing you down (relative strength decreasing despite absolute strength increasing).

The focus for your weight training should be on free-weight (barbell or dumbbell), compound exercises (particularly those that target the posterior chain - glutes/hamstrings/lower back) and core i.e. Deadlift and squat variations, Olympic lifts (clean/snatch) and their variations, lunges, step ups, reverse hyper-extensions, bench and military press variations, chin-up/pull-up variations,  rowing exercises etc. - these will give you the most bang for your buck.  

I'd look at getting hold of a copy of 'Starting Strength' by Mark Rippetoe. It provides all the necessary information to get you started in weight training. A must read IMO - well worth the investment: http://www.startingstrength.com/