Update April 29, 2008: Someone sent me this link where you can estimate the effect of added weight to your time in various run distances.
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/weighteffect.php
Original Post:When I met with my coach last week, I told him that I was 15 lbs heavier between Pinehurst 2006 and Pinehurst 2007; and, my run split was 5 minutes slower in ’07. He was surprised that I ONLY lost 5 minutes with 15 extra pounds of body weight, and said I must have really worked hard on my running during ’07. He’s right, I did! It was a good feeling to have my hard running work last season acknowledged.
I knew extra weight added time to your running, but didn’t think it added that much time. So…
I did this crazy workout today to see just how much difference extra weight adds. First, I warmed up for 10 minutes on the treadmill doing the Pose running drill. Then I strapped 5.5 lbs of extra weight onto my back and went outside running. Here’s a video describing how I strapped on the extra weight.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KPf957SneY]
Update 3/7/08: later on, I thought of the idea to stuff the ankle weights into my fuel belt pockets. I plan on trying that next time.
I ran a one mile mostly flat loop near my house. I repeated this loop 4 times, twice with the backpack on, and twice without it, taking a two minute rest between repeats. Laps 1 and 3 are done with extra weight. Laps 2 and 4 are done free of the extra weight.
Here’s the data:
lap 1) 7:53 – HR: 166/175
lap 2) 7:22 – HR: 170/176 **This is a PR time for me 🙂
lap 3) 8:29 – HR: 167/167
lap 4) 7:44 – HR: 166/171
Difference lap 1 and lap 2: 31 seconds
Difference lap 3 and lap 4: 45 seconds
Average of differences = 38 seconds
Multiply that by 6.2 miles = 3:56 added onto a 10k race
And this is for just 5.5 extra pounds of weight!!! I know this isn’t a perfect test, since real body weight is evenly distributed over your body, not strapped onto your back. But this is still very interesting data.
The REALLY cool thing about this workout was that it became sort of a pose running drill in and of itself. With the extra weight strapped onto my low back, I had to lean forward to compensate. When leaning forward, it was easier to put my feet down under my weight, rather than in overstriding like I normally do. Then, when doing the laps without the weight, I tried to remember that feeling and repeat it.
I plan on doing this again. It was good.
Update next day: OUCH, my shoulders are really sore. I need to find a backpack with padded straps! I wouldn’t want to run more than a couple miles this way.
Iam a huge fan of running with extra weights. I have found great results in terms of fitness and weight loss. I use it for cross training with 3 days of running, 1 day hill sprinting & 1 day with weights running.Its great for the lungs as well. We tend to breath atleast 2 times more than what we do during normal running. This by itself has so many advantages.
I however dont agree with the concept of having the weights at the back. if you are 70kgs and if you tie 10kgs to your back and measure your weight, you will see a number less than 80kgs. And its not good for the back if the workout goes for more than an hour.
Best posture would be the way commandos get trained in military. Weight carried by the hands. In this way, over 60mins, the extra weight works equally on shoulders, biceps, neck, triceps,back & chest(surprisingly)…
With weights, we cannot run for more than 20% of our normal capacity. So we need walk for atleast 3mins between each run. The trick is to keep the weights on your hands irrespective of whether you are running or walking. Obviously, a particular part of your upper body will reach muscle breakdown for every 10mins. Just shift the weight to a different posture. In this way, we get an excellent workout for the entire upper body( plus other benefits of running) and you will find yourself breathing much better for next 2 days.. You read it right.. for next 2 days..
Make it a more memorable workout with a long hot shower followed by a glass of Wine.. 🙂
i am in the process of training for the police. i have found that having put 4kg in my backpack and then increasing i have gained more muscles in my legs but i also hve added strenght. and the run is alot easier. you will notice the difference.
Very interesting subject, here you have a link where you can calculate the different times/weights:
It is very interesting also to read what they say about this.
The relation with loosing weight/training increasse/better nutrition/…
With reference to running with weights, I agree with Bob Little, cannot be too good for the joints and for a correct running technique.
I would use the weights for testing purpouses only, but it is only my opinion.
Regards from Spain.
I think the weights are great experiment, but running with weights long-term is a bad idea for your joints. The best thing is to reduce weight if we can.
Im just impressed at how fast you are WITH the weight. Ive been running for 10 years now and cant run miles as fast a you. I can hang an 8 minute mile maybe once, but thats it. im more like a 9:00 pace when its a really good day. how do you get that fast even with your extra weight , as you call it?
Mike…Thanks for posting a comment on my blog. Also, I’m honored that you list my blog alongside links to Becky Lavelle and Desiree Ficker. (see Mike’s site http://www.mikeashonline.com/ )
I had another idea to stuff the ankle weights into the water bottle pockets of my fuel belt. Maybe tie them in so they don’t fall out. Or, perhaps fill the feul belt water bottles with sand, which would be messy. I’ll post how it goes if I try either of those ideas. It hurt my shoulders too much to use that sport sak that has just strings as shoulder straps.
That sounds like a great workout! I’m interested to hear how this works long term. I am hoping to try some variation of this soon.
I have estimated I slow down about 2.5 to 3 seconds per mile per pound. So your test matches with what I have found. I also found that extra weight really hurts the most as distance goes up. It takes more energy out of you and long distances like 1/2 marathons or International distance tris and longer seem to be worse than the 2.5/3 second rule. You run out of stored energy sooner.
I am frustrated at my weight gain this winter. I know my performance will be hurt if I don’t get it off.
Bob