Curl Lat Bar

EUGENIE JONES | Exercises that boost the runner in you

Running season is in full swing. Good weather and a plethora of community race events have both novice and experienced runners outdoors taking full advantage of their sport, and there's one question they all have in common: "How can I improve my P.R. — my personal record?"

Many will vary the distance and intensity of their training runs to gain speed and strength, but they'll miss an additional training component essential to going longer, stronger, and faster.

Resistance training is that component. It is fundamental not only to improving your P.R., but also to improving your overall fitness level, reducing your risk of injury when you do run, and increasing your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories when you run and even when you're doing absolutely nothing at all.

If you're a runner who has avoided weights out of fear that you'll get bulky and slow, allow me to put your fears to rest. Different types of training produce different effects and a moderate program — such as the one provided here — will not make you into a body builder, but simply make you a better runner, jogger, or walker.

Perform these exercises two to three times a week on nonconsecutive days. You can do two to three sets of each exercise, performing 10-15 repetitions of per set with a weight that challenges you on the last two repetitions without causing you to lose good form.

Legs are the focal point in running or walking, but since upper-body core strength and arm strength play a key role in how strongly your body flows and strides, we can't skip these muscles. Develop upper-body power and locomotion with push-ups (for the chest and triceps), mixed lat pull-downs (for your back), and a bicep curl shoulder press (for your biceps and shoulders).

Perform push-ups balanced on your hands and toes (or hands & knees for a modified version). Bend at the elbow, lowering your body toward the floor until your upper arms are parallel to floor and then press yourself back up to your starting position.

Be sure to keep your back flat and your neck in alignment with your spine. Mixed lat pull-downs are performed with a medium-width grip on the lat bar while pulling the bar straight down until even with your chest, releasing the bar as your arms extend overhead, and then pulling the bar straight down until it touches the back of your neck.

Perform the bicep curl shoulder press with dumbbells by bicep curling your lower arms up to your chest, rotating the wrist and arms until your palms face forward, and then pressing the dumbbells overhead to perform the press. Return to your starting position in the reverse order and then repeat.

Jones Smith Machine - BodyCraft Jones Lat Attachment with 200 ...

This accent mounts to the rear of your Jones assemblage and includes a 200 lb. selectorized weight stack, a lat bar and a beeline bar for curls and built-in rows.

Boost the versatility of your BodyCraft Jones power rack with this optional lat attachment. The accessory, which mounts to the rear of your Jones unit, includes a 200-pound weight stack, a lat bar, and a curl/row bar. Once you've installed the accessory, you can perform such exercises as lat pulldowns, bicep curls, tricep pulldowns, seated rows and more. Other details include full-length stack shrouds and a lifetime warranty.

Sports physical therapy

Scientific principles and methods of strength fitness

Encyclopedia of muscle & strength

Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength

The Encyclopaedic dictionary, a new & original work of reference to all the words in the English language, with a full account of their origin, meaning, pronunciation, & use