Why strength training is important for runners
Strength training for runners is key if you want to become a better runner. Many runners think that doing speed work, hill repeats, long tempo runs and interval work is the ticket to running faster. However, if you’re neglecting strength training you’re missing out on a critical component of what makes a good runner.
Strength training helps prevent injuries by strengthening muscles that are underutilized in running and by building strong bones, joints and connective tissues. Building strength is particularly beneficial for building upper body strength, which is needed to propel your legs in running and improve running form. Strength training also helps increase power output, which will help with your explosiveness and knee drive needed for speed and performance. Contrary to popular belief, strength training for runners doesn’t cause you to gain muscle in a way that will slow you down. Instead, it actually helps with balance, speed and endurance as it improves your efficiency.
Strength training exercises for runners
It’s important for runners to train total body when strength training. It’s also recommended that you use weights for added resistance. Choose a weight that is challenging with moderate intensity, but that you can can still maintain good form with. A good rep range to shoot for is 8-15 reps of each exercise. below is a break-down of exercises you can do to target upper body, lower body and core.
Core exercises for improved running performance
Having a strong core is critical for running performance as it promotes balance and stability. You can train your core with these exercises that don’t require any weight.
- Planks: To perform this core exercise start with your arms placed under your shoulders and your feet on the floor hip width apart in a plank position. This is the same as the starting position for a push-up. Think about screwing your palms into the floor so that your elbows face behind you and pull the top of your pelvis back by tightening your core. You can either hold steady from this position or challenge yourself further by driving your knees into your chest one leg at a time while maintaining a neutral spine. This core exercise targets your entire core including the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles. It also activates your entire body including shoulders, quads, chest, biceps, triceps and back.
- Hollow Body Rocker: To perform this exercise start lying on your back. Extend your arms and legs fully away from your torso. Elevate arms and legs so that your arms are slightly above your head and your feet are elevated at a 45 degree angle from the floor. Focus on keeping your back flat by squeezing your glutes and your core to keep the top of your pelvis back. You can either hold steady here or challenge yourself more by slowly rocking your torso back and forth while maintaining this position. Hollow body rocker targets your entire core including the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, obliques as well as your quads, hip flexors, inner thighs and erector spinae muscles.
- Windshield Wipers: Start by lying on your back with your arms out to the sides and your legs extended above your hips. Pull the top of your pelvis back by tightening your core and slowly lower your legs towards the floor from the side to side. As you lower your legs to the left side of your body the right hip will leave the floor and then you will return to the starting position before repeating on the other side. Focus on keeping your core and glutes tight throughout this entire movement. Windshield wipers are excellent for targeting the oblique muscles and your erector spinae.
Lower body exercises for better running form and technique
- Squats: For this exercise start standing with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart. Hold a weight at your chest with your elbows tucked. Lower your hips towards the floor by driving your knees apart and shifting your weight back into your heels. In order to maintain a neutral spine keep your chest tall and your eye line out in front. Push off through the ball of your feet to come back to the starting position. This compound exercise targets your entire lower body including your glutes, quads, calves, hamstrings and hip flexors. When you add in a weight as demonstrated with this goblet squat variation it becomes a full body exercise. Now you’re also targeting your entire core, arms and grip strength.
- Single Leg Deadlifts: To begin this exercise stand with your feet hip width apart. You’re going to hinge by pushing your hips out behind you like you’re trying to close a door with your butt. As you do this your chest will come forward. Only hinge back until you’ve hit the end range in your hamstring stretch. Your hips should never come higher than your chest here. Make sure to keep a neutral spine by keeping your core tight and shoulders down and back. Once you’ve mastered this form you can try elevating one leg for the hinge and eventually adding in a weight. In this leg exercise the primary muscles involved are the hamstrings. Secondary muscles include the erector spinae, glutes, calves, obliques and transverse abdominis.
- Around The World Lunges: To begin stand with your feet together. Step forward with your left leg far enough so that you’re able to bend both knees down to a right angle. Keep your chest tall here and your weight distributed equally over both feet. Then, push off the front leg to come back to the starting position. Now step out the side with your left leg bending your left knee while keeping your right leg straight. Make sure in this lateral lunge that your left knee is tracking over your left ankle as you lunge. Push off the left leg to come back to the starting position and then step back with the left leg into a backwards lunge. Here you’re bending both knees to a right angle and then pushing off the left leg to come back to the starting position. Repeat this sequence on the other leg. Around the world lunges target the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and adductor muscles. You’re also using your back, core and calf muscles to help stabilize.
Upper body strength exercises for runners
Upper body strength is vital for good running technique because your arms are what propel your legs. Having a strong upper body allows you to maintain good form with your arms, which improves speed and efficiency. Here are compound exercises you can do to target each major muscle group of your body.
- Renegade Rows: This floor exercise is great for targeting full body. Begin in a plank position with your hands placed under your shoulders and your feet hip width apart. With a weight under one hand slowly pull the weight to your hip while maintaining a neutral spine. Then return to your starting position. As you move the weight focus on trying to keep your hips square with the floor to use more of your core. This is a full body exercise that targets the entire core including the obliques, transverse abdominis and rectus abdominis. It also works the back, shoulders and triceps. It’s a great exercise for improving not just strength, but also balance and stability.
- Chest Press: This is a great exercise for training your chest, shoulders and triceps. Start by lying on your back on a bench and grab two weights. Bring your arms above your shoulders and slowly lower the weights towards your chest keeping your elbows 45 degrees from your body. Inhale as you lower the weights and exhale to press the weights back to the starting position. As you lower the weight your elbows should stay lower than your shoulders. This upper body exercise is great for targeting the chest, anterior deltoids and triceps.
- Overhead Shoulder Press: This shoulder exercise is great for working your shoulders, upper back and triceps. Start standing with your weights at your shoulders and slowly extend your arms overhead locking out your elbows at the top of the press. Then lower your arms back to the starting position. As you press it’s important to keep your core tight so you don’t compensate by using your lower back. Exhale as you press the weight and inhale as you lower back to the starting position. This is a great upper body exercise for strengthening your shoulders, triceps, trapezius and pecs.
- Pullovers: This exercise is great for targeting the chest, triceps, back and the front of your shoulders. To start lie on your back on a bench or on the floor. Grab a weight and bring it above your chest. While keeping your core tight to keep your back on the floor slowly bring the weight overhead. As you lower the weight overhead focus on also keeping your elbows flared to feel the work in your lats. Then slowly exhale to bring the weight back up above your chest to the starting position. The main muscle targeted with this exercise are your pecs and lats. In addition you’re also targeting your triceps, anterior deltoids and teres major muscles.
Creating a training plan for runners
Strength training for runners is key, but it’s important that you don’t overlap it with your runs to avoid over fatigue. Studies have found you should allow for at least an 8 hour recovery window after your runs before you do your strength workouts. This will help prevent injury and increase the effectiveness of both your runs and strength training workouts. A good example of this would be to perform your training runs in the morning and than to wait and do your strength training in the evening. If you are only running 3-4 days per week than you could also look at doing your strength workouts on your off days. Ideally you should aim for at least 2 strength workouts per week.
If you’re doing strength training 2x per week you can program your workouts into push and pull splits or train total body both days. With a push and pull split you train chest, triceps, shoulders and quads one day and then train back, biceps, hamstrings and glutes for the other day. If you’re doing strength training more than 2x per week you can program your workouts into push, pull and legs or train total body all three days. If you’re doing a push, pull and leg split you will train upper body push muscles which include your chest, triceps and shoulders one day. Then, you will train upper body pull muscles, which includes your back and biceps another day. For leg day you will train quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.
If you’re a beginner aim at doing 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps for each exercise and for the static isometric exercises perform 2-3 sets of 30 seconds holding. As you become more advanced you can add weights to increase the resistance and extend your static holds to 1 minute.
Here is a good sample strength training program for runners
Monday: Strength train: Total Body Push/Core (morning)
Tuesday: Tempo run
Wednesday: Easy run (morning); Strength train Total Body Pull/Core (evening)
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Track intervals
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Long run
Strength training makes you a better runner
If you’re looking at becoming a better runner by improving your speed, technique or stamina then strength training has its benefits. As you get stronger you’ll see improvements in your running performance and you’ll become less injury prone. Start with a basic program using just your body weight for resistance and gradually you’ll be able to increase the intensity by adding weights for resistance. You can eventually work up to trying some of these more advanced functional strength training exercises. If you are consistent you’ll notice improvements in your running within weeks.