I’m not a great runner myself, but I’ve helped a number of athletes optimise their strength training for running. Whether cross-country is your thing or you prefer being on a track, or even if you favour a triathlon, these exercises will help improve you running performance. You’ll have to wait your turn if you’re a sprinter; we’re focussing on strength training for endurance running today.
Do I Need Strength Training to Improve Running?
It is well-established that strength training can improve running performance; 2-3 sessions a week can improve running performance across a range of distances. Strength training has been shown to improve your running economy (which will reduce your energy expenditure at a given running speed), even in well-trained runners. It could theoretically reduce your injury risk too.
During my time providing strength and conditioning for runners, I consider the running demands of each joint individually, although there are inevitably some exercises that cover multiple joints.
1. Foot and Ankle Strength for Running
You take a high number of steps when running, and each one loads your body with 1.5-3 times your bodyweight. For these reasons, the feet and ankles need to be strong and robust. Also, because of the elastic nature of the calf and Achilles’ tendon, the foot and ankle have a large role to play in your initial floor contact. A good return of energy from the floor during running could help improve your running economy.
Needs Analysis: The foot and ankle needs to be mobile, and practicing pre-tensing your calves before initial floor contact can be useful in your warm-up. When strengthening the calves for running, it’s important to use exercises that will develop tissue quality as well as those that will develop the elastic qualities of the Achilles tendon.
Recommendations:
For ankle mobility and practicing pre-tensing:
For developing the muscle tissue:
For training the Achilles tendon and elastic properties:
2. Knee Strength for Running
The knee plays a large role in absorbing impact forces during running. This is especially true if you run with a heel-toe pattern. Either way, the muscles supporting the knee need to strong to handle these forces.
Needs Analysis: Direct strength training for the knee in running is quite straightforward. This is because the knee joint is heavily influenced by what happens at the hip and foot/ankle. Therefore this should form a very simple part of strength training for endurance runners. Bonus points if it also impacts the hip or ankle!
Recommendations:
For quadriceps strength, plus knee and hip mobility:
For training hamstring strength at the hip and knee:
(It might be worth adding some squats and lunges, too.)
3. Hip Strength for Running
Hip strength plays a multi-faceted role in running. While the gluteus maximus and hamstrings push you forward in the propulsion stage of running, smaller muscles like the gluteus medius work to stabilise the hips during landing. Weakness or poor co-ordination in hip abductors (like gluteus medius) can cause excessive movement at the knee and hip during landing, which is thought to be associated with some running injuries.
Needs Analysis: Strength training for running should include exercises where you extend from the hips without excessively arching your back. It should also include exercises that train you to control your knee and pelvis positioning, preferably on one leg.
Recommendations:
For training hip extension, a variety of bridges are suitable:
For co-ordinating hip and knee control, I recommend these single-leg exercises:
4. Trunk Strength for Running
It has been suggested that core strength training may improve running speed, however it’s not exactly clear why this may be. Regardless of direct improvements to running speed, a stronger trunk area will theoretically enable you to handle the forces that go through the mid-section of the body with each step.
Needs Analysis: Trunk strength training for running will likely have the most impact if it focusses on handling rotational forces and resisting the effects of gravity on posture. It may also be beneficial to incorporate some hip flexion to help with swinging the leg through with each step.
Recommendations:
For handling rotational forces:
For maintaining posture and resisting gravity:
For hip flexion:
Find more core training tips here.
Incorporating Strength Training into Your Running Schedule
Presenting individual exercises only gets you so far, but the real question is: how can we implement a schedule for strength training and running simultaneously? It’s possible for the two training methods to interfere with each other, and most of us have limited training time. Here are some rough guidelines:
- Do strength training on the days when you are freshest;
- Perform strength sessions before running sessions where possible;
- Have as much time between sessions as possible.
The below example would incorporate the majority of exercises covered here in two 45-60 minute workouts, plus running warm-ups. This should be enough to see some improvements in the long-term, provided you are consistent. The exercises that aren’t included here can feature in the next programme.
Warm-up for Running
| Warm-up Exercises (repeat twice) | Reps/Duration |
| Floor Glute Bridges | 10-15 |
| Ankle Walks | 15-30 seconds |
| Single Leg Deadlifts | 6-8each side |
| Leg Raise Variation | 6-12 |
| Pogo Jumps | 10-15 |
Strength Workouts
| Session 1 |
| 1) Romanian Deadlifts |
| 2) Reverse Nordics |
| 3) Hip Thrusts |
| 4a) Loaded Carry Variation |
| 4b) Calf Raises |
| Session 2 |
| 1) Squat |
| 2) Bent Over Row |
| 3) Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl |
| 4a) Leg Raise Variation |
| 4b) Single Leg Bridges |
Enjoy!
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