7 Best Strength Training Exercises for Runners (Expert Tips)

Upper-body and core strength and excellent posture are required for efficient running.

This exercise fulfills all of those demands. The activity can also be done with a resistance band attached to a solid base, like a door or a squat rack.

How to perform:

1. Stand in front of the cable machine, feet hip-width apart, and a cable between your belly button and chest height in your left hand. To remove the weight plates from the stack, take a step backward.
2. Legs should be slightly staggered so the left foot is slightly behind the right.
3. Starting with the left arm straight, draw the load back toward the hips, beginning with the left elbow. Keep your lower body still when pulling the weight back, and avoid rotating your hips to the left. During this move, the upper body may turn slightly.
4. Slowly release the cable and extend the left hand to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

4. Step-ups

Step-ups work all of the major muscles in the legs, increasing running power.

How to perform:

1. Stand in front of a box or bench that can support your weight.
2. Place one foot on the box or bench and push off your back leg to step forward, maintaining your torso tall and your knee on your supporting leg above your ankle. Consider raising your hips forward and up instead of pulling forward with your knees.
3. Raise your trail leg to a high knee posture without letting it touch the bench. Then drop it to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

The single-leg deadlift develops the glutes and hamstrings, which improves stability and reduces the chance of injury when running.

How to perform:

1. Stand with both feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in your left hand.
2. Lift your right foot off the ground and stretch your right leg behind you. Bend forward at the hips while keeping the back straight and the right hand extended to the floor.
3. Maintain a slight bend in your left knee and level hips.
4. Bring the load almost to the ground and the back as nearly horizontally as possible before returning to the starting position and repeating on the other side.

Read More: 4 Best Deadlift Alternatives and Substitutes

6. Leg Raise

Leg raises help to develop your hip flexors, which are in charge of knee lift as you run. It also works the lower abdominals for a more balanced body.

How to perform:

1. Lay on your back with your arms by your sides.
2. Bring your legs together and raise them as near to vertical as possible.
3. Lower them carefully back to slightly above the ground.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

The glute bridge exercise increases the mass and stimulates the glutes for better activation during running.

This will assist you in keeping your pelvic region level and your feet, pelvis, and torso aligned when running, increasing your stability and hence your running efficiency.

It also works your core.

How to perform:

1. Lay on your back with arms at your sides and legs flat on the ground.
2. Raise your hips to form a straight line between the knees, hips, and shoulders.
3. Maintain your shoulders on the ground to safeguard your neck.
4. Hold for a few seconds before slowly descending back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

A strength training routine serves to strengthen neuromuscular connections.

Thus, according to NIH, your brain becomes better at recruiting and signaling the muscle fibers you currently have to contract [2].

This leads to stronger, more forceful motions, which can lead to a more efficient running economy.

As your running economy improves, you can run faster and farther before becoming fatigued.

Strength Training Can Help You Better Your Running Form

As a trainer, I always recommend strength training to my runner clients to enhance their running technique, biomechanics, and stride through improved core and supporting muscle stability.

According to NIH, you can keep a more upright stance even in the last miles of a marathon if you strengthen your core [3].

“After a long run or race, a hunched running stance or tight shoulders can impair your capacity to take a full breath, potentially leading to injuries and side stitches.”

- Cynthia Taylor, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist

Stronger hips and glutes will reduce hamstring strain and make you a stronger uphill runner.

Strong bones are essential for a good lifespan in running sports. According to NIH, low bone density can harm runners of all ages, mainly if your calorie intake is insufficient [4].

Strength training for runners promotes bone density since bones respond to the demands placed on them by strength workouts by growing stronger.

As noted by NIH, strength exercise stresses the bones, causing them to lay down the extra bone matrix and minerals, resulting in stronger bones [5].

Furthermore, as your muscles strengthen, they can pull harder on the bones when they contract.

This stress also stimulates your body to deposit additional minerals and build bone structure.

Strength Training Raises Your Metabolic Rate

A running strength training session is considered anabolic, which means it develops your body up, but a running workout is regarded as catabolic, which implies it tears your body down.

According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, strength training increases lean body mass, the fundamental predictor of metabolic rate or the number of calories burned daily [6].

By gaining muscle mass, your body burns more calories, allowing you to burn fat and reduce body weight, thus improving or enhancing your body composition for running.

Some runners use light weights because they are afraid of bulking up.

Because running already boosts muscle endurance, strength training for runners ought to focus on improving muscular strength and power.

You must employ enough resistance to create a load that strengthens your muscle groups.

Vary Your Routine

Similarly to how it is healthier for your body to alter your running routes and speed, varying your strength training routines by adding different exercises and sources of resistance will assist you in growing stronger.

Similarly, as you gain strength, increase the difficulty of your exercises to keep your body challenged.