Strength Training

Strength work is the backbone of great endurance training. These running-specific exercises will help you build strength, agility and explosiveness.

Tweet Recently I polled my readers on their top struggles with running. And today I’m answering your top questions about strength exercises. I love sending you surveys – and I really appreciate you taking the time to complete them. They help me create coaching material that solves your specific problems. This level of attention is what has set Strength Running apart over the years. And you can rest assured that every post, coaching program, and resource that I have for you is rigorously tested before you ever see it. Today, we’re discussing the best strength exercises for runners. Take a look at some of your questions: What kind of strength exercises must I do? When? How many times in a week? What are the best exercises to do to stay injury free? Strength training… how many times per week and what are the best excercises? What strength training should I be doing? I don’t want to “bulk up” but feel I should be doing some strength training. Should I be doing any upper body exercises or focus mainly on my core? Should I be doing any leg work, or does running work them enough? Will any leg work just wear them out and cause an injury? As you can see, this is a hot topic! Thankfully, strength training for runners is one of my specialties. In fact, Runner’s World asked me to contribute this strength routine to their Body Shop series last month. And now we’ll go over the nuts and bolts about strength exercises for runners. Let’s start with some basic Q&A. What are the best strength exercises for runners? The best strength exercises for runners have two characteristics: They prevent injuries by focusing on the specific needs of runners (hip and glute strength) They are compound, multi-joint movements like squats (the machines in the gym do NOT count) For most runners, the largest benefit of strength training is a reduction in running injuries. With stronger muscles, connective tissues, and more resilience to fatigue, you’ll get hurt less often. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, you can enjoy running. Tired of getting hurt? Get our free ecourse on how to stay healthy. Here is a list of the best strength exercises for runners: Squat Deadlift Lunge Push-up Plank Notice anything about these exercises? They’re simple, basic movements that all of us as runners should be able to do. And with countless variations of each exercise, you can always keep things interesting. Make sure to keep reading below to see the specific routines and video demonstrations I recommend. How often should I strength train? All day, every day! Just kidding. Who are we, body builders? Most runners will get enormous benefits from 20 minutes, 3-5 times week. On some days, you can actually do less than 20 minutes. A helpful strategy is what I call “sandwiching” – you “sandwich” your run between a dynamic warm-up and a strength routine. Here’s an example of a training schedule that shows this principle in action: Here there is one core workout …

The time has come for runners to embrace strength training. Running form specialist Jay Dicharry tells us why.

Strengthen the muscles that will help power you through your run with this short strength training workout that complements any running routine.

If your goal is to run better and faster, you should strength train. Really, if you consider yourself a runner, you should strength train. Period. Get your training plan here!

Weight training is essential for increasing running ability and decreasing chance of injury. I know from experience that it is possible to strength train without bulking. Here's what I recommend.

You’ll be able to run more, experience fewer overuse injuries, and race faster. And who doesn’t want that?

Runners World magazine writer, answers running questions and provides training programs. Hal Higdon has been writing and running for half a century. After participating in eight US Olympic Trials between 1952 and 1968, Higdon continued to participate in 111 marathons. Runners know Higdon best for his insightful articles on training and racing for Runner's World since 1966.

Strength training for distance runners is such an important part of your training. Avoid injury and run faster with these core exercises for runners

I will explore and attempt to unravel some of the common misconceptions held by the running community, and second, I will recommend a systematic approach to strength-training for runners.

In this article, we'll examine what science and research has to say about the benefits of strength training for long distance runners