Strength Exercises to Improve Running
When it comes to improving your running, there’s a million things you can do.
One of the most important is strength training.
However, I don’t just mean any old strength training (although anything helps). Rather, there are specific types of strength training you need to be doing to maximize how you perform and feel during your runs.
So, in this article I aim to break down what those specific types of strength training are and how you can incorporate them today.
If you feel you have any questions left unanswered by this article, feel free to email me directly at info@fitnesssimplified.org.
Why does strength training help running?
There are two main reasons why strength training can improve your running.
Decreased risk of injury
strength training helps to improve your bone mineral density, tendon thickness, etc. These adaptations make you more durable, and reduce the likelihood that injuries and pain will occur.
Improved running economy (or, how “springy” you are)
Running economy is how much energy you expend with every step of your feet. Having better running economy means you spend less energy with every step. So, if your body was going to expend 500 calories on a run, that 500 calories would take you farther if you had better running economy.
Why does this happen? Your tendons & muscles are elastic, like a rubber band. There are specific ways you can train to maximize this elastic component of your structure and make you “springier” with each step.
#1: Plyometrics
Plyometrics have some of the best carry-over to running performance. This type of exercise is characterized rapid stretching of the muscle & tendon followed by a rapid contraction.
If you think about it, this is exactly what your legs do while running. Good running technique calls for your feet to leave the ground quickly once they hit the ground. Otherwise, every step becomes a single-leg squat.
Jumping rope is an example of a plyometric exercise that is a similar intensity to running.
If you want to maximize your elasticity & durability, though, running and jumping rope won’t be enough. This is where higher intensity plyometrics, or ‘intensive,’ plyometrics come into play.
Intensive plyometrics are characterized by a rapid stretch, rapid contraction, high intensity, and an effort made to produce as much force as possible with each rep.
Here are some examples:
Pogos
You can think of these as standing calf raises except your jumping up & down.
Your goal on these is to land on the balls of your feet, keep your knees *mostly* straight.
As soon as you hit the ground, jump up as quickly as you possibly can.
With every jump, aim to get as high as you possibly can.
In my experience working with people, these seem to make the biggest difference.
Here’s how I recommend progressing on them:
start off with a low number of reps (~5-10).
Perform 1-2 sets with at least 1:30 rest before workouts where you train your legs.
Slowly build this up to the point where you can do 3 sets of 20 reps with relatively low effort.
Once you hit this point, begin *slowly* loading the movement by holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Start off with a max of 5 or 10 pounds in each hand and go back down to 5-10 reps
Loading movements like this can become intense quickly.
Once you can hit 3 sets of 15 reps relatively easy, increase the weight.
Jump variations
Jump exercises are notably more intense than pogo variations.
Therefore, I wouldn’t start performing these until you can perform 3 sets of 15 reps with 10 pounds in each hand with low relative effort.
Again, your goal here is to get off the ground as soon as you your feet touch the ground, and to jump as high as you can with each rep.
On these, though, you are letting your heels touch the ground and dropping into a quarter squat.
This will allow you to recruit more overall musculature, produce more force, and jump a bit higher.
Here’s how I’d recommend progressing these:
Start with depth jump before doing repeated jumps.
Do just 1-2 reps per set when first starting with these.
Again, do just 1-2 sets of these before workouts where you train legs.
Slowly build this up to 3 sets of 5 reps with low relative effort.
Once you get here, move onto repeated vertical jumps.
Similarly, start with just 1-2 sets of 2-3 reps.
Try to build these up until you can do 3 sets of 5 reps.
I don’t generally recommend doing more than 5 reps per set on these. You’ll sort of auto-progress by jumping higher each time.
#2: Isometrics
An isometric exercise is one where you are fighting against resistance, but are not moving.
These don’t tend to directly contribute to the elasticity component of your muscles and tendons that we’ve been talking about.
They do, however, contribute greatly to tendon thickness which will greatly help to reduce injury risk and allow you to push more on your plyometric training. So, in a way, they can indirectly contribute to elasticity.
Planks are probably the most common form of this type of exercise.
When it comes to isometric training for runners, there are many that you might find useful.
Below I will list two of the most common that I use with runners:
Wall sits
Place your back up against a wall.
Squat down so that your knees are level with your hips and right above you ankles.
This will place your knees at a ~90-degree angle.
Hold this position for an extended period of time.
Here’s how I’d progress these:
I’d recommend doing these after your plyometric work but before your other leg training in a workout.
First, perform a single set to a ~7/10 difficulty. Note whatever time held this turns out to be.
In your following workouts, perform 3 sets of the time you noted.
Build this up to the point where you can perform 3 sets of 1:00 at a ~7/10 difficulty.
Increase the time held on the third set before increasing the time held on the first or second set.
Side planks
On your side, place your elbow directly beneath your shoulder.
With your legs straight, lift your hips up to make your torso straight as well.
Hold this position for an extended period of time.
How I’d progress these:
I’d recommend you treat these the same as the wall sits.
I’d recommend doing these after your plyometric work but before your other leg training in a workout.
First, perform a single set to a ~7/10 difficulty. Note whatever time held this turns out to be.
In your following workouts, perform 3 sets of the time you noted.
Build this up to the point where you can perform 3 sets of 1:00 at a ~7/10 difficulty.
Increase the time held on the third set before increasing the time held on the first or second set.
#3: Train in multiple plains of motion
A mistake many people make in their training is only training movements involve forward and backward motion.
This is called the sagittal plane.
Squats, walking lunges, etc. are examples of this.
While training these types of movements is important, there is more than is needed.
To go over this in greater detail would require an entire article itself.
For now, though, I’ll give you the two movements I use most with runners to give them some “side to side” capability.
The big idea here is this:
There is a component to running that is “side-to-side” and rotational.
It’s important that you have the strength developed in both of these planes of motion.
Conclusion
In summary, there are three important keys to strength training for running performance:
Plyometric training
Isometric training
Training in multiple plains of motion
The main goal with this work is to decrease your risk of injury and improve your running economy.
Again, running economy refers to how efficient of a runner you are. If you have a higher running economy, that means you are spending less energy with each step. Further, if you were to spend a certain amount of energy on a run, you’d go farther if you had a higher running economy.
As usual, if you have questions you felt were unanswered in this article, feel free to email me at info@fitnesssimplified.org.