Prepare your body for stress-free running.
Becoming a seasoned runner involves more than just adding miles to your sneakers. Running is a full body activity, and training your body will help you transition from your current status as a beginner to a veteran runner. Our runner’s strength training workout will help build muscle in all the essential places to make running easier and help you feel stronger and faster than ever.
Runner’s Strength Training Workout
This runner’s workout will strengthen your legs, abs, and lower hip muscles. It will also target all of the major joints that you use while running. The stronger these body parts are, the more power you will have as you increase your speed and distance on your runs. Lace up and get ready for your best run yet!
While running can put considerable stress on joints and muscles, it doesn’t need to cause injury or pain. By working out the muscle groups involved in running, and strengthening the right joints, you can avoid injury, stress, and downtime.
Equipment Needed: 1 set of light weights, yoga mat
What to Do: Review the videos below. Perform each exercise for 12 reps, switch sides as needed, resting 30 seconds in between each move.
Beginner’s Level: 2 rounds
Intermediate Level: 3 rounds
Advanced Level: 4 rounds
Exercises:
1. Plank Knee Sweep
2. Reverse Lunge With Rotation
3. Windshield Wipers
4. Sumo Jump Squat
5. Alternating Superman
6. Clock Lunges
Instructional Videos
Plank Knee Sweep
Reverse Lunge With Rotation
Windshield Wipers
Sumo Jump Squat
Alternating Superman
Clock Lunges
If you enjoyed this routine, we think you’d also like to try:
- 30 Day Beginner’s Running Challenge
- 30-Minute Treadmill Workout Routine
- 21-Day Learn to Run Challenge
Make sure that you subscribe to our daily eNewsletter, so that you don’t miss out on any of our fun and effective workouts. You can also follow us on Pinterest and Facebook for more fitness routines, nutritious recipes, healthy living tips, and more!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 26, 2015.
oh dear… this is sad how hard this strength training is for me. Very out of practice! Hoping to see some results by sticking with it! 🙂
Kappamaki Design you will get stronger! Be sure that you're not using weights that are too heavy for you. Start with smaller weights and increase the weight from there.
I don’t feel like this workout is for beginners? I don’t consider myself to be to unfit but the beginner workout is way too much for me. when I say I am not to unfit I mean I hiked Havasupai Falls this past September. Did 40 miles in three days and like I said that workout is not a beginner workout. You have to start somewhere but I think that may detour a lot of people just starting out.
It is always okay to make adjustments to our workouts to meet your level of fitness, but remember, this workout is designed for someone who is already implementing a regular running program and is looking to build running-specific strength. It is not for someone who is new to running. While it is definitely possible to be fit while doing other activities, running may challenge your muscles in new ways.
Wow, thanks for these workouts! I’m literally going to do them right now haha 🙂 I really love your blog, by the way. You are so inspiring!
Lana, Great! Thanks so much for the feedback. 🙂
How many reps of each exercise???
Perform each exercise for 12 reps. Switch sides as needed, resting 30 seconds in between each workout.