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One important part of any marathon training plan for distance runners is including strengthening exercises into your weekly routine. Depending on your weekly running volume, squeezing in a lengthy strength training workout might be difficult. However, these post-run exercises are simple to do, with no equipment, whether you are doing your workout at home or in the gym.

Why is Strength Training Important for Runners?

While hitting your paces in running workouts is an important aspect of any training plan, even more crucial is how you stay injury free to complete these challenging runs. Strength training workouts help runners develop the muscles of the hips, glutes, and legs to increase efficiency while running and prevent late-race fatigue, leading to greater endurance. Many of these muscles are not fully engaged when running, meaning that runners need to be performing bodyweight strength and stability exercises in addition to their run plan.

This workout is broken down into three sections: hip strengthening, core, and exercises for runner mobility. Each one of these circuits is meant to target a specific area of the body to strengthen some of the most frequent causes of injury.

Hip Strengthening for Runners

During the hip strengthening exercises, runners increase the stability of the pelvis and prevent rotation of the leg during each stride. By strengthening the muscles of the glutes, as well as abductors and adductors, runners can help prevent overuse and compensation injuries, such as iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome and runner’s knee.

Importance of Core Exercises

Core exercises are yet another stabilizing and strengthening exercise for runners, but the core represents much more than just the ab muscles. When we refer to core, we are talking about not just the abdominals, but back, shoulder, and hip muscles. Overuse injuries are more often caused by a stronger muscle group compensating for a weaker one. By strengthening your core, you help to put your entire body in alignment, increase your balance, and stabilize your body during each individual stride.

Don’t Neglect Mobility Exercises

Mobility is often overlooked when it comes to training plans for runners. However, in order to run well and efficiently, a runner must be able to move well. Mobility is not to be confused with flexibility. This can be accomplished through yoga classes or static stretches. Instead, mobility drills seek to properly activate the muscles while running and increase the mechanics of the body by allowing full range of motion. Increasing body mechanics will allow you to run faster, prevent injury, and have a more efficient running form.

Short on Time?

Turn this workout into a quick and efficient 15-minute post-run strengthening workout by only doing one set of each round.

See our full workout series here.

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Equipment-Free Post-Run Runner Strengthening Workout

Suggested:

5-10 Minute warmup + cool down of your choice.

Tip:

Take your time during these movements. Making sure that you properly engage each muscle is an important part of gaining strength and stability through the hips and core. Don’t rush through the exercises to target each muscle group effectively.

Increase the difficulty!

As you grow stronger, challenge your strength by adding in a mini band over your knees for the hip strengthening exercises. The mini band can also be used for the core exercises in the same manner (remove for dead bugs).

Need a modification?

If any of these exercises are too challenging for you, scroll down below for a list of modifications to make this workout easier for your level or personal needs.

Runner Strength Training Exercises List

Perform 15 reps of each exercise. Complete each round 2 times before moving on. Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Round 1 - Hip Strengthening:

Hip Circles

How-to: Start in a quadruped position. Lift up one leg to draw a circle with your knee. Perform all reps on the same side before switching.

Form tip: Avoid tipping through the hips when lifting the knee. Make the circle as large as you can while still controlling the movement and avoiding twisting through the hips and back.

Bird Dogs

How-to: Start in the same position as the previous exercise. Without arching the back, extend the opposite arm and leg. Slowly bring the arms and legs back into center and alternate to the other side.

Form tip: Engage the core as you extend to prevent the back from arching.

Donkey kicks

How-to: Keep the same position as the previous exercise. Flex the foot and, keeping the leg bent at 90 degrees, press the bottom of the foot up to the ceiling, squeezing the glute at the top. Slowly lower down. Perform all reps on one side before switching.

Form tip: As you press the foot to the ceiling, make sure to avoid arching your back by engaging your core and squeezing your butt. For added support, drop to your forearms.

Challenge: Add a dumbbell behind the working leg and squeeze, activating additional hamstring movement.

Fire Hydrants

How-to: Keeping the same position as the previous exercise, start with the knees in one line. Without tipping into the opposite side, lift the knee out to the side, squeezing at the top. Perform all reps on the same side before switching.

Form tip: As you lift the leg, don’t lean into the opposite side. Don’t focus on how high you can lift the leg. Instead, focus on squeezing the glutes as you lift to activate the gluteus medius.

Side Leg Raises

How-to: On your side, hand behind your head, hips and knees stacked, toes pointing forward. Lift and lower the top leg. Repeat all reps on the same side before switching.

Form tip: Use your top hand as a stabilizer by placing it into the mat in front of your chest. As you lift your leg, don’t allow your hips to twist backwards. If necessary, place your back against the wall and trace your heel along the flat surface to prevent your back from rolling backward or forward.

Round 2 - Core:

Dead Bugs

How-to: On your back, stack your knees directly above your hips, knees bent. Extend the arms over your chest. Slowly lower your opposite arm and leg and return to center. Alternate to the other side.

Form tip: Core engagement is crucial here. Actively engage the abdominals by pressing the lower back into the mat as you extend. Only lower your arm and leg as far as you can without arching the back.

Challenge: Add a single dumbbell into the hand that lowers to add difficulty.

Flutter Kicks

How-to: On your back, place your hands into the mat by your sides for support. Lift your head, neck and shoulders from the mat. Lift your legs off the mat and quickly lift and lower the legs in small movements.

Form tip: Keep the abs engaged as you flutter the legs by pressing into the mat and only lowering the legs as far as you can maintain control.

Plank Leg Lift

How-to: Starting in a pushup position, make sure that the shoulders are stacked directly over the hands, body in one line. Point the toe of one leg and slowly lift and lower. Perform all reps on the same side before switching.

Form tip: Avoid arching the back as you lift by tilting the pelvis down and squeezing through the glutes as you lift the leg. How high you can get the leg in this movement does not matter.

Modification: For sensitive wrists, drop to your forearms. For greater stability, drop the opposite knee to the mat.

Super mans

How-to: On your stomach, extend the arms and legs long. Using the muscles of the lower back, pull the legs and chest off the mat and hold for a count at the top. Slowly lower back down.

Form tip: As you lift, exhale to get the highest height you can in this movement and avoid rocking through the movement.

Side Plank Leg Lifts

How-to: Stack your forearm underneath your shoulder, hips and knees in one line. Lift the hips from the mat, maintaining the stacked position, engaging the obliques. Lift and lower the top leg without dropping the hips. Perform all reps on the same side before switching.

Form tip: Avoid letting the hips roll back or forward in this movement. Press down into the forearm to keep your balance, while squeezing your core. As you lift and lower the leg, do not let your hips drop.

Modification: If you have difficulty balancing, drop the bottom knee to the mat and lift and lower the top leg.

Round 3 - Mobility:

Hip Openers

How-to: Start in a pushup position. Step one foot forward, bringing the foot to rest next to the pinky of the hand on the same side, keeping the opposite leg hovering above the mat. Press the knee away from the body, gaining space between the hip and the body. Optionally, you can lift the body from the mat and sink deeply into the hip flexor by pulsing forward and back.

Form tip: Open up the hips by pressing the knee outwards. However, do not press past your current mobility.

Modification: Drop the opposite knee for greater balance.

Runner’s Lunges

How-to: Start in the same pushup position as the previous exercise. Drop one knee to the mat as you walk the opposite foot to the hand. Make sure that the toe of the back foot is pointed. Press forward and back through the hip to gain space in the body.

Form tip: Make sure to keep the back leg long, with toe pointed to open up the hip flexor.

Challenge: Add in a twist, rotating the arm to the ceiling on the same side as the leg that is forward.

Low Squat + Twist

How-to: Find your lowest squat, with hips open and knees wide. Take the elbows to the inside of the knee and press backwards, seeking to gain space in the squat and increasing mobility in the muscles of the hip and inner thigh. Slowly add in a twist by placing one hand on the mat and extending the other upwards towards the ceiling.

Form tip: In this squat, keep your chest as upright as possible to focus on the inner thigh and hips. If you are new to this movement and cannot sink as low, focus on sitting back into the heels as you work to deepen your squat.

Cossack Squat

How-to: Start in a wide stance, toes turned outward. Sink down into one hip (such as a side lunge), rotating the toes of the opposite foot to the ceiling. Use your hands for support on either side of your lunging foot.

Form tip: Rotating the toes towards the ceiling is key in working on mobility in the hip. If you find that you can’t get as low as possible, find your lowest point that you can press back into standing.

Frog Leg Glute Bridge

How-to: On your back, open your hips wide, letting your knees fall to either side of the mat, soles of the feet together. Place your hands at your sides, pressing your palms into the mat. Press the hips upward, squeezing the glutes at the top. Slowly lower down.

Form tip: To get the full benefit of this exercise, use the glutes to press upwards, not the palms or the shoulders. Height in this movement is not important. Focus on exhaling as you lift the hips and inhale as you lower.