Nine simple, home strength exercises that will improve your running

With the Comrades Marathon around the corner on the June 9, this discussion may come a little late for the 2019 competitors, but it’s something to think about for those whose regular park runs are blossoming into a full-blown road-running addiction.

Many people who run think of the hobby as being self-sustaining, meaning that the more you run, the better you get at running, but there is a lot more that goes into the sport than the casual observer would guess. As the sport progresses, the more obvious it becomes that staying safe from injury involves more than simply running with the correct form, as was believed in years past. Now nutrition and equipment play a vital role, but an additional aspect is often neglected – strength training.

Some recent injury statistics put the annual injury rate for runners as high as 85%, something doctors say can be reduced by effective strength training.

USA Track & Field certified coach Jason Fitzgerald explained: “The benefits of strength training for runners—for both injury prevention and performance—are real. Whether your goal is simply to run easier with less pain or to run faster in your next race, a few strength sessions every week can help. Using runner-specific strength exercises will increase structural fitness—or the ability of your bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles to withstand the impact of running. While most forms of strength training can help improve overall performance, adding heavy resistance exercises, in particular, can make you faster during the final sprint of a race.”

That said, there are many different kinds of strength training and runners cannot simply head to the gym and start lifting weights. Powerlifting, for example, involves training so that you can lift large volumes of weight for a duration of 1-3 reps. This kind of training generally produces large muscle mass gains (hypertrophy) and is likely a bad choice for the runner who wants to remain lean.

The kind of training recommended is called endurance strength training.

Furthermore, strength training should become a part of the runner’s overall lifestyle. It isn’t something that needs to be done every day, but experts advise certainly doing a session more than once a week.

“If you don’t run every day, weight training on your off days is a smart approach. While it is important to allow your muscles to rest, endurance strength training does not tax your muscles in the same way that powerlifting and other forms of weight lifting will do,” says personal trainer Christine Luff.

Studies also show a benefit to including “cross-training”, like cycling or swimming, into your workout routine to build strength and flexibility in muscles that running doesn’t utilise and to help prevent injury.

With all that in mind here are nine exercises that you can utilise to strengthen your body, and hopefully prevent injuries, in the comfort of your own home:

Legs

The benefits of strong leg muscles should be obvious in running. Stronger legs mean more power, which in turns means faster times.

Plyometric Lunges

Start standing then take a step forward with the right foot and drop into a lunge where the left knee taps the floor. Push through right heel to explode into a jump and switch legs in midair so you land in a lunge with left leg forward. Use your arms for momentum. Repeat the lunge jump on left leg. That’s 1 rep. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

Eccentric calf raises

Stand on a step with your heels hanging off the edge. Push yourself up on your toes. Then very slowly (to a count of 10) drop your heels below the level of the step. You can place your hands on hips for balance. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

Farmer’s walk

Hold heavy dumbbells at your sides. Rise up on your toes and walk forward for 60 seconds. If you feel that you could’ve gone longer than 60 seconds, increase the weight. Do 3 sets.

Core

When you run, your abdominal and back muscles fire to stabilise your spine. Strengthening your core, all of the muscles that surround and support your spine, will not only help prevent injuries, but will also make it easier to strengthen your legs.

Bird Dogs

Begin on your hands and knees, with a neutral spine and a tight core. As smoothly as possible lift your left arm, and your right leg off the ground. When your arm and leg are parallel to the ground, hold the position for five seconds, keeping your core and glutes strong.

Slowly return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

Plank

This one is a “must” on any list of classic core strengthening exercises for beginners because it works.

Begin on the floor, supporting your weight on your elbows, which should be directly under your shoulders. Extend your legs straight out behind you, as you press into your heels.

Tighten your core and keep your back straight. Hold this position.

If this is too challenging to do with your knees elevated, you can drop your knees to the floor and hold from that position, being sure to keep your core engaged.

Glute Bridge

Tighten your glutes and lift your hips off the floor.

At the highest position, there should be a straight line from your knees all the way to your shoulders. Be careful not to “crunch” your neck by shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears. Hold the contraction for five seconds before returning to starting position.

Upper Body

Due to a phenomenon known as the Kinetic chain, when you run, you pump your arms and this helps you along, particularly when you are tired. Strengthening your arms could, therefore, give you that extra push you need just when you feel you may have nothing left.

Pushups

Start by positioning yourself on the floor with your face down, your palms on the floor shoulder-width apart, and the balls of your feet touching the ground. When you’re ready to start, push yourself up, keeping your body in a straight line and your elbows pointed to your toes.

Overhead presses

Start by standing with feet about hip-width apart. Begin by bringing the weights all the overhead, palms facing out. Make sure you’re not arching your back, but keeping your core strong. If you do arch your back, you may need lighter weights. Bend the elbows and bring the weights down so that they’re at about the same level as your ears. Your arms should look like goal posts. Press the weights ups and repeat for 15 reps.

Reverse flys

Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with knees slightly bent. Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the hip joint. Lift both arms to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Then with control, lower the dumbbells back toward the ground. Do three sets of 12 to 15 reps.

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