6 Other Hearst Subscriptions

Bodyweight exercises provide the perfect path to a beginner strength routine, but when you’re ready to take your resistance exercises to the next level, a dumbbell workout is the way to go. You don’t have to search far and wide to find the best exercises to do with dumbbells. These six movements target key running muscles, fortify strong running form, and test your body in new ways.

“Strength training, even with simple dumbbells, helps create a more durable athlete,” says Sam Tooley, founder of Alpha Fit Club and The Garage Gym in New Jersey. “As runners, we are constantly putting stress on our bodies by pounding the pavement and pushing our limits—the more equipped our body is to handle that stress, the more likely we are to stay healthy and injury-free.”

So if you’re ready to set out for your next easy run with newfound resilience, look no further than these six expert-backed exercises to do with dumbbells.

The Benefits of Doing Exercises With Dumbbells for Runners

By using dumbbells and challenging your muscles with heavier weights, you train your body to handle an additional load. “That stress is something your body has to combat and adapt to in order to grow stronger,” says Tooley. “If you’re just doing bodyweight movements, you’re missing out on a ton of bang for your buck that you’d get with properly executed weight work.”

That extra weight also helps target issues in form and posture. “From slouched shoulders to an arched back, shortening of stride to heel-striking, these weaknesses show up when fatigue begins to set in,” says Tooley. “The stronger foundation we give ourselves, the easier maintaining our form and posture will be in those latter stages of a grueling race or workout.”

The Best Exercises to Do With Dumbbells

How to use this list: Jess Movold, a certified run and strength coach in Austin, demonstrates the moves below so you can learn the form.

Perform 3 sets of these exercises for the number of reps listed below. Aim to do the workout twice a week. For best results, hit the weight room after high-quality runs or cross-training sessions to ensure you spend recovery days doing exactly that: recovering.

1. Dumbbell Deadlift

Health & Injuries: A Part of Hearst Digital Media hamstrings and lower back, two constant problem areas for runners, says Tooley. “A deadlift focuses on engaging the hamstrings throughout the duration of the movement,” he explains. As you slowly hinge forward to actively stretch the muscle, you’re fighting the force of weight; as you stand back up to start, you contract the muscle to pull that weight back up. “Controlling this stretch and squeeze of the hamstring is incredibly beneficial for building strength in your legs for the latter stages of a race,” says Tooley.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells in front of hips, palms facing thighs.
2. Hinge at the hips by sending hips straight back and bend knees slightly to lower dumbbells along the front of legs, pausing when torso is parallel to the ground.
3. Drive through the feet to return to stand, keeping dumbbells close to the body throughout. Fully extend hips and knees, squeezing glutes to an arched back, shortening of stride to.
4. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.
   

2. Weighted Step-Up With Knee Drive

Health & Injuries: Thanks to our day jobs, most runners’ have weak hips and limited knee drive. “The step-up focuses on explosive power in the hips and quads,” says Tooley. It also mimics the running motion, but adding weights makes it more challenging. “By opening up your hips and focusing your knee drive, you’ll feel more explosive in each stride.”

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Stand in front of a step or bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Step up with right foot, then drive the left knee up toward your chest so hip and knee form a 90-degree angle.
3. Step back down.
4. Hip Flexor Exercises for Stronger Running.
   

3. Overhead Press

Health & Injuries: “Our shoulders and arms are far more crucial to our running than most people understand,” says Tooley. A strong upper body increases your ability to maintain posture and keep propelling yourself forward when you’re tired—as you slow, pumping your arms harder can actually help you move faster. “Focusing on our ability to pull and press with force helps build that upper-body strength for when we’re under stress,” he says.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Start with dumbbells racked at shoulders, palms facing each other. Press the dumbbells overhead until arms are straight, standing tall throughout.
2. Lower weights back to shoulders.
3. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.
   

4. Bent-Over Row

Health & Injuries: If you’re doing this move properly, everything from the hamstrings and hips to the entire back and core should be engaged, which improves your stability. “Stability under stress is crucial for an endurance athlete,” says Tooley. “Explosive movements like this teach our body to remain stable when all it wants to do is bend and fold; you’re not only increasing physical strength, but promoting proper posture and form under stress, like during a race.”

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Start standing, with a micro-bend in knees and two dumbbells in hands, palms facing each other.
2. Hinge at the hips by sending hips straight back and extend arms in front of you. Draw shoulder blades back and down and keep back flat.
3. Bend elbows to pull weights up to hips, keeping elbows close to sides and back flat with core engaged. Squeeze shoulder blades together.
4. Your 28-Day Full-Body Workout Challenge.
5. Repeat for 3 set of 10 reps.
   

5. Renegade Row

Health & Injuries: “The core is our center, it controls everything that happens,” says Tooley. If you’re all wobbly in your core, you run the risk of over-rotating and wasting energy on your arm swing while you’re running. “The less energy we waste, the more our body can focus on propelling itself forward—and in running, that’s the entire goal.”

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Start in a high plank position, hands on dumbbells, wrists under shoulders, feet in a wide stance.
2. The Secret Solution to Knee Pain While Running.
3. Return dumbbell to floor and repeat on the other side.
4. Continue alternating for 16 reps (8 per side). Repeat for 3 sets total.
   

6. Weighted Glute Bridge

Health & Injuries: “Hip bridges ignite your posterior chain from your hamstrings to your glutes,” says Tooley. And “if you’re lacking in posterior chain strength, your risk for injury rises.” Hip bridges without a weight are great, but becoming comfortable and confident with an additional load only increases the benefits, he adds.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media:

1. Lie faceup on the mat with knees bent, feet flat on floor, holding one or both dumbbells across hips.
2. Press through heels to lift hips up toward ceiling. Keep core engaged, lifting with glutes and hamstrings rather than lower back.
3. Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells in front of hips, palms facing thighs.
4. What is a Power Clean.

Ashley Mateo

Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA- and RRCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more. She’ll go anywhere in the world once—even if it’s just for a good story. Also into: good pizza, good beer, and good photos.