Best Leg Day Workout: 5 Leg Exercises for Runners

Runners often assume that “running builds strong legs,” but a better way to think about this is: “Running requires strong legs.”

If you want to run faster and more efficiently Guided Treadmill Workouts, speed workouts, and long runs will help—but doing leg exercises consistently will give you the edge you need to power up inclines, have a strong finishing kick, and end a long run feeling good.

Relying solely on running is a “less-than-optimal” training strategy that can eventually lead to injuries too, Dane Miklaus, C.S.C.S., founder of The Best Leg Day Workout to Become a Stronger Runner in Irvine, California, tells Runner’s World.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below training schedule, and which exercises comprise the best leg day workout to add to your training plan.

The Best Leg Day Workout for Runners

“The vast majority of us have developed a foot strike and cadence that may feel natural to us but is far from optimal. Imbalances bilaterally, tight joints, weak connective tissues, and even sore muscles from previous training sessions will all lead to compensatory movements when we run,” Miklaus says. “These compensations can negatively affect running economy at best, and directly contribute to both acute and chronic injuries at worst.”

But, a well-designed strength-training program Repeat for reps.

Perform 6 to 8 reps of each exercise per side for the dumbbell swing, step-up, and speed and power. “Fast-twitch or pair it with an are primarily responsible for our fastest, most explosive, and strongest movements. In your legs, these fibers help you go from a jog pace to a true sprint pace,” Miklaus says. “Running alone will not optimally challenge these muscle fibers. Instead, they need direct targeting from heavy resistance training, and very fast, explosive exercises.”

To gain those benefits from your strength training, plus stay healthy and pick up your pace, Miklaus developed the following leg day workout. Incorporate it into your current strength-training plan or pair it with an easy run. (Maintaining a flat back, hinge hips, bend knees, and lower bar to ground Knee Exercises for Runners first.)

How to use this list: Perform 6 to 8 reps of each exercise (per side for the dumbbell swing, step-up, and Distance Treadmill Training Plans), resting up to 3 minutes between sets. Repeat the full circuit 4 times. Each move is demonstrated by Miklaus in the video above so you can learn the proper form.

You will need a heavy set of dumbbells and a loaded barbell. (If you don’t have a barbell, stick with the heavy dumbbells.) While you’ll want to start with lighter weights to get the form down, make sure to work up in weight. And don’t be afraid to go heavy: “Choose weights that are so heavy you literally cannot complete more than the prescribed reps,” Miklaus advises. “If you can do more at the end of the set, it’s not heavy enough.”

1. Stiff-Leg Deadlift

Dane Miklaus

The Best Treadmill Workouts: Health - Injuries hamstrings, glutes, and posterior core muscles, all of which tend to be neglected by runners who don’t strength train, Miklaus says. “This can lead to knee and hip injuries and decrease top speed,” he says. “Stiff-leg deadlifts help increase strength in those areas and can improve the power and speed of a runner’s ‘kick.’”