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When it comes to building power in your lower body, we can’t do the work for you, but we can put the best leg workouts for running in one easy-to-find place. These resistance exercises will help you What to Know About VO2 Max as You Age For more amazing, Why Trust Us, What Are Bunched Long Runs.
The following are the best exercises to get the job done. Each exercise targets at least one of your major lower-body muscles from every angle. Runners benefit from doing single-leg moves as well to build balanced strength.
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How Missing a Marathon Workout Can Benefit You: Rotate through these circuits below, performed two to three days a week, to keep your muscles guessing and prevent boredom or burnout. Each move is demonstrated by Meghan Hayden, certified personal trainer at Performix House How to Hold Your Pace Late in a Race.
Pro tips:
• Lift to momentary fatigue—the point at which you can’t perform another rep with proper form.
• Start exercises shown with dumbbells with just your body weight first to perfect your form. Then add weights and slowly progress.
•Some days, go heavy enough you can only eke out 6 to 8 reps. Other days, lighten up and perform higher reps (12 to 15) to fatigue. For jumps, go by feel.
• Plan your strength sessions on the same days as interval workouts. Yes, that makes those hard days even harder—but it allows for proper rest and recovery How to Hold Your Pace Late in a Race.
• Lift seasonally. Carve out a 12- to 16-week period during which to build strength, and transition into an easy maintenance phase after that with workouts once or twice a week. Skip the weights during taper weeks if you’re training to race.
Squat
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells at shoulders, with abs tight. Send hips back and bend knees to lower until your thighs are nearly parallel to the ground. Push back up to the starting position. Repeat.
Kettlebell Swing
Stand with feet wide, holding a kettlebell with both hands, arms hanging in front of you. Keeping your back straight and sending hips back, squat and swing the kettlebell between your legs and behind hips. Stand up, thrusting hips forward and swinging the weight to shoulder height. Allow the ‘bell to swing back down and repeat.
Single-Leg Deadlift
Hold a kettlebell by the handle in your left hand. Stand on right leg. Keeping that knee slightly bent, bend at the hip, extending left leg behind you for balance. Continue lowering the kettlebell until you are parallel to the ground. Return to the starting position. Repeat for a full set and switch sides.
Side Lunge
Hold dumbbells at shoulders and stand with feet hip-width apart. Take a giant step to the left and bend your left leg, lowering hips down and back until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Straighten the left leg, drawing the right leg in as you stand. Repeat on the opposite side.
Box Jump
Stand facing a 12- to 18-inch box or step. Squat back, then jump up, swinging your arms forward for momentum. Land firmly on the box with your knees soft to absorb the impact. Step down and repeat.
Leg Press
On a leg press machine, position feet about hip-width apart on the platform. Press the seat away from your feet, straightening legs, and then return to start. Bend at the hips and knees and lower the sled until legs are bent 90 degrees. Push back to start. Repeat.
Step-Up With Kick Back
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand facing a foot-tall bench or high step. Step onto the bench with left foot. At the top of the move, contract glutes and extend right leg behind you. Keeping left foot on the bench, bring right leg back down and return to starting position. Repeat, completing a full set with one leg. Then switch legs.
Curtsy Lunge
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward. Take a giant step diagonally backward with right leg, crossing behind the left. Keeping your back straight, bend knees and lower hips toward the floor until right leg is bent 90 degrees. Push back up to the start. Repeat on the other leg.
Figure-4 Bridge
Lie faceup on the floor with knees bent 90 degrees and feet flat. Cross right ankle over left knee. Push into left foot and press hips into the air so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to bent knee. Return to start. Repeat for a full set, then switch to other leg.
Split Jump
Stand with right leg forward and left leg behind you. Bend right knee and dip left knee toward the floor, so you’re in a lunge position. Place your arms straight out in front of you or out to the sides for balance. Swiftly, jump up and switch legs in the air, landing with the opposite leg forward. When the back knee grazes the ground, jump again.
[The best runners don’t just run, they hit the gym. The Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training maintain essential lean muscle.]
Deadlift
Stand up straight, holding a barbell in front of your thighs, with arms extended and palms facing you. Bend knees slightly. While keeping your back flat, slowly bend at the waist, and send hips back to lower the weight as far as comfortably possible. Pause and contract glutes to raise the weight back to the starting position.
Note: This is an advanced move, so start with lighter weight to get the form down first. Be sure not to use your back to lift.
Pendulum Lunge
Stand holding dumbbells at your sides. Take a giant step back with right leg, bending the left knee so that the left thigh is parallel to the floor, and the right knee dips toward the floor. Press into the left foot and bring right leg back up, immediately swinging it in front of you into a forward lunge: Bend right knee, so your right thigh is parallel to the floor, and allow the left knee to dip toward the floor. Continue alternating front and back, then switch legs.
Side Step-Up
Stand on the edge of a box or step with only the right foot, allowing the other leg to dangle off the edge, while holding dumbbells at your sides. Pull your navel toward your spine and, keeping your chest lifted, bend at right hip and knee, and send hips back to lower the left foot as far as comfortably possible. Return to the starting position. Repeat, then switch legs.
Stability Ball Hamstring Curl
Lie faceup with legs extended and heels on a stability ball. Engage abs, back, and glutes and press into heels, lifting your hips off the floor so your body forms a straight line from heels to shoulders. Bend knees and pull the ball toward your butt, so feet are flat on the ball. Pause, return to the start, and repeat.
Jump Squat
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at sides. Sit back into a squat, lowering hips until thighs are parallel to the floor. Then, jump up as explosively as you can while reaching for the ceiling. Land gently and immediately lower into another squat. Repeat.
Step-Up With Leg Lift
Hold dumbbells at sides (or put your hands on your hips if doing it without weight). Stand next to a box, or step with one leg bent and foot planted on the box. All in one move, straighten the bent leg, lifting your body up while swinging the other leg out to the side as high as comfortably possible. Return to the starting position. Complete a set and switch sides.
Burpee
Start standing. Squat down and place both hands on the floor. Shift weight to hands and jump both feet back behind you so that you are in a high plank position. Lower belly and chest to floor. Place hands on floor next to chest and jump legs back in and under you to returnt o a deep squat. Jump up reaching for the ceiling and repeat.
Pistol Squat
Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart. Beginners should do this next to a wall in case it’s necessary to reach out for balance. Pull shoulders back and keep back straight. Extend right leg and arms out in front of you. Slowly send hips back and bend left knee to squat toward the floor, keeping your heel grounded. Get as low into the squat as possible without losing your balance. Drive back up slowly. Exhale as you rise. Repeat on other side.
Bulgarian Squat
Stand holding dumbbells with your back facing a standard bench or box. Reach right foot back and place the top of the foot on the box. Bend left leg to lower right knee down toward the floor. When the left thigh is parallel to the floor, push through left foot to return to starting position. Complete reps then repeat on other leg.
Single-Leg Hip Abduction
Place a resistance band around your ankles. Lower into a squat. Keeping torso still, step one foot back at a 45-degree angle. Return to starting position; quickly switch feet. That’s one rep. Repeat, alternating legs.
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