Training for Runners: Strength, Mobility & Power

Whether you’re a high school runner preparing to compete in college, a collegiate athlete chasing a PR, or an adult who simply loves to run, your strength training should have one primary goal:

Make you a better runner, not a more tired one.

Running already gives your body a lot of what it needs. My job as a strength coach is to identify what running doesn't give you and fill those gaps.

Running is a lot of single-leg work

Think about what happens every time you run.

You land on one leg. You absorb force. You stabilize. You produce force. Then you do it again on the other side.

Over and over and over again.

I don't think of running as literally being “a bunch of plyometrics,” but there is a useful comparison.

Running is a repeated series of single-leg, high-force stretch-shortening-cycle actions, essentially, a long string of small, plyometric-like contacts.

And those contacts aren't low force just because running is an endurance sport.

During running, peak vertical ground-reaction forces are commonly around 2–3× body weight, depending on factors such as running speed, surface, ect.

For a 150-pound runner, that can mean roughly 300–450 pounds of peak vertical ground-reaction force during a running contact.

Now, an important distinction: ground-reaction force is not the same thing as the force experienced by every individual muscle or joint. Your body distributes and redirects those forces across the foot, ankle, knee, hip and trunk.

But the takeaway is simple:

Running requires your body to repeatedly absorb, control and produce a lot of force.

So we need to train it to do that.

Take the soleus, for example. This deep calf muscle is one of the major force-producing muscles involved in running, contributing significantly to support and propulsion. 

We need to progressively train the tissues and muscles responsible for handling those forces, so they are prepared to handle the demands of running.

The question isn't just: “How many miles can you run?”

It's also:

“How well can your body handle those miles?”

The Three Buckets I Use for Runners

My programming for runners generally falls into three big buckets:

1. Strength 2. Mobility 3. Power

They're simple. But simple doesn't mean easy.

And the goal isn't to add more work just for the sake of doing more.

We want to fill the bucket of what running doesn't give you.

That is where strength training comes in.

1. Strength: Build the capacity to handle force

Running requires you to repeatedly absorb and produce force.

Strength training teaches your body to handle higher levels of force than it will experience during most of its normal daily activities.

A lot of my strength training for runners is intentionally basic.

Squat. Hinge. Push. Pull. Carry. Split squat.

We don't need to reinvent the wheel.

But there are a few areas I pay extra attention to with runners, particularly the foot, lower leg and lateral hip.

Your foot matters.

Your foot is your first point of contact with the ground.

I want runners to have the strength and control to interact with that ground effectively.

That's one reason I often incorporate barefoot strength work into training when appropriate.

You spend enough of your day with your feet inside shoes.

Strength training can be an opportunity to challenge the smaller intrinsic muscles of the foot and the lower leg in a different way.

Your hip matters, too.

The muscles around the hip, particularly the lateral hip , help control the position of the pelvis and femur as you move through single-leg positions.

And here's something important:

The place you feel pain isn't necessarily the place where the problem originated.

The body works as a system.

If one area isn't doing its job well, another area may have to compensate.

That's why I don't want to simply train around the painful area. I want to develop the capacity of the entire system.

This does not mean I think runners should spend their entire strength session standing on one leg doing balance exercises.

I don't.

I use challenging unilateral exercises such as:

• Split squats

• Rear-foot-elevated split squats

• Lateral step-downs

• Skater squats

• Single-leg RDLs

• Single-leg hip thrusts

  
  

These movements challenge the body to produce and control force independently on each side.

But I also use bilateral strength movements.

Squats. Deadlifts. Hip thrusts. Rows. Presses.

Why?

Because running already gives you a tremendous amount of unilateral work.

We want to fill the bucket of what your sport doesn't give you.

Bilateral training has a purpose.

2. Mobility: Strength through range

When I say mobility, you might picture a runner sitting on the floor doing a series of long static stretches.

That's not necessarily what I mean.

Mobility can look a lot like strength training.

If you consistently train through a full, appropriate range of motion, and have the strength to control that range , you can develop mobility while you're getting stronger.

I care much more about:

“Can you control your body at end range?”

than:

“Can you passively get into this position?”

That's why I like movements that challenge both strength and range of motion.

A deep split squat.

A controlled lateral squat.

A full-range calf raises.

A deep squat variation.

A single-leg RDL performed through a large range.

These aren't just “strength exercises.”

They're opportunities to teach your body:

This is your available range. And you are strong enough to control it.

That's mobility I can use.

3. Power: Don't forget to be explosive

Power isn't always the first thing people associate with distance running.

And that's exactly why I want to include it.

Running already involves repeatedly producing force quickly.

But endurance training doesn't necessarily maximize your ability to produce high amounts of force at high speeds.

Remember our goal:

Fill the bucket.

Power training gives runners an opportunity to expose the body to high forces and high rates of force production in a controlled environment.

That can include:

• Jumps

• Hops

• Bounds

• Med-ball throws

• Short accelerations

• Low volume plyometrics

• Explosive lifts

The Most Important Part: Strength Training Should Add to Running

And because running is a repeated series of rapid force-producing contacts, improving your ability to produce and absorb force quickly can complement the demands of running.

The goal isn't to turn a distance runner into a powerlifter or a sprinter.

It's to give their body qualities that their sport may not fully develop.

This is probably the biggest principle I want runners, especially young runners , to understand.

Your strength training should support your running.

It shouldn't compete with it.

If you're running 30–50 miles per week, your strength program should not look exactly like the program of someone whose primary sport is lifting.

If you're in the middle of your competitive season, your training should look different than it does during the offseason.

If you have a race on Saturday, Friday probably isn't the day to crush your legs with 5 sets of Bulgarian split squats.

And if your mileage suddenly increases, your strength-training volume may need to come down.

Training has to account for the whole athlete.

Mileage. Intensity. Race schedule. Practice. Recovery. Sleep.Strength-training volume. Training age.

All of it matters.

The goal isn't to make your legs feel destroyed after the weight room.

The goal is to make them more capable.

More resilient.

More powerful.

Better able to handle the demands of your sport.

So, when you walk into the weight room, don't ask:

“How sore can I make myself?”

Ask:

“What quality can I give my running today?”

That's how strength training becomes part of your running program , rather than something competing against it.

References

Blagrove, R. C., Howatson, G., & Hayes, P. R. (2018). Effects of strength training on the physiological determinants of middle- and long-distance running performance: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48, 1117–1149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0835-7

Balsalobre-Fernández, C., Santos-Concejero, J., & Grivas, G. V. (2016). Effects of strength training on running economy in highly trained runners: A systematic review with meta-analysis of controlled trials. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(8), 2361–2368. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001316

Dorn, T. W., Schache, A. G., & Pandy, M. G. (2012). Muscular strategy shift in human running: Dependence of running speed on hip and ankle muscle performance. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(11), 1944–1956. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.066902

Nilsson, J., & Thorstensson, A. (1989). Ground reaction forces at different speeds of human walking and running. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 136(2), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1989.tb08655.x