Writing a Strength Program for Runners

If you are new to strength training, Dr. Elizabeth wrote a great blog on her key Tenets of Strength Training for Beginners. But for those who have had resistance training in their routine for a while, this blog takes a deeper dive on how to structure your strength program, how heavy you should lift, and when to modify your program based on training cycles for racing.

Basic Strength Program Outline

Disclaimer: There are MANY ways to structure a strength program! This framework is my personal preference based on functional lifts with the runner in mind.

Here’s an overview of the whole workout:

(treat each bolded section as a mini circuit. For example, if performing 2 rounds of the warmup, do exercise A, then B, then C; rest if needed; repeat exercise A, then B, then C)

Warmup (2-3 rounds)
warmup move A: activation of muscles in main lift	x30 sec (light or bodyweight)
warmup move B: activates individual area of weakness	x30 sec (light or bodyweight)
warmup move C: mobility	x30 sec
Plyometrics (2-3 rounds)
plyometric A: typically basic such as single leg hops	x20 reps
plyometric B: something more dynamic such as lateral hops	x20 reps
Main Lift (x3-4 rounds)
main lift: squat or hinge variation	x8-12 reps (effort here should be 8/10 or 2-3 reps in reserve*)
opposing lift: activates opposing muscle group of main lift	x8-10 reps (effort can be 5-6/10)
REST	x2 min
Accessory Work (2-3 rounds)
accessory move A: target stabilizer muscles (e.g. ankle or hip)	x8-12 reps (6-7/10 effort)
accessory move B: core-focused exercise	x8-12 reps or x30 sec holds (6-7/10 effort)
accessory move C: target individual “problem areas”	x8-12 reps or x30 sec holds (6-7/10 effort)
Cool Down (x2 rounds)
cool down move A: stretch or foam roll “problem areas” or muscles that feel particularly fatigued	x60 sec
cool down move B: deep breathing in relaxed posture or pose	x5-10 deep breaths

*note: “reps in reserve” = how many reps you have left in the tank until absolute failure. Zero reps in reserve means you picked a weight heavy enough that by the time you reach your desired rep count, you couldn’t possibly move one more full rep. For muscle hypertrophy, target 2-3 reps in reserve, meaning you should feel like you have about two or three reps left in the tank until absolute failure by the time you get to your desired rep count.

Step 1: Determine your main lift for the workout

Yes, we’re starting with planning the middle of the workout first. After deciding the main lift for the workout, we can select complimentary exercises for everything else!

“Functional strength training” means your exercises are based on everyday movements that we encounter throughout life. For the lower body, these would be “squat” and “hinge” (Dr. Elizabeth also has a blog post on how to do a proper hinge, so if you are wondering what delineates a squat versus a hinge, please check out her article or reach out to us). If you’re doing two lower body workouts per week (which I highly encourage as opposed to just one), your main lift one day should be a squat variation, and the other day will be a hinge variation.

The key that defines your main lift is the effort. This is the main movement that you should be quite intentional about lifting appropriately heavy. When you’re in a building phase of your training (i.e. not in a peak training block leading into a race), this is a great time to use muscle hypertrophy principles to help determine your weight. You can think about this in terms of a 0-10 effort level or “reps in reserve.” The muscle hypertrophy rep range is approximately 8-12 reps as long as your weight selection puts you at a 7-8/10 perceived effort or 2-3 reps in reserve.

Step 2: Select your opposing movement to your main lift

If your main lift was a squat variation, the opposing movement to perform directly following your main lift should be a hinge variation. What differentiates this second move from your main lift is your effort level – since we want the main lift to be your priority, it’s okay for your effort level on this secondary movement to be closer to 5-6/10.

Step 3: Choose your accessory work

The exercises chosen in this section are often based on the athlete’s specific needs or areas of weakness. In this section I may choose single joint or single muscle group exercises (e.g. banded ankle inversion or eversion), balance, core, or core plus a bit of upper body work. If you have a history of recurrent injuries to a certain body region, the accessory block is a good opportunity to give that region a little extra love. This is also a great opportunity to work on movement through different planes or different directions (i.e. think lateral or rotational).

Step 4: Plyometrics!

Plyometrics are quite important for runners to help improve tendon health and efficiency of running, among other benefits. I suggest most runners select two different plyometric movements. I generally start with single leg hops and lateral hops. I strongly recommend with the lateral hops that you focus on sticking the landing and starting with smaller bounds to ensure proper form. I suggest performing these early in the workout when you’re warmed up but still fresh. This allows you to maintain good form but also prime your nervous system for the work ahead!

Step 5: Choose your warmup

Why are we just now picking the workout’s opening movements? Your warmup should be appropriate for the exercises in the rest of the workout, so we needed to determine what the workout consisted of before deciding the complimentary warmup moves. I usually select one activation exercise for the muscle group in the main lift and one activation exercise for the individual’s potential “problem areas.” The weight chosen here is usually light or bodyweight. For example, if the main lift is a squat variation, I may do lightweight tempo squats to warm up the quads and go through the movement pattern of a squat. And if I am also trying to work on improving knee stability as a result of limited foot control, I may include toe yoga in my warmup to wake up my foot stabilizer muscles. The final move of the warmup is often a mobility-focused exercise. This is also person-dependent based on individual regions of restriction or tension. This could include spinal mobility, hip mobility, ankle mobility, or even neural mobility (i.e. a nerve glide).

Step 6: Cool down

After all that hard work you put in, it’s important to calm your nervous system and let your body know that recovery can begin via a cool down. I suggest selecting at least two moves for your cool down. One can be a stretch or foam rolling areas of tension or prior injury. The second move should be focused on deep breathing and can be performed in a relaxed position such as child’s pose or lying on your back.

What changes as I get closer to my race?

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the best time to implement a strength workout of this structure is in a base-building phase of your running training. That’s generally a time of less intensity and a gradual build of volume; thus it’s a great time to implement heavier lifts that your nervous system and musculoskeletal system will have greater capacity to recover from. As you shift into big training blocks while preparing for a race, you may need to back off the weight in one or both of your strength workouts for the week. You can also switch to more single leg movements (e.g. single leg squats or single leg RDLs) which can feel challenging to the body with low to no weight and are great for improving your balance and proprioception (i.e. your body awareness). Not only will this allow you to feel better recovered heading into your next run, but will also help reduce your injury risk by improving your brain-body connection and control.

What if I am crunched for time?

While this workout structure is great if you have an hour to dedicate to strength training twice per week, sometimes life just doesn’t work that way. In that case, I suggest cutting this down to two warmup moves, one plyometric exercise, three strength moves (including a main lift, opposing lift, and an exercise for your personal area of weakness), and please continue to make time for a cool down of 1-2 moves!

Creating workouts can be challenging but it’s important to stick with the same plan for 8-12 weeks to allow for muscle building to occur. If you have any questions on what strength moves will be optimal for your unique needs, come see us at Precision Performance and Physical Therapy!

See you in the gym!

Dr. Perrin Clavijo, PT, DPT

Precision Performance & Physical Therapy in Atlanta and Serenbe