If you are training for your first marathon, sprinting or running competition, it is essential that you progressively overload your running training.

But alongside this, you should also take part in a structured strength training programme, to improve your running economy, explosive power and thus your running speed.

What is Running Economy?

Running economy can be viewed from multiple biomechanical and physiological perspectives, but whichever lens you look through, running economy simply refers to the efficiency with which you run. All other things being equal, a more efficient runner will be a faster runner. Strength training improves this efficiency.

How Does Strength Training Improve Running Economy?

Improved Eccentric Strength

Strength training is a great way to develop eccentric strength, which is important in running for increased lower body stiffness. This means the runner can be reactive and explosive off the floor with each stride.

Improved Elastic Energy Utilisation

Strength exercises that require efficient utilisation of the stretch shortening cycle are very complimentary to running performance, which also requires this elastic bounce created by a muscle-tendon unit.

Strength training used for the purpose of improving running economy should develop these qualities, though they may also have many other benefits.

To improve running speed in the gym, it is important that we train holistically. By this, we mean that you are training at a variety of loads (light, heavy and moderate) and the variety of speeds associated with these loads (fast, slow, and moderate fast, respectively).

In this article, Mica Moore, a Commonwealth sprinter and Winter Olympic Bobsleigh athlete is going to talk you through her favourite exercises for improving running speed and the benefits of each one.

Strength Exercises For Runners

Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian split squats are great for working the glutes and quads through a large range of motion, with less load on the lower back, which is ideal for runners who need strong legs for powerful single leg hip and knee extension

• Place your one leg up on a Split Squat Stand with your other leg in front and hips facing forward.

• Lean forward onto your front leg while you drop your back knee towards the floor.

• Once you hit full depth, drive your front foot through the floor to stand back up and complete the rep.

• Repeat on both sides and add dumbbells or kettlebells in your hands to making it harder once bodyweight feels easy.

Single Leg Hamstring Glute Bridge

The glutes are the strongest muscle in the lower body and hip extension strength is hugely important for running. The single leg glute bridge is a great way to isolate the glutes and hamstrings to help with this.

• Sit on the floor, facing up to the sky, with your back up against a hip thrust bench, your working leg at a 90-degree angle and foot on the floor, and the non-working straight out in front.

• Drive your hips to the sky until your glutes are fully extended, keeping your hips level throughout.

• Slowly lower back down and repeat for the desired number of reps on each leg.

Step Ups

Step ups are a great way to work the lower body in a very similar motion to sprinting with an alternate hip flexion then hip extension.

• Step onto a box with one leg and stand up to the box driving through the same leg.

• Once you have stood up, drive your opposing knee towards your chest.

• Reverse the movement to complete the rep and repeat for the desired number of reps on each side.

• Get stronger with a lower Plyo Box, progressively overloading the weight, before increasing the box height at a lower weight and then progressing from there.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

Single leg RDL’s are great for reducing posterior lower body side-to-side strength imbalances, which can be beneficial for runners, given that running is a unilateral activity, where large side-to-side imbalances are not desirable.

• Stand tall with dumbbells in your hands.

• Pick one foot off the floor and extend your leg behind your body, as if trying to touch the wall behind you with your heel, while lowering the dumbbells to your mid-shin.

• Bend forward at the hips, whilst aiming to keep your hips and shoulders level while you do this.

• Once you feel a big stretch in your hamstrings, reverse the movement to complete the rep.

Cleans

Cleans work your explosive power, which is great for improving your elastic energy utilization to improve your running economy.

• Stand over a Barbell, with the bar over your shoelaces and feet approximately hip width.

• Bend at the knees and hips to reach down to the bar and grab onto the bar with your hands just outside your legs.

• Drive the floor away with your legs to stand up with the bar until you are past your knees, then jump as hard as you can to elevate the bar.

• When the bar has started to elevate, punch your body under the rising bar to receive it in a front squat position.

Snatches

Snatches work your explosive power, similar to cleans, but closer to the speed end of the force-velocity curve. This is beneficial for improving power because you are approaching it holistically.

• Stand over a bar, with the bar over your shoelaces and feet approximately hip width.

• Bend at the knees and hips to reach down to the bar and grab onto the bar with an extra wide grip.

• Drive the floor away with your legs to stand up with the bar until you are past your knees, then jump as hard as you can to elevate the bar.

• When the bar has started to elevate, punch your body under the rising bar to receive it in an overhead squat position.

Trap Bar Deadlifts

The shape of the Trap Bar allows you to move the bar much faster than a traditional barbell, which would normally have to be carefully lifted around the knees. This is great for building a more powerful hip hinge, which will carry over greatly to your running.

• Step into a trap bar, with your feet under your hips.

• Reach down to the bar, bending at the knees and hips and grab onto the centre of the hands.

• Drive the floor away to stand up tall, locking the hips out and shoulder back into a stacked position at the top.

• Slowly reverse the movement to complete the rep.

Hip Thrusts

Similar to the single leg glute bridge, the double leg hip thrust is great for developing hip extension strength, which is hugely important for running. The double leg variation benefits from greater stability, allowing you to exert more force and work close to failure for more gains.

• Sit on the floor, facing up to the sky, with your back up against a hip thrust bench and a barbell loaded with hip thrust bumper plates over your hips.

• Place legs at a 90-degree angle and feet on the floor.

• Drive your hips to the sky until your glutes are fully extended, keeping your hips level throughout.

• Slowly reverse the movement to complete the rep.

Sled Pushes

Sled pushes are great for improving acceleration by overloading acceleration specific positions and teaching forward body lean. However, the sled push typically allows you to load the sled heavier and thus using this alongside sled pulls would be very beneficial to improve your acceleration holistically, at heavy slow loads and lighter faster loads.

• Lean into a Weight Sled with your whole body, at a 45 degree angle to the floor, with your hands as the contact point to the sled.

• Drive the floor away with one leg, while driving the opposing leg to the sky.

• Perform this cyclically, as if running in slow motion.

Sled Pulls

Sled pulls are great for improving acceleration due by overloading the positions you hit during acceleration with more resistance that you would usually experience, while also teaching you how to create an appropriate forward lean that is essential for a good acceleration.

• Attach a sled to your torso using a harness.

• Walk away from the sled until there is tension on the harness, then slow lean into the weight of the harness until your body is at a 45 degree angle to the floor.

• Before you fall any further to the floor, drive the floor away with one leg, while driving the opposing leg to the sky.

• Perform this cyclically, as if running in slow motion.

If you are looking to improve your running time, be sure to include a structured and progressive strength training programme in your weekly schedule. Any of the exercises in this article would be a great addition to that to help you run faster and with more confidence!

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength