Best strength exercises for runners

Strength

AWAndrew WhartonSport scientist and high-level masters runner · AW Run Coach, Wellington · 5 min read

You need about six movements. Everything else is either a variation on those or a distraction from them.

The short answer

The six that matter: a squat or deadlift pattern, a single-leg squat (rear-foot-elevated split squat or step-up), a single-leg hinge (single-leg Romanian deadlift), a straight-leg calf raise, a bent-knee calf raise for the soleus, and an anti-extension core exercise such as the ab wheel or dead bug. Heavy, low repetitions, twice a week. That covers everything a distance runner actually needs.

1. Squat or deadlift — the foundation

Pick one pattern and get genuinely strong at it. Back squat, front squat, trap-bar deadlift, Romanian deadlift, or a Smith machine squat if that is what you have available.

Sets and reps: 3–4 x 4–6, at a load where the last rep is hard but your form does not break.

Why: maximal force production through the whole leg. This is the lift that produces most of the running economy benefit, and it is the one people most often skip in favour of easier accessory work.

Common error: going too light and too many reps. Fifteen bodyweight squats is not strength training.

2. Rear-foot-elevated split squat — the single-leg workhorse

Back foot on a bench or step, front foot forward, drop straight down and drive back up. Load with dumbbells at your sides or a bar.

Sets and reps: 3 x 6–8 per leg.

Why: running is a single-leg activity. Bilateral lifts let a strong side compensate for a weak one; this does not. It also loads the hip and quad through a range that resembles the running stride far more closely than a squat does.

Common error: leaning too far forward, or a stance too short. Set the front foot far enough forward that your shin stays roughly vertical.

3. Single-leg Romanian deadlift — the hamstring and balance one

Stand on one leg, hinge at the hip with a flat back, let the other leg extend behind you as a counterweight, and return.

Sets and reps: 3 x 8 per leg.

Why: hamstrings and glutes loaded eccentrically, plus a genuine balance and hip-stability demand. This one exposes side-to-side differences immediately, which is useful information.

Common error: rounding the back, or rotating the hips open. Keep the hips square and the movement slow.

4. Straight-leg calf raise — gastrocnemius

Off a step, so you get full range through the bottom. Slow up, pause at the top, slower down.

Sets and reps: 3 x 8–12, loaded.

Why: the calf complex absorbs and returns an enormous amount of energy every stride, and it is where a large share of running injuries originate.

5. Bent-knee calf raise — soleus

The one nobody does, and arguably the most important on this list.

With the knee bent to roughly 30 degrees, the gastrocnemius is shortened and the soleus takes the load. Seated calf raises, or a standing bent-knee version off a step.

Sets and reps: 3 x 12–15, loaded.

Why: the soleus takes a load of several times body weight per stride in running — considerably more than the gastrocnemius — and it is barely trained by a standard straight-leg calf raise. Soleus weakness shows up as calf strains, Achilles problems, and that vague lower-leg tightness that never quite resolves.

Coach's note

I put lower-leg work into every programme I write now, and the bent-knee version is non-negotiable. It is the single change that has most reduced the number of calf and Achilles problems I deal with across my squad. Do it off a step so you get the full range — a calf raise from flat ground trains about half the movement. If you are tall, be aware that some gym setups simply will not allow a full-range floor calf raise; I use dumbbells off an aerobic step for exactly that reason.

6. Anti-extension core — ab wheel or dead bug

The core's job in running is to resist movement, not create it. Train it that way.

Ab wheel rollout: 3 x 6–10, from the knees, stopping before your back arches.
Dead bug: 3 x 8 per side, slow and controlled, lower back pressed down.

Why: a core that cannot resist extension leaks energy on every stride, and it is a common contributor to lower back and hip issues in runners.

Skip: sit-ups and crunches. They train a movement running does not use.

The whole programme, in one place

• Squat or trap-bar deadlift: 4 x 5
• Rear-foot-elevated split squat: 3 x 6 per leg
• Single-leg Romanian deadlift: 3 x 8 per leg
• Straight-leg calf raise (off a step): 3 x 10
• Bent-knee calf raise: 3 x 12
• Ab wheel rollout or dead bug: 3 x 8

Two sessions a week. Alternate the main lift between squat and deadlift patterns if you want variety. Add weight when the last rep stops being hard.

Worth adding once you have a base

Hip thrust — 3 x 8. Glute-specific and easy to load heavily.

Nordic hamstring curl — 3 x 5. Strong evidence for hamstring injury prevention. Start with assisted versions; it is much harder than it looks.

Step-ups — 3 x 8 per leg. Simple, effective, and easy to do at home.

Pogo hops and skips — 3 x 20 contacts. Low-level plyometrics, once you have three months of strength behind you. This is where a lot of the running economy gain lives.

What to skip

Machine leg extensions and curls. Isolated, seated, and nothing like running.

Endless band work. Clamshells and monster walks have their place in rehabilitation. They are not a strength programme.

High-rep circuits. You already do high-repetition low-load work — it is called running.

Anything on an unstable surface. Balancing on a wobble board while doing a squat trains balancing on a wobble board.

How to progress

Add weight when the final repetition of your last set stops being genuinely hard. That is the whole method.

Do not add exercises, do not add sets, and do not chase variety. The same six movements, getting heavier over months, is what produces the adaptation. It is repetitive and unglamorous, which is exactly why most runners do not do it — and exactly why it works.