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There are so many exercises for runners out there that it can be hard to know which ones you should do… 

What are good strength exercises for runners? 

Are there exercises for runner’s knee? 

How about core exercises for runners? 

We’ll look to answer all of these questions and more with the information in this article! 

The Importance of Well-Rounded Training

While running itself is an excellent cardiovascular workout, focusing solely on logging miles can neglect important aspects of your fitness, such as strength, flexibility, balance and injury prevention. This is one of the reasons why so many runners end up injured every year, and why it can be so hard to bounce back from lingering pains and recurring strains. 

By adding targeted exercises for runners into your training regimen, you can become a stronger and more resilient athlete…but which ones should you do? Well, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind to help you improve your health and running practice overall, as well as more tailored advice for people dealing with particular issues.

Below we will talk about and show you some different exercises for runners that can be used for various purposes. All of these are borrowed from our programming here at Dynamic Runner, where the goal is to help our tens of thousands of members worldwide run, train and compete pain-free. We’d love for you to join us—click here to sign up for a 7-day free trial, and enjoy!

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Strength Exercises for Runners

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a runner is to start adding a runner-specific strength program into your daily/weekly training regimen. Workouts that have been properly designed for the running athlete will help account for common muscle imbalances and injury risks that come with the repetitive movements and impacts of our sport.

Common Weakness in Runners: Hips

The hips are a major problem area for runners, and are often the source of a lot of pain up above in the back, and down below in the knees and ankles. Weak glutes can lead to instability in the hip, low power output in the stride, and common pain conditions like IT Band syndrome and patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Exercise Fix: Dumbbell Swing to Reverse Lunge

Instructions:

• Grab a light dumbbell and hold it in one hand
• Build some momentum by swinging the weight, then let it fall between your legs; maintain a flat back, straight arm and slight bend in the knees (picture 1)
• Extend the hips by squeezing your bum to powerfully swing the weight up into an overhead position (picture 2)
• From here, step back into a reverse lunge with the same sided leg (i.e. if you’re holding the weight in your right hand, step back with your right leg; picture 3) 
• Press back up to the standing overhead position
• Let the weight swing between your legs, and repeat the whole sequence
• Repeat on the same side for 30 seconds
• Switch sides and repeat

Exercises for Runner’s Knee

Patellofemoral pain syndrome, often referred to as runner’s knee, plagues a huge percentage of runners, and is one of the most common problems in the sport. It’s a term for pain around the kneecap that hurts more when you're active and feels better when you rest. The sensation could be coming from above, below, on top of or inside the knee.

Such general pain conditions often have many root causes, which can make it even more confusing for the person trying to treat it on their own. There are some causes that, when treated, tend to yield more success than others, some of which include:

Patella Misalignment

When there is weakness and/or tightness in the muscles around the knee, it can pull the patella (kneecap) out of its linear alignment with the femoral groove. This can be the source of much discomfort for the runner, who performs around 750 strides per leg every mile. That’s a lot of movement for something that’s not in the correct position, and at such a critical junction.

Foam Roller Fix: Self-Myofascial Release for IT Band & Quads

Instructions: 

• Grab your foam roller and place it under the outside of one of your hips
• Bring your other leg in front of you while facing sideways, and use your hands for support and balance
• Gently roll up and down the outside of your thigh to help relax the quads and IT Band
• Perform for 30-60 seconds on one side
• Switch sides and repeat

Knee Weakness & Instability

With all the impact that is absorbed while running, any kind of weakness and/or instability gets exposed very quickly. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the knee joint, which is one of the most common points of injuries in runners. By building up strength inside and around the knee, we can help mitigate issues like runner’s knee from coming up in the first place.

Exercise Fix: Balance & Change of Support - Z Stance Drill

Instructions:

• Stand in a ¼ squat stance on both feet with a slight hinge in the hips; back should be flat and hands on your sides for support
• Come up onto the balls of your feet in this position
• If this is challenging enough, you can hold here for 30-60 seconds
• For a more advanced variation, balance on one foot in this position for 30-60 seconds (perform for the same amount of time on the other side)
• For another variation, you can switch back and forth between sides for the allotted time
• Staying in the ¼ squat helps strengthen the knee in a similar position as to how it will be loaded while running

Core Exercises for Runners

Everything emanates from the core, or at least, a well-functioning core. Many runners see the sport as a solely lower body endeavor, but what they forget is that the legs are still attached to the rest of your body via the torso! The core is so much more than just the six packs you see on TV, and it has to be working properly to maintain optimal health and running performance.

There’s an old saying in exercise science, “you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.” If the canoe is your core and the cannon your leg, a forceful contraction from that leg is going to send the canoe flying, and likely cause some damage. We want to fire from a strong core, a ship, something sturdy that can both produce and absorb force as we see fit, and over a long period of time.

Common Core Weakness in Runners: Low Back Stability

Our hip flexors want to constantly pull on the lower back while we run. It is up to the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis and internal oblique, in particular) to resist this pull and keep the pelvis and lower back from moving excessively while running. Many runners lack this basic level of abdominal strength, so here’s one exercise to help correct it.

Exercise Fix: Leg Crossovers

Instructions:

• Lie on your back with your hands out to your sides and legs pointed straight up in the air
• You should feel a space underneath your lower back between it and the ground
• Flatten your lower back to the floor by engaging your core
• While maintaining a flat lower back, slowly lower your legs
• If you feel your lower back wanting to come up from the floor, stop at that angle
• If this is challenging enough, just hold this position for 30 seconds
• If you can tolerate it, repeatedly cross your legs one over top of the other, switching the leg on top with each rep
• Continue for 30 seconds
• *Remember: Only lower your legs to an angle where you can keep your lower back flat the whole time, raise the legs higher if the back starts to lift

Strength, Stretching & Mobility for Runners

If you’re looking for an all-inclusive training platform for runners at any level of experience and ability, you need Dynamic Runner! We’ve done all the hard work of creating fun, interactive workout routines that you can simply press play on and follow-along with! Available to you 24/7 on your desktop or smartphone. Sign up for a 7-day free trial with us by clicking here!

Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist