Hit the Weights at Least Twice a Week to Run Better
Running is a repetitive, high-impact activity. Every step sends force through your feet, knees, hips, and spine—often amounting to several times your body weight. Without sufficient muscular strength to absorb and propel these forces efficiently, your risk of injury rises and your running economy suffers.
Strength training helps runners in three key ways:
Injury Prevention: Stronger muscles, tendons, and ligaments are more resilient. Exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts strengthen the glutes, hamstrings, and calves—key players in protecting the knees, hips, and lower back.
Improved Running Economy: Running economy refers to how efficiently you use oxygen at a given pace. Studies show that resistance training, especially heavy lifting, can significantly enhance your economy by improving neuromuscular coordination and power.
More Speed and Endurance: Strength work builds muscle fiber recruitment and fatigue resistance, helping you maintain form and pace longer. Sprint drills, hill workouts, and even marathon training benefit when your body is more robust.
What Kind of Strength Training?
You don’t need to train like a bodybuilder. In fact, you shouldn’t. For runners, the goal is functional strength—building strong, balanced muscles that support your stride.
A solid twice-a-week routine might include:
Squats and Deadlifts (2–4 sets of 4–8 reps): Target glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Focus on form over weight.
Lunges and Step-ups (2–3 sets each leg): Build single-leg strength and stability.
Core Work (planks, side planks, Russian twists): A strong core improves posture and helps transfer force efficiently.
Upper Body (rows, push-ups, overhead press): Strong arms and shoulders help maintain running form, especially when fatigued.
Keep the sessions short—30 to 45 minutes is plenty. Progress gradually and remember: lifting heavy (with proper form) is not just safe for runners, it’s beneficial.
Fitting It Into Your Week
Schedule your strength sessions on easy running days or after key workouts, not before. This helps avoid fatigue during important runs. And don’t worry—lifting twice a week won’t bulk you up. It will make you a better, stronger, more resilient runner.
The Takeaway
If you’re over 45, strength training isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. It counters the natural loss of muscle mass with age, enhances your running form, and sets you up for consistent, injury-free progress.
So next time you’re planning your weekly runs, make sure those two strength sessions are locked in. Your legs will carry you further—and faster—for it.
Stronger runners are better runners. Time to hit the weights.