Renewed Running

At the running club I attend, many ask how the faster runners are, well… faster. From speaking to many of them over the years, the main difference between those that are decent at running, and those that are great, tends to be down to the strength and conditioning (S&C) they do.

S&C sounds obvious, but be warned, doing the things you need to do to be a better runner can make exercise feel like a chore. Yet, it is what separates the runners that perform in the 70%+ global performance for their age category. These people don’t just run to enjoy it, they treat it like a part time job. And it takes patience and discipline.

If I haven’t put you off, I’m going to outline the 4 exercises that almost anyone can do to be a better runner. I consider these exercises fundamental to improving your running, in the most simple and efficient way. And if you aren’t doing S&C yet at all, you will likely see the biggest improvement by doing these exercises over almost anything else (like running more, cycling, or any of the fancier workouts you see instructors do on Instagram).

However, if you’ve been doing these exercises for a long time already (as in over multiple years), the benefit of doing them will be already in the bank, so you may no longer feel yourself improving with them. If that’s the case, I recommend seeking a physio to prescribe exercises that focus on the weakest link in your running chain.

Before I get into what the exercises are, I’d like to mention that they will require doing 2-3 times a week for 8 weeks before you’re likely to see a benefit. Usually, fitting them in around whatever days have lower mileage is a good idea.

1) Single leg calf raises

This exercise is the most fundamental to becoming a stronger runner. A dynamic movement that focuses on working each calf at a time to improve their strength and elastic recoil.

Face a wall and place your hands on it. Then lift one leg up with your knee bent at 90 degrees so you are standing single legged. Then on your standing leg, slowly raise your heel and hold it for a second at the top of the stretch, before slowly bringing the heel back to the floor. This singular movement should take around 5 seconds. Repeat this movement 10 times before taking a 10 second break, and repeat this set 3 times.

Once this is done, do the same 3 x 10 calf raises on the other leg. By the end of each set of 30 single leg calf raises, your calf should feel tense, but not sore. After a few weeks, once doing 3 x 10 on each calf starts to feel easier, build up to 3 x 15, then 3 x 20 on each leg. Once you are doing 3 x 20 on each leg without feeling much stress, this is when you’ll be benefiting the most out of this exercise. And if you want to maximise the benefit of this exercise even further, place your toes on the end of a book, so your heel gets a deeper stretch:

2) Lunges

Good for improving the range of motion and strength in the knee, and for improving balance. Step one leg out infront of you so it sits at 90 degrees, with your knee inline with the front of your toes. Your back leg should be stretched out as far as it will comfortably go while keeping your backfoot on the floor. Hold for a second before stepping back into a stand position, so both feet are next to each other. Do this on the same leg 10 times before taking a 10 second rest. Repeat this 3 times on the same leg. Then do the same 3 x 10 reps on the other leg. Altogether you should have done 30 lunges on each leg. Just like the calf raises, once this starts to feel easy, increase the reps to 15, then 20:

3) Squats

This exercise works great at increasing the flexibility and strength of a lot of muscles in your legs, feet and glutes. It can be quite difficult to get into a full squat though, so only go down as much as it feels moderately comfortable.

From a standing position, pretend like you’re going to sit down in a chair by bending your legs. As you get lower, stretch your arms out infront to help balance your body and avoid falling backwards onto your bum! If you’re not sure what to do with your hands, pretend like your holding a small cake as you bend down. Go down into the squat as much as you can, just before you start to lose balance, and hold for a second before coming back up into a standing position. Do this 10 times before taking a 10 second break, then repeat another 2 times, so the workout is 3 x 10 squats. Over time, increase this to 3 x 15 and 3 x 20:

4) Glute Bridges

This is one of my least favourise S&C workouts. But don’t let that put you off doing them to cover every angle to running stardom. While laying with your back on the floor, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor, with your hands down by the sides of your body. Now push you hips into the sky as comfortably as you can go, by pushing your hands and feet into the floor. You should feel a moderate stretch in the front of your quads, with some weight into your feet.

If you start to feel a pinch in your lower back, you are pushing your hips too high. Hold this stretch for a second before moving your hips gently back to the ground. Repeat this 10 times and have a 10 second rest before repeating. Do 3 lots of 10 to complete the workout:

A summary of your S&C workout

In a nutshell, you ideally want to do all 4 of the workouts outlined above, at least 2-3 times a week for 8 weeks, before realising its benefits. This means doing at least 3 x 10 of each movement, to fully complete a session for the day.

Ideally, as you get a few weeks in, you’ll want to increase the reps to 3 x 15, then 3 x 20 for each movement, by the time you get to the end of the 8 weeks. Some movements will feel tougher than others, depending on what muscles are stronger. So don’t feel down if you don’t reach the full 3 x 20 for a movement by the end of the 8 week training block.

Some tips

1. Trust the process – Some of the movements will feel tough. Some may even feel too easy. But keep at it. The main cause of failure is having doubt in whether the exercise is helping. So people won’t do them regularly enough, or they stop doing them altogether. From my experience, you need to do a new workout regularly for at least 8 weeks before deciding if it’s working or not.
2. How do I find time to do the workout? – If you’re short on time, people will say a lot of things that revolve around “fit it into your lifestyle”. This can mean different things to different people. The most obvious ones are, to do calf raises while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil. Ultimately, it comes down to finding those small pockets of time throughout the day to get the exercises ticked off your list. You don’t have to do all 4 exercises together. Doing them at separate times of the day is fine.They just won’t be quite as effective, since you won’t be conditioning your body with the same build up of fatigue. But sometimes, getting them done is better than getting them perfect! For me, I do one of the movements while waiting for my coffee to brew for 5 minutes in the morning. Then I usually do another one around lunch time, while waiting for the kettle to boil. Then I usually get the last 1-2 workouts done while waiting for dinner to cook in the oven. When food takes at least 20-30 minutes to cook, that’s usually a good time to get all or most of the workout done. I find that period of time to be the most effective, since there aren’t many other things that I can do in that space of time, apart from maybe an extra house chore. And if I don’t get all the workouts done by dinner, I try and find 10-20 minutes before bedtime. But ultimately, find what works for you!
3. Finding the workout too tough or lacking the motivation? – The first few weeks are the hardest. It generally takes 21 days of doing something before it becomes a habit. If you’re struggling to face the workout because you lack the time or energy, just do a part of it. Contrary to popular belief, don’t worry about your form or doing it religiously at the beginning. Only think of refining things once you”re used to doing the workout at least semi-regularly. Then focus on the rest once you’ve formed the habit and found what times of the day work for you. Things do get easier, it just takes longer for some than others! We’re all built differently, mentally and physically.