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What Kind Of Strength Training Is Best For Runners?

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August 04, 2025•2 min read

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What Kind Of Strength Training Is Best For Runners?

A lot of people ask me what kind of strength work is best for running. My answer is almost always "It depends" and it generally depends on the needs of the runner.

I know that sounds vague and doesn't initially help as an answer but there are a few things that we need to know before just giving you a blanket statement saying "these are the best 3 strength exercises for runners."

These are the questions to consider:

Are you currently doing strength work and if so, what kind?
How many days are you doing strength work?
How many days a week are you running, how many hours/miles?
Have you had any recent injuries?
Are you building mileage, maintaining, decreasing?
What are your current running/fitness goals?
What is your goal race distance?
What does your nutrition look like?

You see my point?

There is no one size fits all approach for runners that works for everyone. Some people need more focus on quad strength, others glutes. If we throw a bunch of random exercises together, sure we can get stronger in some areas but it won't be as effective as getting specific to the needs of the individual.

To hit the highlights: aim for hitting major muscle groups, move through big ranges of motion, load as many exercises in single leg positions as you can and try to use more free weights than machines. And DO NOT FORGET, complement strength with mobility, stability and dynamic stretching to prevent injury and stay healthy.

Just as much as we are sports PT's, we are also coaches. We help people to optimize the approach of their sport in a well rounded and balanced way so that they can achieve their goals faster and injury-free.

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