Stick with me here for a moment. This will make sense in a second.
If I were building a house, the main focus from the start would be the framing. The framing carries the load of the structure and without it, the house wilts away.
However, I still need to address the roofing and the siding.
Yes, the framing would be extremely important. Without the other elements like the roofing and siding, the framing wears away quickly and now the support of the house is weakened.
The same goes for running.
Running is Just the Beginning
As with building the house, we have to make sure our “framing” (i.e. muscles built through running) is our primary focus, but we need to make sure the “roofing and siding” (i.e. other muscles surrounding the primary running muscles) can assist.
I know. Right now, you’re thinking, “Isn’t running a lot enough?”
It’s not.
I used to only lift upper body and run. However, I kept getting lower body injuries during longer training runs or races. Why?
My lower body had no support around the “framing”. Sure, my body knew how to run, but when putting it through extensive stressors during 10+ mile runs, the depleted primary running muscles had no assistance or strength to maintain.
It wasn’t until I focused on implementing a handful of lower body exercises that I finally saw my legs hold up through tough runs. I drastically reduced the number of injuries I was having by running fewer miles and implementing lower body strength work.
Just 10 Minutes
Before even telling you what exercises I suggest to build a stronger lower body throughout training, I want to ease your fears and frustrations.
Give me just ten minutes three times per week.
That’s it.
No more than that. Just ten minutes you won’t even realize that you’re losing to more training.
I don’t even care when you do it. Morning, lunch time, or night. Just give me these ten strength training minutes a couple times per week and your legs will thank me come half way through training and beyond.
The Only Strength Exercises You Need
There are plenty of other strength training exercises out there and I’m sure a lot of them work too. The following are the one’s that I worked into my schedule a couples times per week and saw a drastic increase in muscle endurance and decrease in injuries.
Here’s the list and then we will dive into each:
- (Weighted) Walking Side Lunges
- (Weighted) Walking Front Lunges
- Backward Walking Lunges
- Body Squats
- Wall Sits
These are the ones that have improved my range of motion, strengthened weak points in my butt, hamstrings and quadriceps, and, most importantly, can be done anywhere eliminating any and all excuses.
Now, let’s dive into how each exercise should be completed and why we do each one.
- (Weighted) Walking Side Lunges | With legs a bit wider than shoulder length apart, squat in a seated position and walk to the left for 10 steps. Holding the position, walk 10 steps back to where you started. Maintain the seated squat position throughout. Pro Tip | Hold a weighted plate against your chest with arms crossed skyward. I typically do this with a 45 pound plate, but work your way up to that weight.
- (Weighted) Walking Front Lunges | Front facing lunges for 10 steps switching the forward leg with each step. Turn around and perform 10 front facing lunges back. Pro Tip | Hold a weighted plate against your chest with arms crossed skyward. I typically do this with a 45 pound plate, but work your way up to that weight.
- Backward Walking Lunges | Looking forward, lunge backwards with one leg, then stand, then switch to the other leg for 10 steps backwards. Turn around and do the same thing for 10 more steps. Pro Tip | Do not perform with additional weight. Look straight ahead while going backwards.
- Single Leg Body Squats | While standing, maintain one leg fully stretched forward and not touching the ground and squat without the forward foot touching the ground throughout. After reaching the bottom of seated squat position, stand while maintaining the same foot off the ground. Perform 10 of these single leg squats then switch to the other leg. Pro Tip | Stand near something sturdy to prevent falling over, but don’t rely or hold onto that assist item (i.e. wall, chair)
- Wall Sits | With back flat against the wall, move down into a seated position. Hold this position for 1 timed minute. Use timer on smartphone or watch to track. Pro Tip | Extend the time length of wall squat every week by 15 seconds, no longer than 3 minutes.
- Perform the 5 lower body strength exercises, take a 1-2 minute break, then perform the full set one more time. (Total time: Roughly 10 minutes for both sets)
These are the strength routines I implement three times per week. If you can’t find the total 30 minutes to complete these each week in addition to running, you’re just asking for injuries.
The Why
In 2008, I was on pace for a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time of 3:10 up until mile 18.5. Then my iliotibial band (ITB) flared up. I could barely walk. The doctor at a race tent said I should just quit there. I didn’t and finished, but in a time of 3:56 which was no BQ.
It took years before I’d accept the fact that despite all of my mileage, my legs were weak.
My weak points weren’t in my calves or feet. The weak areas were my quadriceps, hips, hamstrings, and butt.
Weak hips can cause one hip to “fall” or drop lower than the other. This leads to imbalanced form which can lead to ITB issues.
Think of it this way. We all primarily use one hand and one foot. If I were to kick a ball to you, there’s one foot you would inherently kick it back with. The same goes for crossing our legs. Right now, cross one leg over another. That one you just did is probably your primary leg. Now, try it with the other leg. One way or another, one leg is not as flexible and will not cross as comfortably. That’s a major problem for runners.
A runner’s hips are incredibly important. Their alignment is crucial to the strength and resilience of the entire leg. The second one hip goes, then our gait is off, our knee feels stress, there’s more pressure on an abnormal part of the foot during fall, and one after another these injuries compound upon each other.
So, why strength exercises for hips? Hips are the starting base for our largest muscle groups within the quadriceps, the butt and the hamstrings.
Now, I’ve been giving the hips all of the loving, but the butt is just as important. Many of the muscle groups that start within the hip region are neighbors to the butt.
There’s a major difference between a big butt and a strong butt. We want the latter.
The squat is a perfect exercise to strengthen the butt. That’s why you see it involved in all five of the sampled exercises.
Most people feel ITB pains around their knee, but that’s where the end point on the iliotibial band lies. The problem begins where the ITB starts which is at the hip.
Jason Fitzgerald of StrengthRunning.com was my first running coach and his strength guidance opened my eyes to my weaknesses. His warm up and cool down routine of strength building differ, but the implementation push was what I needed.
The strength routine I present above is what led to my three 2014 sub four hour finishes injury free. The key part being injury free.
Just Do It Already
Building a strong base from the butt to the toes through avenues beyond running will make you a better runner.
The problem is life.
There’s always something better to be doing. I agree. However, I’ve learned that spending a bit of time on what I dislike or bores me is usually the first thing I should be focusing on.
I like to compare it to this example Tim Ferriss practices. He says that the one To Do list item he doesn’t want to do the most is the first one he should do. Strength exercises are the thing I dislike the most, but save me the most when I need it down the road.
Yes, we need to run to become better runners. Strength training is just an additional aspect that without, we will cripple at the knees, figuratively and literally, come marathon time.
Strength Training Recap
- Without a strong frame built through a handful of bodyweight exercises that take less than 10 minutes to complete, your running will suffer alongside your beaten your body.
- The one thing you don’t want to do is the first thing you should do. Strength training is necessary so stop putting it off.