Runners of all abilities will notice a significant improvement in their overall performance after strengthening their core, leg, and arm muscles. Incorporating exercises like leg lifts, lunges, squats, and deadlifts into your routine enhances speed, efficiency, and reduces your risk to injury. When you pair your running and strength workouts with sophisticated CW-X compression gear you can take that run to the next mile.
The Importance of Running Strength Exercises
There’s a multitude of ways your running performance can benefit from strengthening your legs, core and arm muscles. When you boost your arm muscles you add more power and thrust to your stride. As you improve your core and upper body strength you increase stabilization in the torso, reduce wobbling when running and expend less energy during your run.
The cumulative impact of running can lead to injuries when our muscles aren’t trained or strong enough to handle the impact. Strength training helps prevent injuries as it improves endurance, and boosts overall performance.
Essential Workouts to Improve Running
There are a number of key workouts like press ups, lunges and squats which you can incorporate into your regular training schedule to help boost your running performance. Let’s have a look at each exercise and how they can help improve your performance.
Press Ups
Press-ups, or push-ups, improve running performance by strengthening the chest, shoulders, and triceps, as well as engaging the core muscles. This enhanced upper body strength aids in maintaining proper running posture and reduces fatigue during long runs.
How to Incorporate Press Ups into Your Running Routine:
Warm-Up with Press-Ups:
- Go for 2-3 sets of 10-15 press-ups before your run. This activates your upper body and core muscles, preparing your entire body for the physical demand of running.
Mid-Run Strength Breaks:
- Incorporate press-ups at regular intervals during your run. For example, after a certain number of miles or at designated points along your route, stop and do a set of 10 press-ups. This not only breaks up a long run, but also engages and strengthens your upper body muscles.
Post-Run Cool Down:
- After your run, go for 2-3 sets of around 10 press-ups to help transition your body from intense activity to a resting state. This not only helps in muscle recovery but also helps you maintain that upper body strength.
Squats
Squats build strength and endurance in the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. This added strength contributes to more powerful strides, better propulsion, and improved running economy. Squats also enhance joint stability and flexibility, which are crucial for maintaining proper form and preventing injuries during and after a run.
How to Incorporate Squats in Your Running Routine:
Pre-Run Warm Up:
- Warm-up with 2-3 sets of around 15 squats. This helps engage your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, preparing your muscles for the upcoming run.
Post-Run Strengthening:
- After completing your run, try 3 sets of around 15 squats. This not only aids in muscle recovery but also enhances lower body strength, contributing to better running performance over time.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts target the posterior chain muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and core. This exercise enhances overall strength and power, leading to more forceful and efficient strides. Deadlifts also improve hip mobility and flexibility, facilitating a more effective range of motion.
Here are two tips to effectively integrate deadlifts:
- Strength Training Days:
Include deadlifts on your dedicated strength training days. Start with lighter weights and higher repetitions to master the movement before progressing to heavier loads.
- Recovery Days or Cross-Training:
On recovery days or during cross-training sessions, incorporate deadlift variations that focus on muscle activation, mobility, and stability. For example, try Romanian deadlifts or single-leg deadlifts with lighter weights to target specific muscle groups as you allow your body to recover from that high-intensity run.
Lunges
Lunges strengthen the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, and enhance core stability. This exercise promotes balance and coordination, which are essential for maintaining proper running form and efficiency. Lunges also improve hip flexibility and mobility, promoting a greater range of motion and more powerful strides.
Here are three tips for integrating lunges into your running routine:
- Pre-Run Activation:
Alternate your legs as you move forward, focusing on keeping your front knee aligned with your ankle and your back knee just above the ground. Lunges before a run preps your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and hip flexors for the upcoming run, enhancing muscle readiness and reducing the risk of injury.
- Strength Training Days:
Dedicate one or two days per week to strength training sessions where you incorporate lunges as a key exercise. Include different lunge variations such as stationary lunges, reverse lunges, or lateral lunges to target various muscle groups and improve overall lower body strength and stability.
Post-Run Stretching and Mobility:
Include static lunges as part of your post-run stretching and mobility routine to improve flexibility and reduce muscle tightness. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds on each leg, as you focus on maintaining a straight back.
Step Ups
Step-ups target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. This exercise helps enhance leg strength, power, and endurance. Step-ups also improve balance and coordination, crucial for maintaining efficient running form. They promote hip stability and flexibility, contributing to a more effective and fluid stride.
How to integrate Step-Ups into your routine:
After completing your lower body exercises such as squats or lunges, add step-ups as a finishing exercise. Aim for 2-3 sets of step-ups and try to go for 10-15 repetitions per leg, alternating legs with each step-up.
Glute Bridges
Glute bridges enhance core stability and pelvic alignment, which are essential for maintaining proper running form and reducing the risk of lower back and hip injuries.
How to integrate Glute Bridges into your routine:
Before your run, perform a set of glute bridges to activate and engage your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart. Lift your hips off the ground by squeezing your glutes and pressing through your heels until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold this position for a few seconds, then lower your hips back down to the starting position. Repeat and increase gradually over the next weeks.
Speed Training for Runners
By incorporating specific workouts such as interval training, tempo runs, and hill sprints, you can improve your speed, endurance, and performance on your feet.
- Interval training involves alternating between periods of high-intensity running and recovery, helping to increase cardiovascular fitness and stride efficiency.
- Tempo runs involve sustained efforts at a challenging pace for 20-40 minutes.
- Hill sprints involve maximum effort at an incline building your lower body strength and power.
These workouts improve a runner’s performance by helping you increase speed, endurance, recovery and overall running efficiency. Incorporating a variety of speed training workouts into a training routine ensures you meet your running goals, while protecting your muscles and joints.
Running Performance Tips
Start with a proper warm-up to activate muscles and prevent injuries, followed by a thorough cool-down to aid in recovery. Stay hydrated by drinking water before, during, and after runs. If you’re wondering how much fluid you should be drinking, according to Runner’s World you should, “subtract your post-run weight from your pre-run weight and convert to milliliters (rule of thumb is that 1 gram = 1 milliliter).”
You also want to fuel your body with a balanced diet rich in healthy carbohydrates, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables and healthy fats. John Hopkins Medicine offers a balanced diet for runners that you can follow.
And finally, gearing up with the right compression gear like CW-X Endurance Generator Joint & Muscle Support Compression Tight which can aid in faster recovery times and prevent injury during and after your workout.
How CW-X Supports Your Running Goals
CW-X’s advanced technology supports runners in achieving their goals by enhancing performance and aiding in recovery. Our patented EXO-WEB support panel provides support and stability without restricting your body’s range of motion as our moisture-wicking fabric keeps you dry during your run.
All of CW-X’s compression gear improves blood circulation and reduces muscle vibration during short and long runs. Improved oxygen delivery to muscles, reduced fatigue and soreness, quicker recovery times, and decreased risk of injuries like strains and sprains are among some of the fundamental benefits of CX-W’s compression wear. By incorporating CX-W’s compression gear into your exercise routine, you can experience enhanced endurance, better performance, and faster recovery.
Runner’s love CW-X’s Stabilyx Ventilator Joint Support Compression Short for their long and short runs. For instance our verified buyer, David A. said, “Amazing tights! I've only used them a few times but I can already feel the difference in my runs.”
Another runner and verified buyer, John D says, “The only runner's tights I've purchased, and that will never change. Perfection is the key to successful running!”
Incorporating running strength exercises and speed training into your routine is crucial for any runner at all levels looking to enhance their performance. Strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, and deadlifts, build muscle strength, improve stability, and reduce risk of injury. By integrating these exercises into your training regimen paired with your favorite CW-X Compression Wear, you can achieve faster times, better endurance, and reduced risk of injuries, leading to improved overall performance.
Take Your Running Performance to the Next Level with CW-X
Ready to run stronger and faster? Explore our range of CW-X compression gear designed to support your running goals. Shop now and take your performance to the next level!