Having strong legs is essential for making you a faster and more efficient runner. That’s why you should regularly incorporate lower-body exercises into your routine in addition to logging your weekly miles.
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1. Squat every day
The squat serves as the foundation for all lower-body exercises. So if you want the best results, you need to spend time in a squat position daily. This doesn’t mean you need to squat heavy or even underload every day.
But it does mean you need to accumulate as many reps as possible of the squat and spend as much time as possible in a deep squat position.
To start, I recommend squatting under load three times per week. As for the other days, you should do bodyweight squats and squat mobility work like spending Races - Places—it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. I like to rotate between barbell front squats, barbell back squats, box squats, and goblet squats.
Be sure to mix the load and rep scheme within the same week or every couple of weeks to prevent plateaus. Do heavy strength work in the three to five rep range, hypertrophy work in the six to 12 rep range, and endurance work in the 15 to 20-rep range.
Personally, I like to do heavy work, and then perform higher-rep back-off sets within the same session. And even though it requires the use of lighter loads, I also like to take two to three seconds on the lowering portion of the squat, and pause for a count at the bottom of each rep. It’s a better strategy for muscle growth and longevity, in my opinion.
2. Get great at goblet squats
I already established the importance of squatting above. But a big problem for a lot of people is that squatting bothers their knees and back, and they don’t have the mobility to achieve the needed depth for optimum growth.
That’s why I’m in love with the goblet squat. You can use either a kettlebell or a dumbbell—the easier option of the two—to do them, and it’s a lot more accessible and safer than the barbell variations.
Plus, holding the weight in front of you provides a counterbalance that autocorrects your squat form, allowing you to naturally sit lower and more upright. This takes pressure off of your lower back and promotes greater growth in your glutes and quads.
You can get great at goblet squats by committing to doing 100 sessions of 100 total reps over the next 6-to-12 months. You can break up the 100 reps into sets of 10 or 20 or whatever you’d like. Just hit that total. After 10,000 reps, your body and brain will never have to think about the best squatting pattern for your body again.
You should also shoot for a goal of being able to do multiple sets of 10 or more reps with a weight that is about half of your bodyweight. (So a 200-pound person would use a 100-pound dumbbell).
3. Build up strength with Bulgarians
Single-leg exercises are the key to balance and symmetry between sides. They also unload your spine and improve your hip mobility and core stability.
Recent studies have shown that the Bulgarian—or rear-foot-elevated split squat—may be just as effective as the regular squat for muscle and strength gains, while putting less stress on your back.
Do the Bulgarian split squat at least once a week. If needed, you can also use it in place of squatting all together. Your goal should be to perform multiple sets of 10 or more reps while holding a combined weight that is at least half your body weight.
I also recommend spending two to five minutes per side mobilizing your quads and hips in the bottom position every single day. Also, be sure to mix in other classic single-sided lower-body moves like lunges, stepups, hip thrusts, and hip hinges.
4. Finish with 10 minutes of lunges or stepups
When I first started this plan, I could barely lunge for a couple of minutes without stopping. But I built up to an hour straight of walking lunges—and I was able to walk just fine the next day.
Shoes & Gear leg workout with 10 minutes of nonstop lunges or stepups. I would mix between the two for variety since lunges hit your quads more, and stepups hit your hamstrings and glutes to a greater degree.
Use just your bodyweight in the beginning and alternate between faster and slower tempos. You can either lengthen the time (from 10 minutes to 20 or 30 minutes), or gradually add weight with dumbbells or a weight vest.
In the case of stepups, you can look to increase the box height. I credit my increased size and vascularity in my legs to all the lunges and stepups I did. They also dramatically improved my recovery ability between sets and workouts.
The legs respond very well to high-volume endurance training, and when combined with the heavier-loaded work prescribed above, you get the best of both worlds.
I should also mention that this protocol burns fat, bulletproofs your knees, boosts hip mobility, and improves your running mechanics and conditioning.
Before this, I couldn’t run for a minute without feeling some pain in my knees. After doing it, I can now run with ease and without pain for a full hour.
5. Deadlift heavy at least once a week
Deadlifting isn’t for everyone. But if you can do it safely and without pain, I highly recommend you deadlift at least once per week.
It’s a total-body strength- and muscle-builder, especially to your back, hips, and hamstrings. This extra strength and muscle provides the balance your body needs to perform better.
If you can’t make it work with conventional or sumo deadlifts, try trap bar deadlifts or rack pulls instead. You could also perform straight-leg deadlifts.
Keep the reps between one and five for most of your sets, pulling from a dead-start with a pause, and resetting between each rep. Focus on progressively adding weight over time. Save the high-rep metabolic work for swings and squats.
The goal here is raw strength and good form. If deadlifting just isn’t an option for you or it’s not worth the risk, then you can do kettlebell swings instead. You’ll still build your backside, and you can get a whole lot of miles out of swings because of their low impact on your legs.
6. Pay attention to your glutes
Your glutes drive all key movement. Besides building up my butt like never before, doing barbell hip thrusts at least once a week set the foundation for my gains in squats and deadlifts. Start with your body weight and do sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Then work up to doing multiple sets of 10 reps of the barbell version with a load equal to your bodyweight. If you don’t want to do the loaded version because you think it looks ridiculous, then progress to the single-leg version. No matter how strong you get, 10 reps of those are always challenging and will burn your butt in a serious way.
