Why Trust Us know that a good training program isn’t just about logging miles. You need to make time for strength training, flexibility, mobility, and recovery. How to Adjust Your Run Schedule After a Big Race…
While it’s not possible to add more days to the week, you can at least save some time during your strength training workouts with compound exercises. “Compound exercises work multiple muscle groups and joints at the same time—think: squats,” says Adam Rosante, a certified personal trainer and author of K Treadmill Training Plan to Help You PR. “They’re the opposite of an isolation exercise, which targets a single muscle and joint like a biceps curl.”
The benefit should be pretty obvious: Instead of working one muscle at a time, you’re working multiple muscles or muscle groups. As a result, “compound exercises let you lift more weight than an isolation exercise would, which allows you to more effectively lift heavier loads over time,” explains Rosante. “You’ll also work your stabilizer muscles, strengthen your tendons, and increase hormone production.”
TL;DR: Compound exercises are more efficient. “Training multiple muscles at the same time gets you out of the gym or done with the workout quicker,” says Rosante. And exercisers who used compound versus isolation exercises during eight weeks of comparable workouts actually showed greater improvements in strength and VO2 max, a 2017 study published in Does Running Burn Fat A Part of Hearst Digital Media!
K Treadmill Training Plan to Help You PR: Review the exercises below demonstrated by Runner’s World+ coach and certified trainer Jess Movold so you can learn the proper form. Start with the box jumps as a warm-up, and do 3 to 4 sets with 3 minutes of rest in between. Then work your way through the rest of the list, performing the number of reps and sets indicated.
Don’t skip anything—these specific moves were chosen to target the most important areas for runners. “The lower body moves develop the muscles, mobility, and abilities essential to each phase of a run—start, acceleration, top speed, and deceleration—while the upper body moves strengthen your core, to keep your spine safe and stabilized while your arms and legs are in motion, and the postural muscles of your upper back, which work in concert with your arms to propel you forward,” explains Rosante.
Start with your own bodyweight to master the movement patterns, then systematically add increasing weights over time.
Equipment Needed: Strength Training Exercises for Runners.
1. Box Jump
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart at a comfortable distance from a bench, box, or step. Lower into a quarter squat, then swing your arms and push through feet to to jump onto the box. Do 4 to 5 sets of 3 reps to warm up.
2. Goblet Box Squat
Stand in front of a bench, box, or step with feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell vertically in front of chest, elbows pointing toward floor. Send hips back and bend knees to lower into a squat until glutes touch the bench behind you. Drive through heels to return to start. Repeat. Do 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps.
3. Bulgarian Split Squat
Hold a weight in each hand and take a small step away from a bench, box, or step. Reach right foot back and rest it on the bench laces down. Bend left knee to lower as far as possible with control into a lunge. Push through left foot to stand. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg.
4. Single-Leg Back-Supported Hip Thrust
Lie with upper back supported on a bench, box, or low chair and feet planted on floor in front of you. Lift right leg off the floor so thighs are at least parallel, with right foot flexed. Lower hips until hovering just above the floor, then squeeze glutes to lift hips back to start. Do 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
5. Band Pull Apart
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended straight in front of body and raised to shoulder height, holding a resistance band with both hands, palms facing floor. Engage core and pull fists away from each other past shoulders. Slowly return to start. Do 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
6. Paloff Press
Loop a resistance band around a pole at about chest height. Stand perpendicular to the band, with feet shoulder-width apart, fingers interlocked around the band, and arms extended out in front of you. Squeeze shoulder blades to pull band into body, then extend arms back out straight. Do 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Images: Shoes & Gear
