You may already know the benefits of strength training for your run performance (more power, better balance, improved efficiency, and potentially lower risk of injury, to name a few). But actually putting strength training on your schedule and making it a consistent part of your routine—the key to results—is a different story.
The best way to make strength workouts for runners actually happen is to keep it simple. Don’t worry about overly complicated moves or fitting it in at the exact right day or time. Put it on your training plan for at least two days of the week that work for you—potentially pairing it with a hard run workout day so you still have true rest days on your weekly calendar—and stick with it, just like you do your runs.
Then save this page and click back whenever you’re ready to lift some weights (or just do some strength moves with your bodyweight if you’re new to strength training). You can also turn to one of our strength plans to really keep it consistent, whether you’re building a base or training for a race.
Beginner Strength Workouts
Strength Workouts to Get Faster
Strength Plans for Race Training
Strength Training Plans
Total-Body Strength Workouts
Lower-Body Strength Workouts
Upper-Body Strength Workouts
Core Workouts
Strength Workouts to Manage Injuries
Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.
