Prevent Injury at OSO Physical Therapy

Strength Training and Running: Improve Performance and Prevent Injury 

When it comes to running, many athletes focus solely on logging miles and building endurance. However, there is a crucial element that is often overlooked: strength training. Strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support the body during running can significantly improve running performance, prevent injuries, and increase overall efficiency. At Oso Physical Therapy, we understand and teach the importance of a balanced strength training program to support your running efforts. 

Why Strength Training is Vital for Runners

While running is an excellent cardiovascular workout, it primarily focuses on endurance and aerobic capacity. However, the repetitive nature of running can lead to imbalances and weaknesses in the muscles, joints, and tissues that are essential for a runner's performance. This is where strength training comes into play. The evidence consistently shows that lower limb resistance exercise and plyometric drills are effective for improving running economy (Sports (Basel). 2022 Jun 24;10(7):98) By targeting key muscle groups—such as the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and core—runners can build resilience in the body, which enhances running form and prevents the onset of injuries.

Strength training for runners is not about bulking up or pure hypertrophy. Instead, it’s about improving muscle strength, power, coordination, and resiliency which allows the body to absorb the forces of running more efficiently and reduce the risk of some common overuse running injuries, such as shin splints, runner’s knee, IT band syndrome, and Achilles tendinopathy.

Injury Prevention: Building a Resilient Body

One of the most significant benefits of strength training for runners is the reduction in injury risk. Running involves repetitive movement patterns that can put strain on the same muscles, tendons, and joints over time. Without adequate strength and proper rest, muscles can become fatigued, leading to compensatory patterns that increase the risk of injury. Training your muscles with a novel stimulus and improving their strength and power can help reduce the risk of overuse injuries. 

Everybody talks about the glutes. However, many running injuries can be linked to weak hamstrings or core muscles as well.  Excessive training volume without a proper base can cause a runner to modify their form in search of miles, which can lead to overuse injuries like IT band syndrome, achilles tendon strains or patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee). By incorporating strength training into your routine, you can target these vulnerable areas, ensuring that your muscles are strong enough to handle the repetitive load of running.

Additionally, strength training helps improve joint stability and increases the flexibility and elasticity of tendons. This reduces the likelihood of injury by allowing your joints to move through their proper ranges of motion without restriction. Strengthening the stabilizing muscles around the hips, knees, and ankles also promotes improved running efficiency and running mechanics, helping to reduce the risk of impact-related injuries.

Enhancing Running Performance and Economy

While strength training is often associated with injury prevention, it also plays a key role in improving performance and efficiency. Running performance is not just about speed or distance; it’s also about how efficiently the body moves. This is known as running economy, which refers to the amount of energy a runner expends to maintain a certain pace.

Runners with a good running economy tend to be more efficient because their muscles can produce force without wasting excess energy. Strength training directly contributes to this by increasing the power and endurance of the muscles used in running, improving neuromuscular coordination, and enhancing the body’s ability to generate and control force. Even if you’re already a very fit runner, strength training can help you improve. High load strength training might be particularly effective in improving running economy in athletes with a high VO2max, and at high running speeds https://rdcu.be/ed7cV

For example, strengthening the core muscles (including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back) improves core stability while running. This enables the runner to maintain a more efficient stride and reduce wasted energy caused by excessive torso movement.

Strengthening the lower body—especially the glutes, calves, hip flexors, quadriceps, and hamstrings—directly improves your running stride, allowing you to push off the ground with more power and perform with a more efficient stride turnover (improves cadence) without overstriding. This contributes to better speed and endurance, while also reducing fatigue over long distances.

If you’re ready to incorporate strength training into your training routine, it's essential to focus on exercises that challenge the muscles you’ll be using during your runs. Here are some key areas to target in your strength training regimen:

Core: A strong core is critical for maintaining good running form, preventing fatigue, and stabilizing the pelvis during the running stride. 
Glutes and Hamstrings: The glutes and hamstrings are powerful muscles that provide propulsion and stability while running. Incorporating exercises such as squats, lunges, hip thrusts, and hamstring bridges to target the gluteal muscles and hip stabilizers.
Quads and Calves: The quads and calves work together to provide the force needed for each stride. Incorporate exercises like step-ups, single-leg squats, Romanian deadlifts, calf raises, and bent knee calf raises to build leg strength.
Upper Body: Although running is primarily a lower-body workout, a strong upper body helps maintain proper posture and balance. Focus on upper body exercises such as push-ups, rows, and overhead presses to promote upper body strength.
Plyometrics: Plyometric exercises like box jumps and jumping lunges can improve your power, coordination, and explosive strength, which directly translates to a more efficient and powerful running stride.
By combining strength training with running, you’re setting yourself up for long term success running longer, faster, and more efficiently, all while minimizing the risk of injury.

Strength training and running when combined create a dynamic duo that enhances running performance, improves economy, and significantly reduces the risk of injury. Whether you are a seasoned marathoner or a weekend jogger, adding strength training to your routine can be the key to unlocking your next level of fitness. At OSO Physical Therapy we’re here to help you integrate strength training into your running routine and guide you toward a healthier and stronger run.