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Beyond the Squat

11 Strength Training Exercises For Runners

strength training exercises for runners

Strength training exercises help all types of runners from people looking to blow-off steam, sprinters on the track, and distance runners. It builds explosiveness and speed from your fast twitch muscles for sprinting (source) and can improve the endurance of slow twitch fibers for long distances. (source)

And by knowing which strength training exercises work the correct muscles, you’ll be training to run faster, farther, and even correct muscle imbalances that can lead to injury (source).  And as an added bonus, many of the exercises below help to strengthen your core, which is crucial for proper running form and performance (source). 

But choosing the right movements to reach your running goals starts with knowing the muscles you need to work.  And there are seven primary muscle groups your body uses while running.

  • Glutes—important for both speed and distance.
  • Quads—major contributor to acceleration and knee extension.
  • Hamstrings—critical for speed and knee flexing (heel kicking).
  • Calves—key for propelling forward and stabilizing your connection with the ground.
  • Hip flexors—crucial to bring your leg forward fast enough for another step so that you don’t fall forward.
  • Back/Core/Arms—keeps you standing upright, breathing well, and helps you balance/counterbalance for a regular running rhythm.
  • Foot—the 19 muscles in the foot keep you stable and agile against the ground whether it’s flat, or bumpier than the cellulite you don’t have because you’re a strength trainer and a runner.

So, whether you’re training for a marathon or just want to make sure you have the wheels to catch the early bus before it pulls away, these 11 strength training exercises will get you “up to speed” quickly so you’re ready to “go the distance” anytime.

Pro-tip: To add intensity, especially if you’re short on time, add in free weights or weighted vests to increase the challenge.

Lunges

Lunges are a unilateral exercise that targets your glutes, quads, and hamstrings while also engaging your calf and hip muscles. They are great for fixing muscle imbalances and helping to develop coordination for runs on the trail or across the sandy dunes.

  1. Start the lunge by standing up straight and stepping forward with one leg.
  2. Lower your body so that your rear knee goes towards the floor and be careful to not let your front knee go past your toes.
  3. Push off the ground with your front leg and bring your feet back together  .

For some extra burn, try exploding up out of a lunge with a jump.

Glute Focused Squat Machines

Glutes have a huge role in running (source), not only powering your strides but also acting as stabilizers for both the knee and trunk while providing overall  shock absorption.  Squat machine squats that target the glutes  (source) can be a great addition to your overall routine, and can be used both for building strength on your off-run days, or pre-run warmups that get the glutes firing.

Heel Raises

Also commonly called calf raises, this exercise targets the calves and foot muscles critical for both speed and endurance (source).

Heel raises are simple to do.

  1. Stand up straight.
  2. Raise up on your toes and briefly pause.
  3. Return to standing.

Beginners can hold onto a chair or brace against a wall to do heel raises with both feet at the same time or one at a time. This way you can keep your balance more easily.  If you want to get even more range of motion, do this exercise on the steps so you can stretch your heel(s) below the edge of the step.  Make sure there is a railing to hold onto in case you fall off balance.

For advanced athletes that have the balance of a ballerina, hold weights above your head/out to your side/in front of you while doing the raises. This will make your calves workout extra hard and heavily engage the muscles around the foot and ankle. Not to mention you’ll quickly feel the burn in your core and shoulder muscles.

Toe Raises

The muscles in the front of our lower legs don’t get the cultural fanfare that our (back) calves do. But they’re just as important for runners, especially to avoid injuries like shin splints.

Toe raises are as easy as calf raises.

  1. Stand up straight with your feet flat on the floor.
  2. Raise your toes toward your chin while keeping your heels on the floor and briefly pause.
  3. Repeat.

Speed Skaters

Speed skaters are a side-to-side exercise that works your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and hip muscles from a different direction than most other front-to-back or up/down exercises.

  1. Start standing up straight with most of your weight on your left leg.
  2. Hop or step to the right.
  3. Squat to the floor on your right leg as you swing your left leg behind you.
  4. Swing your arms across your chest to maintain balance.

Try adding ankle weights and wrist weights to get that afterburner type speed.

Jump Rope 

Jumping rope is a great way to develop coordination, improve aerobic capacity, muscle reactivity, and plyometric conditioning, all of which have positive effects for your overall running program.  Simply warming up with a jump rope has been shown to improve running performance (source).

  1. Hold one handle in each hand and place the loop of the jump rope behind your heels.
  2. Swing the jump rope over your head from behind while leaping off of the ground.
    1. Most people find a double bounce with a small bounce as the rope passes over your head and a larger jump as it passes below you to be easier.
  3. Land and swing the rope again until your time goal or the amount of jumps in your set has been completed.

It’s easy to increase the intensity of a jump rope workout.  You can try a weighted jump rope for a larger emphasis on your arm muscles, and ankle weights for your legs.

Pistol Squats

Like lunges, pistol squats are a unilateral exercise that works all the muscles in your lower body. But these are harder for most people since your entire body weight is supported by only one leg at a time for the entire exercise.

Pistol squats are also great for improving balance as you keep one leg straight in front of you during the squat.

  1. Stand up straight then lift your left leg in front of you while keeping it straight.
  2. Squat down on the right leg while keeping the left leg straight in front.
  3. Try to go down low enough in the squat that your left leg is parallel to the floor.
  4. Push back up out of the squat and repeat.

Side Shuffles

Side shuffles are an agility exercise that works the muscles throughout your hip and ankles while also working the major leg muscles. You can turn this into a great endurance exercise as well with longer and faster sets.

The side to side nature of this exercise helps develop your lateral movement and coordination that is great for uneven running surfaces as well as sports that take lots of side to side cutting (source).

  1. Start in an athletic stance by hinging at the hips and keeping your back straight with your knees slightly bent.
  2. Stay in your stance as you take several small steps to the right and then back to the left.

Resistance bands around your legs can increase the intensity for a tougher workout.

Single Leg Deadlifts

This exercise targets the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back and it’s great for balance and coordination as you have to rotate your entire body over one leg.

  1. Start with your weight on one leg and the knee slightly bent.
  2. Hinge your entire body at the hips and rotate forward while keeping your back straight and the other leg behind you straight or slightly bent at the knee.
  3. Make sure to keep your chest pointed straight at the ground (don’t let your upper body rotate left to right).
  4. Rotate back to standing. 

Scorpions 

Scorpions will work your hamstrings, glutes, and the muscles from your hip up into your lower back while giving you a great stretch down your obliques and into your hip flexors.

  1. Start lying face down with your arms out to the side, palms down.
  2. Curl your right leg back as you rotate to your left while keeping your chest and palms on the ground (imagine you’re trying to tap your left ear with your right toes).
  3. Hold for several seconds and then return to the start. 

Bent Over Rows

The classic Bent Over Row is a multi-joint movement that targets the lats, traps, rhomboids, and lower back for increased overall postural strength and stability when you run.  Research has shown a strong link between upper body strength and running efficiency  (source). The beauty of Bent Over Rows is their versatility.  You can utilize barbells, dumbbells or even resistance bands, all to great effect.

  1. Lift the barbell from the rack while bending forward from your hips and keeping your back straight.
  2. Lower the bar downward with a controlled movement until your elbows are straight.
  3. Lift the bar towards your belly button while keeping your back straight, and then lower the barbell back down.

Mixing and matching the 11 strength training exercises above to work the right muscle groups will help train you to reach your running goals. Whether they are speed or endurance, or you’re getting into track and field, you’re set with the right movements to keep you “running” right along!

How The Amount You Sleep Affects How You Lose Weight

How The Amount You Sleep Affects How You Lose Weight

Both the amount of sleep and the quality of sleep affect your ability to lose weight. Not getting enough shares or even getting too much sleep can sabotage your BMI (body mass index) and make you 25-35% less likely to lose weight (source).

The optimal sleep time per night for weight loss is 7-8 hours (source), but not all sleep is created equal. Better, more restorative sleep comes from more time spent in deep sleep stages (source) and higher quality sleep can increase your likelihood of weight loss by 33% (source).  And one of the major causes is how sleep impacts your body’s hormones.

Sleep’s impact on hormone production for weight loss

When you don’t get enough sleep your body produces more of the hormone called gherlin and less of the one called leptin. Gherlin makes you hungry, leptin makes you feel full (source).

By not getting proper sleep, you’re actually putting your body into a chemically altered state that makes it harder to lose weight. That’s because your body is fooling you into eating more calories. On average, people eat 200–500 more calories per day when they don’t get enough sleep (source). That’s up to 25% more based on a 2,000 calorie diet.  But you don’t want to overdo it either, too much sleep can also have a negative effect on weight loss, we share that fun fact in the bottom.

And don’t fall for those nutrition store “leptin” supplements. They don’t actually contain any leptin (source). Instead, they typically have caffeine to suppress appetite.  This is very similar to what you’ll see as a main ingredient in sports drinks and weight loss supplements.  And if you’re over caffeinated because you’re taking the supplements at the incorrect times, you may have even more difficulty getting to sleep and staying there (source).

Quality sleep leads to quality weight loss

Sleep is not the only factor involved in weight loss. Other elements like exercise and diet also play a crucial role. But sleep directly impacts both of these.

Better rest means more motivation to work out and more energy during workouts (source). So better sleep leads to better exercise that burns more calories and helps you lose more weight. But the circle of life doesn’t stop there.

Exercise, especially afternoon exercise, helps you get more deep sleep, which improves overall sleep quality (source). In turn, higher quality sleep leads to better diet choices.

When you get good sleep, it’s easier to choose fruits, vegetables, and other foods high in fiber (which combine with the proper gherlin/leptin levels in your body to help prevent overeating) (source). Poor sleep, on the other hand, can hurt your nutrition by causing you to eat more saturated fats and sugars (source).

Best of all, this combination of sleep, exercise, and diet come together to help your body lose the right kind of weight while you sleep, i.e. fat. When you reduce your daily calories to lose weight AND get proper sleep, you’re more likely to lose weight by burning fat deposits vs fat-free body mass (e.g. your muscles) (source).

A major reason for this is increased cortisol levels caused by lack of good sleep (source). Cortisol is the stress hormone that kicks your body’s prehistoric survival instincts into high gear, causing it to conserve fat deposits and sacrifice muscle.

Pound for pound, muscle burns nearly 3 times the calories that fatty tissue does (source), so getting good sleep and keeping cortisol levels low helps you keep that lean body mass that incinerates more calories throughout the day, which leads to more successful weight loss.

Now that you understand the connection between how much sleep you need and weight loss you can plan for proper resting regimens. Just don’t snooze that alarm too much because too much sleep will hinder your weight loss efforts too (source).

How Magnesium Eases and Is Used to Reduce Leg Cramps

magnesium and leg cramps

If you're experiencing leg cramps regularly, you're no stranger to the discomfort they can cause and how they "cramp" your style. However, a simple solution to preventing these cramps may be to increase how much magnesium you get daily. 

Magnesium deficiencies often lead to leg cramps, which is why it is important to pay attention to your absorption and intake levels. While magnesium can be a helpful way to prevent leg cramps, your body only absorbs a limited amount (about 30-40%) in the foods you eat.  But don't worry about the absorption level, it combines with other essential minerals like calcium and potassium to keep your muscles relaxed and flexible. 

This collaboration supplies your muscles with the required oxygen and nutrients needed to function while reducing any built-up metabolites and swelling.  This combined effort also improves your blood flow and stabilizes your nerve impulses.  So if you’re a bit short on magnesium, these combinations help to boost each other to keep your leg cramps at bay.

But magnesium deficiencies aren’t the only causes of leg cramps, so it is important to first determine the cause before trying to fix them. 

*Always talk to your doctor before trying any new treatments as only they know your medical history and can make recommendations based on your needs.

The Types of Leg Cramps Magnesium May Be Able to be Used For:

  • Nerve Dysfunction
  • Overworked Leg Muscles
  • Dehydration
  • Medications
  • Pregnancy

Nerve Dysfunction

Nerve dysfunction causes leg cramps by disrupting the signaling between your nerves and the muscles in your legs.

Magnesium prevents muscle cramps by reducing your nerve sensitivity and stopping the release of calcium from your nerve endings (source). This reduces the sensitivity of your nerves and blocks the release of calcium diminishing the muscular contractions. In turn, it reduces the cramps and your discomfort.

Overworked Leg Muscles

Overworked leg muscles trigger leg cramps because your exhausted muscles lose their ability to regulate their contractions.

Magnesium releases the tension in your leg muscles keeping your muscle cells from getting overworked (source). Releasing tension also removes any lactic acid buildup and promotes good blood flow to your legs. 

Dehydration

Electrolytes like potassium and magnesium are crucial for maintaining your body's fluid balance. And this intern helps ensure proper nerve and muscle function.  Your electrolyte levels decrease when you are dehydrated, leading to cramps that can occur throughout your body.  And painful muscle contractions in your legs are more common with dehydration since you use your leg muscles more frequently.

Dehydration also lowers your blood volume making it harder for your blood to circulate and deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. The result is muscle fatigue and leg cramping.  Since magnesium helps regulate the balance of electrolytes in your body, a magnesium deficiency can lead to leg spasms (source).

Medications 

Some medications cause cramps because they affect electrolyte levels and the circulation in your legs.  Since these medications interfere with some of your body's normal functioning, it’s more likely that you'll experience cramping in your legs. 

Here's a closer look at how certain medications can lead to leg cramps:

  • Diuretics increase your urine production and result in an electrolyte imbalance. 
  • Statins are medications that lower your cholesterol levels and increase how much calcium enters your muscle cells.
  • Blood pressure medications like beta blockers reduce high blood pressure. And the reduced blood flow to your legs can result in cramps.
  • Corticosteroids imitate the effects of the hormones produced by your adrenal gland. They can interfere with the balance of potassium and calcium in your body, affecting your muscle function and increasing your risk of leg cramping.

Taking magnesium supplements may offer relief if you are experiencing cramps from your medication.  Magnesium unwinds your muscles while adjusting your electrolytes and boosting your nerve functions to reduce the frequency and severity of muscle cramps (source).  Just make sure you talk to your doctor as you don’t want to take anything that would interfere with your medication, or other health issues.

Pregnancy

Leg cramps can occur during pregnancy due to weight gain, hormonal changes, changes in circulation, and increased pressure on blood vessels. The pressure exerted from your growing uterus on the blood vessels reduces the blood flow to your legs.  Your body during pregnancy also requires more magnesium (due to the growing fetus), so it is more easy to become deficient.

Magnesium relieves cramps during pregnancy by relaxing your muscles and improving your sleep quality.  And with the extra weight your legs carry, they may be more exhausted and prone to cramping.  Improving the quality of your sleep helps your muscles recover faster because your body produces hormones that aid in the growth and repair of your leg muscles. (additional source.)

Now that you know what can cause a magnesium deficiency, lets look at the recommended amounts of magnesium to aim to consume daily.  This starts with testing magnesium levels and adjusting the foods you eat.

Testing Your Magnesium Levels and Determining the Recommended Amounts

Here are several ways to determine if you are meeting your magnesium needs with food:

  • Measuring the magnesium levels in your blood is possible through a blood test, but it may not be very precise since only 1% of the magnesium in your body is present in your bloodstream.
  • You can undergo a 24-hour urine test to assess the quantity of magnesium your body is excreting, which approximates the amount of magnesium you utilize. 
  • Magnesium deficiencies can cause various symptoms like muscle cramps, anxiety, sleep problems, and an irregular heartbeat. You may not get enough magnesium if you have any of these symptoms.
  • You also can track your diet using a food diary or a mobile app to see how much magnesium you are getting from your diet. 

Since the amount of magnesium you need to prevent leg cramps varies based on your age and gender, the following chart is a good starting point to find your daily recommended amount.

Age

Amount of Magnesium Recommended

Birth to 6 months

30 mg

Infants 7–12 months

75 mg

Children 1–3 years

80 mg

Children 4–8 years

130 mg

Children 9–13 years

240 mg

Teen boys 14–18 years

410 mg

Teen girls 14–18 years

360 mg

Men

400–420 mg

Women

310–320 mg

Pregnant teens

400 mg

Pregnant women

350–360 mg

Breastfeeding teens

360 mg

Breastfeeding women

310–320 mg

Source:  National Institutes of Health

Now its time to find ways to increase magnesium levels within your diet.  There are numerous foods and spices you can try as meals and snacks for a simple and effective solution.   For example, add spinach to your salad or sandwich, snack on almonds as a mid-morning treat, or include black beans in a hearty soup or chili.

Here are some common magnesium-rich foods and their approximate magnesium content (per 100 grams):

Food 

Amount of Magnesium (mg)

Mackerel

76 mg

Spinach

79 mg

Chickpeas

79 mg

Instant Oatmeal

87  mg

Salmon

95 mg

Brown Rice

98 mg

Oats

138 mg

Peanut butter

159 mg

Black Beans

171 mg

Quinoa

197 mg

Dark Chocolate (70-85% cocoa)

228 mg

Almonds

270 mg

Cashews

292 mg

Sunflower seeds

325 mg

Sesame seeds

351 mg

Brazil nuts

376 mg

Pumpkin Seeds

592 mg

Source: USDA National Nutrient Database

These values are approximate and may vary depending on the specific product, brand, and preparation method. 

Including magnesium-rich spices in your cooking is another easy way to add more of this essential mineral into your diet.  You can add basil to your pasta dishes, ginger to your stir-fries, or thyme to your roasted vegetables.

Common spices high in magnesium are (per 100 grams):

Spice

Amount of Magnesium (mg)

Basil

64 mg

Allspice

135 mg

Paprika

178 mg

Nutmeg

183 mg

Tumeric

208 mg

Ginger

214 mg

Rosemary

220 mg

Thyme

220 mg

Curry

255 mg

Oregano

270 mg

Cumin

366 mg

Mustard Seeds

370 mg

Sage

428 mg

Coriander

694 mg

Source: USDA National Nutrient Database

Even if you consume enough magnesium-rich foods to meet your daily recommended intake, your body may still not have enough.  Age, genetics, certain health conditions, and specific medications can also affect your body's ability to absorb magnesium.  But you don’t have to worry if you are still deficient because magnesium supplements can help ward off leg cramps (source)!

The absorption and effectiveness of magnesium can differ depending on its various forms, and certain forms are more appropriate for specific health issues.

Some forms of magnesium commonly used for leg cramps are:

  • Magnesium citrate is a highly absorbable, gentle supplement for your digestive system that can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.
  • Magnesium chloride is also easily absorbed and is available in tablets, capsules, liquids, and topical sprays, making it convenient if you get leg cramps in the middle of the night.
  • Magnesium glycinate is a highly absorbable form of magnesium that is well-tolerated. It improves muscle function, alleviates insomnia, and doesn’t leave an aftertaste.
  • Magnesium lactate is quickly absorbed, making it a gentle supplement for your digestive system. It reduces stress and anxiety and is safe enough to be prescribed during pregnancy.
  • Magnesium malate is a specific form of magnesium that is quickly absorbed by your body, lowers your muscle pain, and is gentle on your digestive system because it neutralizes your stomach acid
  • Magnesium oxide, also known as milk of magnesia, is a popular option to treat leg cramps because of its high magnesium content and its ability to prevent migraines.
  • Magnesium sulfate, also known as Epsom salt, is often used in baths to relieve sore muscles, cramps, and tension and is absorbed through your skin.  People frequently utilize magnesium as a laxative, and in a medical setting, it sees frequent use for treating eclampsia.

Magnesium is a well-tolerated nutrient commonly used to treat leg cramps.  And if this is the cause of yours, talk to your doctor first and then use this guide to magnesium and leg cramps to help match your food and supplement intake so it works to alleviate your pain, and not "cramp" your style.

 

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