Ep #382: Strength Training Basics for Runners

 Welcome to the not your average runner podcast. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running coach and your running BFF here to help you start running, feel confident and love the journey no matter your size. Now if you’ve ever felt like you just weren’t meant to be a runner, think again. I believe that running is for all bodies, even yours.

This podcast is your warmup buddy. giving you tips, motivation, and the support you need to lace up and get moving. I’ve helped thousands of women become runners, and now I want to help you. Let’s go. Hello, my running friends. Welcome back to the podcast. Today, we are departing from running topics for a little bit to discuss something really important, and that is the words we use to describe our bodies.

Hey runner, welcome back to the show. Today we are talking about something that can make a huge difference in your running journey, and that is strength training. Now I get it. I know what you’re thinking. I just wanna run. Why do I need to lift weights? 

But here’s the thing, a little bit of strength work is gonna make running feel easier. It’s gonna help prevent injuries and it might even make you faster. And it actually saves you time in the long run because it not only benefits your running, it makes activities of daily living feel a hell of a lot easier.

’cause now it doesn’t hurt going up and down stairs and that 50 pound bag of dog food doesn’t feel like such a burden. All right. And the best part is you don’t need to spend hours in the gym to see benefits. Uh, today I am breaking down the basics of what you need to do, the absolute bare minimum that you need to do, why it matters, and how to fit it into your routine.

All right, so let’s get into it. Why does strength training matter for runners? Well. We all know that running is amazing, but it’s also a high impact activity that puts stress on your muscles, joints, and your bones, especially if you’re a plus size person, right? Like let’s just talk about it. So strength training helps you by.

Building stronger muscles so you feel less tired on your run, uh, by improving joint stability, which reduces your risk of knee, ankle, and hip injuries. That’s a very, very important one. And stronger muscles also boost your endurance because stronger muscles don’t get tired as quickly, so you can go farther and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

You don’t have to have a fancy gym. Body weight exercises and resistance bands can do the trick for you. So. What are the best strength training exercises for runners? Well, the best part about all of this is it is so simple, right? You do not need to lift like a bodybuilder to get the benefits.

The key is functional strength training, and that means exercises that mimic the movement of running, or help keep your running muscles strong and balanced. So here are five essential and simple moves that every runner should include, and they are moves that you can do literally anywhere with no equipment.

Number one is squats, right? Squats. Strengthen your quads, your hamstrings, and your glutes and your glutes are the powerhouse of your run. Alright? So strong glutes mean that you are more stable, your knees are definitely more stable. Um, and, and your glutes are really like the force that pushes you forward.

So strong glutes means you are a stronger runner. Now lunges strengthen the [00:03:00] same muscles, but in a different way because lunges mimic the running motion and because you do them one side at a time, they improve your balance and your stability. Glute bridges, which uh, are the ones you do when you’re laying on your back with your feet flat on the ground and you’re lifting your hips up and down.

These activate and strengthen your glute. And again, I mentioned that weak glutes mean that you’re more likely to have knee pain. Strong glutes are protective against knee pain, so glute bridges are a really, really important one. Calf raises these, isolate and strengthen your calves, your lower legs, and they reduce the risk of a achilles and plantar fasciitis issues.

Um, they also help strengthen your ankles. So if you’re somebody who has weak, weaker ankles, you feel like your ankles are a little wobbly. Calf raises will help with that. And then finally planks. You know, everybody hates planks, but planks are one of the fastest and easiest ways to build solid core strength.

And core strength is important for that good running posture. And we talked about that a few episodes ago. Keeping your, um, your. Chest open, keeping your body upright. If you have a strong core, it is much easier to do those things and it’s gonna reduce your back pain while you’re running. All right, so there’s five exercises, and you’re gonna start out with two sets of eight repetitions.

Okay? So eight repetitions just means you do eight squats. That’s, those are like one, squat is one rep, and then one set is a collection of reps. So two sets of eight repetitions mean you’re, means that you’re gonna do, uh, eight squats. You’re gonna do eight lunges on each side. You’re gonna do eight glute bridges, eight calf raises, and then for the plank you’re gonna hold it for 15 seconds instead of doing reps.

You know, that’s. Uh, one round of sets and then you’re gonna do it again. Okay? And I know you’re busy, right? I can feel people saying like, oh God, I don’t have time for all of this. Right? I get it. I know that adding something extra can feel overwhelming, especially if you have already like worked really hard to fit running into your routine.

But I promise that this set of strength exercises. It’s gonna take you 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops. If you’re like me, I’m always like, oh, I’m gonna get a sip of water in between and I take my time. But really it’s 10 to 15 minutes. And if you do it twice a week, that is enough to see improvements.

Okay, so let’s talk about simple ways to fit it in. Uh, the easiest way I think is right after you’re done running, do your two sets, okay? After an easy run. If, if it’s been a hard run day, maybe save it for an easier day. But just do those two sets and then stretch. Okay? So you’ll do your run 10 minutes of strength and then stretch.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Now, if you don’t like to do strength training after you run, alright, I feel you. That’s fine. Um, you can do it on a non-running day, right? You can do it on, uh, maybe you just try to like squeeze it in on a rest day. Um, not the best option, but like that’s fine if you need to do 10 minutes of that, um, or, or any other non-running day.

And you can even like do a longer session if you want to on those days, but you don’t have to. Now, if you’re sitting here thinking, girl, I don’t have time for any of that, I really don’t. I get it. Again, I know you’re busy, so. Here is the ultimate hack. We’re gonna minimum baseline that shit. So pick two or three of the exercises and while you are waiting for your shower water to heat up, you’re gonna do your two sets.

Okay? I’m sorry. You’re gonna do one set. So maybe eight squats and eight glute bridges. Okay. While you’re waiting for that shower water to heat up. Do that every single day before you shower, rotate through the exercises, and after a week, you will have done the full thing twice. Okay? So this is like a, just a sneaky little hack to fit it in, to trick your brain if you’re, if you’re really thinking like, I just don’t have time.

Alright? What, you know, if you’re normally just scrolling your phone while you’re waiting for the shower, water to heat up, do your strength training, okay. The key here, I want to stress this, is that consistency is important, not perfection. We are not concerned with perfection. We are concerned with repeatedly being consistent with our approach.

All right? So start small and build from there. And I know, [00:08:00] here’s the thing, I, I can feel you if you’re the, the one who is thinking, oh, but that’s not enough to get really strong. I am gonna talk directly to you, okay? You gotta start somewhere and 10 minutes, twice a week or 30 seconds before your shower or a minute before your shower.

Every day is gonna make a shit ton more progress than no minutes, twice a week. All right? Every little bit counts. It matters, and it helps. All right, so. Do me a solid, right? Try it for a month and see what you think. Just give me that 20 minutes per week, right? 10 minutes, twice a week. Or give me, two minutes per shower.

Like whatever you wanna do, do it for a month. And then just notice if you don’t feel a little bit stronger, right? What do you have to lose? Right? You have zero to lose, and if it doesn’t help, okay, fine. You go back to doing it your way, alright? But if it does make a difference, now you know how easy it is and you have got extra motivation to keep doing it right.

It is a win-win now. If you want help getting consistent and getting stronger, I wanna encourage you to join up and running. So up and running, um, is my beginner’s program. It’s running, the next one is starting on April 1st. It runs live from April 1st to April 30th, and it is designed to take you from.

Zero to Confident Runner in just 30 days. It includes a beginner friendly training plan. It includes strength and stretching workouts that are tailored for runners, and it includes support and motivation from an amazing community and coaching from me. Okay, so this class, even if you are already a runner, is a great way to refresh yourself on the basics.

Okay? So if you’ve been waiting for the right time to start. This is it. All right, we’re gonna start April 1st. Head on over to not your average runner.com/up and running to sign up today. Um, you can click the link in the show notes as well, but again, that website is not your average runner.com/up and running or click the link in the show notes now.

If you are a current member of Run Your Best Life. Or you have previously taken my, taken my up and running class, or you took it when it was called the Rebel Runner roadmap. Do not pay and join again. You’ve, if you have already taken this class or you are currently a member of my Run Your Best Life community, this, you, you are good to go.

You’ll be getting an email from me letting you know how to, uh, access this next round of classes. But if you’ve never taken this class or you’re not a member of Run Your Best Life. All you gotta do to register is go to not your average runner.com/up and running, and we start on April 1st. All right. Okay, my friends, that is all for this episode.

I hope this gave you the confidence to add a little bit of strength training to your running routine. And as I said, even small changes can make a huge difference in how you feel on your runs. So if you love this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, share it with a friend who needs to hear it.

Um, don’t forget to grab your spot in up and running before we start, and I will be back next week with more tips to help you run strong, run happy, and run your way. All right. Until then, please remember, you are a runner no matter your pace or your body size, and I’ll talk to you next week.

Real quick before you go, I’ve got a fun challenge for you.

Take my Exerciser Personality Quiz to find out exactly what kind of exerciser you are and how to make running feel easier and more enjoyable. Just head over to notyouraveragerunner. com slash quiz to take it and get your results. That’s notyouraveragerunner. com slash quiz.