Looking to run faster, more efficiently, and with fewer injuries? To accomplish all three, you need strength training on the schedule. According to a 2022 review paper published in Sports, resistance exercise improves running economy and biomechanics, and it may even reduce the likelihood of injury. That’s precisely why you want to add this effective, full-body circuit workout to your training plan.
“A full-body strength-training program is absolutely vital for any runner, whether they be a weekend warrior or a sponsored athlete,” Dane Miklaus, C.S.C.S., founder of WORK Training Studio in Irvine, California tells Runner’s World. “Not only will it help improve running speed and efficiency, but it will correct imbalances and serve as insurance against injuries.”
To maximize your workout benefits, Miklaus created this full-body circuit workout to strengthen all your key running muscles. Thanks to compound exercises that hit multiple muscles at one time, you also get more work done in a shorter amount of time. By using a set of dumbbells, you also add more resistance, which helps you build strength and levels up the challenge.
The Benefits of This Full-Body Circuit Workout
Throughout the workout, you get a mix of moves that work your muscles in new directions and in creative ways, helping to challenge you outside of the typical forward-moving motion of your run. With each move, the goal is to stabilize your midsection so you learn to build core strength, while working your entire body. You’ll also get your heart rate up throughout this workout, helping to build aerobic capacity in a new way.
How to use this list: Perform each exercise in the order below for 45 seconds, and rest for 15 to 20 seconds between each move. Complete 2-3 sets. Each move is demonstrated by Cory Pickert, certified trainer at WORK Training Studio, in the video above so you can learn the proper form. You will need a set of dumbbells. An exercise mat is optional.
Miklaus recommends practicing his routine two to three times a week on non-running days.
1. Press Jack
Why it works: This move is great because it strengthens the key running muscles in one cardio-intense move—shoulders, core, muscles of the lateral hip, and muscles around the ankle. This exercise stabilizes and challenges runners to move directionally in a way they most likely neglect, Miklaus says.
How to do it: Stand with feet together, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulders, palms facing face. Jump feet wide while simultaneously extending arms above head in a Y shape. Then jump feet back together and bring arms back down to shoulders. Repeat. Land softly with each jump.
2. Bent-Over Reverse Press
Why it works: Practicing this move will help strengthen the stabilizing muscles around the shoulder, as well as the lats and triceps. Miklaus says runners typically have an active arm swing on the way up and a passive arm swing on the way down—this move will help strengthen your arm muscles so you have a stronger swing on the way down, too.
How to do it: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing behind you. Keeping core engaged and back flat, bend knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, so torso is nearly parallel to the ground and arms are hanging directly below shoulders. This is the starting position. Keeping neck neutral and elbows straight, press arms back and up so that the dumbbells lift higher than hips. Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat.
3. Skier With Reverse Lunge
Why it works: This move will help runners stay strong with each step, Miklaus says. The complex move targets important running muscles in the legs and torso, and will help develop a solid core.
How to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Hinge at the hips, keeping back flat and core tight, and driving both arms behind you. Then drive the feet into the floor and extend at the hips (use the glutes for power), as you simultaneously bring the arms straight up overhead and step backward with left foot into a reverse lunge, both knees bending 90 degrees. Press through right foot to stand back up, immediately going back into your hinge position with feet hip-width apart and dumbbells driving behind you. Repeat on opposite side. Continue alternating.
4. Push-Up to Renegade Row
Why it works: Push-ups are one of the most effective exercises to help runners strengthen their core muscles. “By adding in a dumbbell row with this variation, the goal isn’t so much to activate the upper back muscles as it is to stimulate even more core activation,” Miklaus says. That’s because your core has to fight to avoid the rotation of the hips.
How to do it: Start in a high plank position with each hand on a dumbbell, wrists under shoulders, core engaged so body forms a straight line from head to heels. Place feet wider than hip-width apart. Bend elbows to form a 45-degree angle with body, lowering chest and full body to the floor. Exhale and push back up to plank. Then engage back muscles to slowly pull right hand up to the ribcage then slowly return the weight to the floor. Repeat on left side. Continue performing the push-up and one row on each side.
5. Squat to Woodchop
Why it works: Practicing this move is a must for runners who like to go on outdoor adventures. “It makes you connect your mind to your movement and body more, and it can assist in the development of agility and reactivity,” Miklaus says, which is what you need to tackle varying terrain. This exercise is also great for working in a different plane of motion, as it gets runners to move in the transverse (or rotational) plane.
How to do it: Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms down in front of you with dumbbells together. Lower into a squat by sending hips down and back, dumbbells reaching toward the floor. Then drive through feet to stand back up, and as you do, pivot feet and twist torso to the left (keep shoulders over hips), bringing dumbbells to shoulder level. Lower the weights back down in front as you lower back into a squat. Repeat on other side. Continue alternating.
6. V-Up
Why it works: “The goal is to not only lift up with both the trunk and legs as high as possible, but also to be able to lower down with complete control,” Miklaus says. This exercise targets the abs and hip flexors.
How to do it: Lie faceup with legs extended, arms above the head with both hands holding a dumbbell horizontally. Lift head, shoulders, and legs off the floor and into a V position. Slowly lower back down. Repeat.
Monique LeBrun joined the editorial staff in October 2021 as the associate health and fitness editor. She has a master’s degree in journalism and has previously worked for ABC news and Scholastic. She is an avid runner who loves spending time outside.
