Best Exercises For Marathon Runners

I wanted to write an article looking at specific exercises that I think would be good to add to your training routine if you're a marathon runner, or endurance athlete. These are some of my favourites that have worked well with previous clients and current clients.

When it comes to deciding which are the best exercises to perform you need to understand as a marathon runner, or endurance athlete what are the major muscles that need strengthening, and also protection from injuries.

I have chosen exercises that look at the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, tibialis, lower back and core.

I have attached a video to each exercise to show you how to perform the exercise safely and correctly.

Here are the ten we will look at.

1. Calf Raises

2. Tib Raises

3. Single Leg Glute Bridge

4. Seated Hamstring Curls

5. Back Squat

6. Barbell Hip Thrusts

7. Back Extension

8. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

9. Cable Woodchops

10. Plank

1. Calf Raises

As the name suggests this exercise targets the calves. Whether you do both legs at a time or one leg, this exercise will isolate the calves, and get them stronger. The calves are an important component when it comes to the running mechanics. Improving the strength of the calves will also reduce the risk of injury to them. People that suffer with shin splints, in my experience, have a big improvement in discomfort with calf raises.

2. Tib Raises.

Some gyms won’t necessarily have the tib raise bar used to perform this move but if your gym does have this piece of equipment you need to be doing this movement.

The opposite move to the calf raises, the tib raise will strengthen the front of the shins, or the tibialis. Again, much like the calves it’s important to keep the tibialis strong to prevent injuries and help this muscle with the increase training load and distance.

3. Single Leg Hip Bridge

Using bodyweight or with added weight using a dumbbell, this exercise targets the glutes and specifically one glute at a time. This is great if you have one side stronger than the other. Additionally before you start a heavy leg session you can use this exercise to warm up the glutes and get them activated.

4. Seated Hamstring Curl

This exercise really isolated the hamstring muscles and is a great way of strengthening them. I feel this exercise is a must for endurance athletes and specifically marathon runners. Generally speaking the hamstring muscles are typically a lot weaker than the quadricep muscles amongst most people which is why strengthening the hamstrings is important to prevent imbalances and injuries.

5. Back Squat

The king of the leg exercises, the back squat works all the major muscles in the legs (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves). The squat will also work your core and lower back. Performed with good form the back squat has the ability to strengthen the legs and build good muscle.

6. Barbell Hip Thrusts

This is a big compound move that will strengthen your glutes and also strengthen the hamstring muscles and also the hip muscles. The barbell hip thrust can be annoying to set up with a bench and also can be quite uncomfortable for some people on the back. I suggest a towel on hand to place on the bench to protect the back, and also a foam pad to put around the bar to protect the hip bones. The later can be quite uncomfortable and if not done you could be facing a very long set. The exercise itself its very easy to perform. This is a must for marathon runners and endurance athletes.

7. Back Extension

This exercise specifically strengthens the lower back. Some gym’s might not have to this exact piece of equipment however if you do have it in your gym make the most of it and start using it. As previously mentioned this exercise strengthens the lower back but also strengthens the erector spinae, the two muscles either side of your spine, and can help improve the mobility of the lower back.

8. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

The exercise that puts the most fear in my clients eyes is the rear foot elevated split squat. Not for the faint of hearted but a must for anyone looking to strengthen their legs unilaterally, increase balance and mobility, and prevent muscle imbalances. This is a brutal exercise to perform but has many benefits to doing it. Will you enjoy it? Definitely not!

9. Cable Woodchops

I wanted to finish off the exercises with two core moves. The cable woodchop targets the obliques and the transversus abdominis (inner abs) which help us twist at the waist. This exercise will also target the back as well. The nice thing about the cable woodchop is you can progress by adding weight unlike a lot of other core moves which are just reps or time orientated. If you’re tired of doing hundreds of crunches then try this one out.

10. Plank

I wanted to finish this article with another core move which is slightly different to the cable woodchops. The plank works a lot of the deeper core muscles like the transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, and the obliques. The plank is relatively easy to perform and safe as long as you keep your core engaged and don’t let the hips drop too much.

You can make the exercise harder by adding weight or even performing it with your forearms on a Swiss ball. Keeping the core strong is vital is your running a marathon or training for an endurance event as this will protect the lower back from injury, and keep overall muscle balance.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful. However, if you are unsure what exercises to pick in a session, or how to formulate a programme that would be effective for marathon running or endurance sports then I would be happy to help.

Working with a personal trainer takes all the guess work out of planning a workout routine and helps you get to your results more efficiently. Just send me a message through my contact form on my home page and I will get back to you.

Until next time.