How Leg Workouts for Runners Work

To understand how leg workouts can benefit runners, it helps to have a basic knowledge of the muscles in your legs and how they work together. Nearly all the leg muscles are used in running. By strengthening each group, you will improve your running form and balance.

As you move your leg forward, you use mainly the quadricep muscles at the front of your thigh. They bend your hip and straighten your knee. The quads also stabilize the knee and help absorb the shock of impact as you land.

As your body moves forward, the action switches to your hamstrings, the muscles at the back of your thigh, which straighten your hip and begin to bend your knee. The hamstrings also work to help you lift your knee behind you.

At the same time, the muscles of your lower leg, the soleus (inner calf) and gastrocnemius (outer calf) extend and flex each foot as you land and push off. These muscles also help absorb impact and give your stride spring.

In addition to these primary running muscles, several other muscle groups play a role in running form and are important to include in your leg workouts. The gluteal muscles form the buttocks. They help extend the hip, straightening it beneath you. Just as important, they stabilize the trunk and keep you upright. Strong glutes contribute to good running form and alignment.

The hip muscles are also important. Because they lie deeper than hamstrings and quads, they are often neglected in workouts. Hip flexors and extenders work with the quads and hamstrings to move the legs forward and back. The hip rotator muscles stabilize the hip joint and contribute to good running form.

Your leg workouts should be aimed at strengthening all these muscles and achieving overall development, especially where opposing groups are concerned. Exercises aimed at the quadriceps, for example, should be balanced by a hamstring workout.

Read on to learn how some simple exercises that you can do at home can strengthen the muscles and improve your running form.

Your home workout to strengthen your legs should begin with basic calisthenics. Here are five easy exercises that work the legs:

Plyometrics is another convenient and effective form of leg workout. These exercises, which involve jumping and bounding, work the often-ignored deeper muscles and help develop explosive power. Start by simply hopping back and forth over a line. Next, try hopping forward onto a step or low box. Alternate legs. Skipping exercises -- in which you both jump off from and land on the same foot before doing the same with the other foot -- is another great plyometric workout.

A final convenient home workout is hill running. "Hill running is resistance training for runners," Dallas-based running coach Chris Phelan told Runner's World in 2004 [source: Cooper: Upward Mobility]. Choose a 5 to 10 percent grade -- not too steep. Then, run up and jog down while lifting your knees and pumping your arms. Aim for five to eight charges up the slope.

While these exercises can conveniently be done most anywhere, training at the gym can let you focus on more precise exercises that target your leg muscles. Read on to learn how.

Most of the exercises you do at home aren't as focused as the ones you can perform in the gym. The equipment there isolates specific leg muscle groups and lets you add resistance as your strength increases. You can plan a varied workout, moving from one machine or weight station to another to work different muscles and keep your development balanced. And simply getting out of the house and going to the gym can be enough to boost your motivation to work hard.

One often-posed question is: Should runners stick to light weights in order to avoid bulked-up muscles, which might slow them down? The question has been debated for years, but many coaches now advise that using heavier weights with fewer repetitions is best for strengthening muscles and ligaments. For any given exercise, you should choose a resistance that makes you fatigued after 12-15 reps. Plan to do two or three sets before moving on [source: Hanc].

Resistance machines are a good place to start in the gym. They isolate particular muscle groups for strengthening and make it easier to maintain good form and to move through the entire range of motion with close to uniform resistance. Quadriceps extensions, hamstring curls and leg presses are the three basic ways to work your legs on these machines. In general, you should keep movements slow and controlled, and, once again, avoid locking your knees by stopping just before they're entirely straight.

While machines are good for working specific muscles, free-weight workouts are good for building leg muscles overall and for improving the balance and alignment you need to run well. Here are three beneficial leg exercises that you can do in the gym.

Some of the exercises you did at home, like the calf raise and the one-legged squat, can also be done in the gym using weights. You can take advantage of the gym's treadmill to build strength. Raising the angle of the platform will provide the equivalent of hill running.

These basic exercises should get you started. Read on for more tips about leg workouts.

Runners who incorporate strength workouts usually do them twice a week, sometimes three times. Don't do strength training on the same day as a hard run. Similarly, you should also avoid working out the day before a race because your body needs time to recover. Strength training is great for the off-season and for times when weather limits your running.

Vary your strength workout routine, and try to work several major muscle groups in each session. Always warm up and stretch before you begin your workout. Some light jogging is a good way to prepare.

Don't focus only on building muscles. Workouts should also improve your alignment and coordination. Exercises which require balance, for example, train the muscles that make small adjustments in your posture. Make sure you maintain good form and alignment throughout the movement. Never sacrifice form in order to lift heavier weights or do a few more repetitions.

When you can, it's useful to include one-legged variations of exercises. These movements better mimic the actual motion of running, in which each leg moves independently. One-legged exercises can work each leg harder than two-legged varieties and build more strength. They are also good for strengthening your non-dominant leg.

You also can use strength workouts to help repair or prevent common running injuries. Shin splints, for example, are helped by calf raises. Leaning your back against a wall and raising your toes, keeping the heels on the ground, is another good shin splint preventive. Exercises that build hamstring and quadricep strength are good for recovering from runner's knee.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind when you work your legs:

One final point to keep in mind: Strength workouts should be fun. Vary your routine, try new exercises, work out to music -- whatever it takes to keep the session enjoyable. That way, you'll look forward to the workouts instead of viewing them as a chore.

Read on for more information about leg workouts for runners.