The Best Leg Day Workout For Runners
- Amber Kraus
- Mar 24
- 8 min read
Running might seem like the ultimate leg day workout all by itself—after all, you're using your legs to propel yourself forward with every stride. But if you’re not adding strength training to your routine, you could be missing out on major performance benefits. A well-structured leg day workout helps prevent injuries, improve speed, and enhance running efficiency—so let’s break down exactly what that looks like.
Do Runners Need to Do Leg Workouts?
Yes! Strength training is often overlooked by runners who assume that logging miles is enough to build leg strength. While running does develop endurance, it doesn’t provide the kind of targeted strength training that prevents injuries and enhances running power.
Here’s why adding a leg day to your training schedule is a game-changer:
Injury Prevention: Increased muscle growth provides better support for joints, reducing the risk of common running injuries like shin splints, runner’s knee, and IT band syndrome.
Improved Running Economy: Strength training helps runners use energy more efficiently, leading to better endurance and speed.
More Power and Stability: Strengthening your legs, glutes, and core improves stride efficiency and running form.
Better Muscle Balance: Running mainly works the quads, which can lead to imbalances. Strength training targets hamstrings, glutes, and other underutilized muscles for a more balanced lower body.
Bottom line? If you want to run stronger, faster, and with fewer injuries, leg day is non-negotiable.
What Leg Muscles Should Runners Target?
As a runner, you want to focus on strengthening the muscles that power your stride and stabilize your movement:
Quadriceps: The quads help extend the knee and absorb impact during running.
Hamstrings: Your hamstring muscles work with the glutes to propel you forward and prevent overuse injuries.
Glutes: The glutes provide stability and power for each stride. Weak glutes can lead to compensations that cause injuries.
Calves: The calf muscles play a key role in pushing off the ground and absorbing shock.
Hip Flexors & Adductors: These muscles maintain knee alignment and hip stability, which are essential for preventing injuries.
How to Create a Leg Day Workout
A well-rounded leg day for runners should focus on compound leg exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once, helping improve overall strength, stability, and running efficiency. Exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts mimic the movement patterns used in running and build functional strength.
Be sure to include the following:
Warm-Up: Activate muscles and prepare for movement.
Strength Exercises: Focus on compound movements to build power.
Unilateral Work: Exercises that target one leg at a time to improve stability.
Core Engagement: Strengthening the core helps maintain proper form and prevent fatigue.
Cooldown & Mobility: Reduce soreness and aid recovery.
Best Leg Exercises for Runners
This leg day follows a superset format, where two exercises are performed back-to-back before resting. This keeps the intensity high and mimics the endurance demands of running.
The Plan:
Warm-Up (5-10 mins)
3 Supersets (30-45 mins)
Cooldown & Mobility (5-10 mins)
Each exercise includes a bodyweight alternative for those without equipment.
Warm-Up (5-10 Minutes)
A proper warm-up is essential for activating muscles and improving range of motion before strength training. Perform each movement for the recommended number of reps.
Leg Swings: 10 per leg (Front-to-back & side-to-side)
High Knees: 30 sec
Butt Kicks: 30 sec
Bodyweight Squats: 10 reps
Lunges with Torso Twist: 5 per leg
Superset 1: Glute and Hip Power
Strong glutes and hips are essential for maintaining good running form, preventing knee injuries, and generating power with each stride. Many runners unknowingly have weak glutes, which can lead to overuse injuries and inefficient movement patterns. This superset focuses on hip thrusts and lateral lunges to activate and strengthen the glutes, improving overall stability and force production.
Barbell Hip Thrusts – 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Sit on the ground with your upper back against a bench or wedge, and place a barbell across your hips. Plant your feet hip-width apart, flat on the ground. Drive through your heels to lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line. Keep your lower back down with control and repeat.
Bodyweight Alternative: Glute Bridges: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Press through your heels, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Hold for a second at the top, then lower back down with control. Keep your core engaged and avoid arching your lower back.
Lateral Lunges – 3 sets of 10 reps per leg
Stand with your feet together and take a large step to the side. Bend the stepping leg while keeping the other leg straight. Push back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Increase the Intensity: Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest level to increase resistance. You can also add a pause at the bottom of the lunge to improve stability.
Superset 2: Strength and Stability
Running requires balance, coordination, and single-leg strength. Every time your foot strikes the ground, your body stabilizes itself to propel forward. Without strong hamstrings, quads, and stabilizing muscles, you increase your risk of injury. This superset targets unilateral strength and posterior chain stability, ensuring your legs can handle the repetitive impact of running while maintaining good alignment.
Bulgarian Split Squats – 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg
Stand facing away from a bench and place one foot behind you on it. Lower your back knee toward the ground until your front thigh is parallel. Push through your front foot to return to standing.
Bodyweight Alternative: Step-Back Lunges: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Step one foot back and lower your back knee toward the ground until both knees form 90-degree angles. Push through your front heel to return to standing and repeat on the other side. Keep your core engaged and your torso upright throughout the movement.
Romanian Deadlifts (Dumbbells or Barbell) – 3 sets of 10 reps
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a barbell or dumbbells in front of your thighs. Keep your knees slightly bent and hinge at your hips, lowering the weight down your legs. Engage your hamstrings to return to standing.
Bodyweight Alternative: Single-Leg Glute Bridge: Lie on your back with your right knee bent and your left leg straight. Press through the heel of your bent leg, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Hold briefly at the top, then lower back down with control. Keep your core engaged and avoid twisting your hips.
Superset 3: Explosiveness and Endurance
To run faster and longer, you need explosive power in your lower body. Strong calves and well-conditioned legs help with push-off and reduce fatigue over long distances. This final superset includes step-ups and calf raises, which mimic the explosive movements used in running, improving both endurance and efficiency.
Step-Ups (Weighted or Bodyweight) – 3 sets of 12 reps per leg
Stand in front of a sturdy bench or box (or use stairs if you don't have access to equipment). Step one foot onto the surface, driving through your heel to lift your body up until your opposite foot meets the first. Step back down with control and repeat on the same leg or alternate sides. Keep your core engaged and avoid pushing off the back foot.
Increase the Intensity: Hold dumbbells at your sides, increase the height of the step, or drive your opposite knee up at the top for added balance and power.
Calf Raises (Weighted or Bodyweight) – 3 sets of 15 reps
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your core engaged. Press through the balls of your feet to lift your heels as high as possible, then slowly lower back down with control. Keep your movements smooth and avoid bouncing.
Increase the Intensity: Hold dumbbells, perform the exercise on a raised surface for a deeper stretch, or do single-leg calf raises to challenge balance and stability.
Cooldown and Mobility (5-10 Minutes)
A cooldown routine reduces soreness and improves flexibility. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds per side.
Standing or Seated Hamstring Stretch: For the standing version, stand tall and extend one leg forward with your heel on the ground. Hinge at your hips and reach toward your toes while keeping your back straight. For the seated version, sit with one leg extended and the other bent, then lean forward over the extended leg while keeping your spine neutral.
Quadriceps Stretch: Stand tall and grab your ankle or foot behind you, pulling it toward your glutes while keeping your knees close together. Keep your torso upright and engage your core for balance.
Glute Stretch (Seated or Lying Figure-Four Stretch): For the seated version, sit with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee and gently press the raised knee down while leaning forward. For the lying version, lie on your back, cross one ankle over the opposite thigh, and pull the supporting leg toward your chest.
Hip Flexor Stretch: Step into a lunge position with one knee on the ground and the other foot forward at a 90-degree angle. Push your hips forward slightly while keeping your back straight to feel the stretch in the front of the hip on the kneeling side.
Foam Rolling (Focus on quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes): Use a foam roller to apply pressure along the length of each muscle, rolling slowly and pausing on tight or sore spots. For quads and hamstrings, roll along the front and back of your thighs; for calves, roll from your ankles to your knees; for glutes, sit on the roller with one leg crossed over the other and shift your weight to the side being worked.
Incorporating Strength Training into Your Race Training Plan
If you're training for a race, chances are your schedule already feels packed with long runs, speed workouts, and recovery days. The idea of adding strength training might seem overwhelming, but here’s the thing—it doesn’t have to be complicated, and it will absolutely make you a stronger, more efficient runner. A well-structured strength routine can improve your endurance, reduce injury risk, and help you power through those tough miles on race day. Here’s how to fit it into your plan without overloading your schedule.
1. Prioritize Running, But Make Room for Strength
Running should always be the focus of your race training, but that doesn’t mean strength work should take a backseat. Aim for two strength training sessions per week and schedule them on days when they won’t interfere with your key runs. For most runners, this means doing strength work after an easy run or on a cross-training day to avoid heavy legs before a hard workout or long run.
2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
You don’t need to spend hours in the gym. Thirty to forty-five minutes of strength training, twice a week, is enough to build muscle, improve stability, and boost power. Stick to compound leg exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, and hip thrusts, since they work multiple muscle groups at once and translate directly to better running mechanics.
3. Taper Your Strength Training Before Race Day
As race day approaches, especially in the final two weeks, scale back the intensity of your strength workouts. Reduce the weight and number of sets so your muscles can fully recover, ensuring you feel fresh when it counts. If you’re feeling sore leading up to race week, focus on mobility work, foam rolling, and light bodyweight exercises instead.
4. Listen to Your Body and Adapt as Needed
Your training plan should work for you, not against you. If you’re feeling overly fatigued, adjust your sets and reps or shift your strength sessions to lighter, mobility-focused workouts. Some weeks you might fit in two full sessions, and other weeks you may only manage one. That’s okay—consistency over time is what really matters.
Lift Smart, Run Strong!
Strength training is an essential part of a well-rounded running program. Incorporating leg day exercises into your training will help prevent injuries, improve form, and increase power. This workout can be modified for all fitness levels, and every exercise has a bodyweight alternative, so it can be done at home or in a gym.
Aim to complete this leg day workout once or twice per week to complement your running routine. Over time, you will notice stronger, more resilient legs that carry you through every run with more power and efficiency.
