Discover the four essential types of exercise every runner needs to improve performance, prevent injuries, and boost overall health and longevity.
Running, an aerobic form of physical activity, accounts for just one type of exercise that experts recommend all people have on their weekly schedule. The other three? Strength training, flexibility work, and balance moves.
All four types of exercise help to improve your health and longevity, and while focusing on aerobic training will clearly make you a better runner, so will participating in the other forms of fitness.Aerobic exercise and strength training also have specific guidelines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity , along with muscle-strengthening exercises at least two days per week. Balance and flexibility requirements are less rigid and require just a few moves each for a couple of minutes per week.“Runners tend to focus on the aerobic aspect of training and not enough on the ancillary training—strength and mobility in particular—because they think it takes too much time to incorporate both,” Dave Berdan, two-time winner of the Baltimore Marathon, former collegiate coach, and current coach with RunDoyen tells Runner’s World. “But they can literally spend only 10 to 15 minutes a few days a week and benefit from increased strength and injury prevention. Neglecting these areas can possibly lead to injury, especially in people with obvious deficiencies.” Here’s what you need to know about the four types of exercise that can keep you moving as you get older and shore up your running game right now, plus how to incorporate them all into your weekly routine.Why Everyone, Especially Runners, Need the 4 Types of ExerciseEveryday activities require your body to move in all sorts of ways, and the ease with which you can do those movements reflect your overall health. Here, we break down each type of exercise and explain how it helps to boost your wellbeing and improve your running. The Benefits of Aerobic ExerciseSimply put, aerobic exercise is physical activity that raises your heart rate and breathing rate. Aerobic exercise can be light , moderate , or vigorous .When you’re new to running, or increasing your mileage after some time off, you first need to develop a solid aerobic base. “Building an aerobic base allows you to burn fat more efficiently, increasing the body’s energy production over prolonged times,” Dylan Mutchler, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a doctor of physical therapy at Bespoke Physical Therapy in Del Mar, California tells Runner’s World. “Because of this, runners can train for longer periods before the body needs to rest and recover.” Focusing on building an aerobic base also allows you to bump up your weekly mileage without increasing your risk of injury. And while it can help you go longer with less effort, it also leads to plenty of advantages for your entire body.“Building an aerobic base has many physiological benefits that runners don’t see outside of just feeling better as they continue to train,” says Berdan. “It improves your cardiovascular system, improves your number and size of mitochondria , increases the number of capillaries in your muscles , and enhances muscular endurance.” Mutchler recommends sticking to low-intensity cardio as you’re building your aerobic capacity. “Be consistent—you won’t see changes over one or two sessions,” he says. Give yourself at least a month to gradually build up your mileage.The Benefits of Strength Training “The body is constantly placed under stress during running, so the tendons, connective tissue, and muscles used need to have enough strength and stability to adhere to this stress without being injured,” says Mutchler. “Strength training may allow for decreased rate of injuries and improve efficiency and overall running performance.”Aim for at least two strength sessions per week, either with weights or just your own bodyweight, says Berdan. Mutchler recommends working in exercises that challenge your single-leg stability—like Bulgarian split squats and single-leg calf raises—since running is essentially a single-leg activity, alternating from one foot to the other over and over. Strengthening your core with dead bugs, planks, and side planks has the dual benefits of improving your posture and promoting your balance. In addition to supporting your run performance, lifting weights can also help to offset age-related muscle loss and help you maintain independence in activities of daily living as you get older. This includes helping to improve coordination and postural control. The Benefits of Balance ExercisesAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are one of the most common reasons for injuries and hospitalizations among all age groups, with numbers rising as people age. More than 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall-related injury. One way to lower your risk of falling: Focus on balance training. A lot goes into balance, including your visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems, Cameron Yuen, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., Bespoke Therapy in New York City, tells Runner’s World. Good balance is “crucial for any activity requiring movement, especially those on one leg, which running is,” Yuen explains. “A well-balanced runner will spend less energy on staying stable and maintaining form and posture, allowing them to allocate more energy toward propelling themselves forward. This results in less wasted energy.”Yuen says balance also comes in handy for runners whenever they encounter uneven terrain or have to change direction quickly, which can happen anytime you’re running near traffic, trekking along a trail, or navigating a crowded race course. There are a ton of ways to work balance exercises into your routine, from single-leg strength moves to yoga poses. Berdan likes to challenge runners to stand on one foot while brushing their teeth for an easy, daily balance exercise. Once that feels easy, try it with your eyes closed.The Benefits of Flexibility Exercises “If a runner has stiffness in areas such as the spine, ribs, hips, or ankles, their running efficiency may be decreased and risk of injury increased,” says Mutchler. That’s because lack of flexibility in the hips or ankles can bump up the force absorbed by your knees, and immobility in the spine or ribs can compromise your breathing. That being said, flexibility for runners is a tricky thing with wildly varying opinions among coaches, says Berdan. For one thing, he says, gaining too much flexibility in some areas could make the surrounding joints unstable. Plus, some coaches believe that somewhat stiff muscles and tendons work like a spring and can make you a more efficient runner. Instead of focusing on static stretches, Berdan recommends doing dynamic stretches before your workout to loosen up muscles and improve mobility. He loves lunges with twists, deep squats, leg swings, and the Myrtl routine . Similarly, Mutchler recommends foam rolling or using a lacrosse ball to open up myofascial tightness. Then, postworkout, he says to use static stretches for 15 to 30 seconds on muscles that seem to be extra-tight. For example, when Berdan has clients with plantar fasciitis pain, he has them stretch their hamstrings and calves to reduce tension in that area.How to Work the 4 Types of Exercise Into Your WeekWhatever kind of runner you are—from a total beginner to a regular racer—here’s an example of how to incorporate the four types of exercise into your weekly routine. Each sample week includes runs of various intensities; this hopping routine suggested by Berdan, which helps to increase your power and balance; dynamic stretching to work your flexibility and mobility; and full-body strength exercises.For the Novice RunnerMonday: Easy run + strides or hill sprints; follow with hopping routine.Tuesday: Warm up with dynamic stretching, then do a tempo run + general strength routine Wednesday: RestThursday: Medium long run + Myrtl routineFriday: Warm up with dynamic stretching, then do intervals speed workout + general strength routine Saturday: RestSunday: Long run + core routine, including planks with leg lifts in all three planesFor the 5K/10K RunnerMonday: Easy run + strides or hill sprints; follow with hopping routineTuesday: RestWednesday: Warm up with dynamic stretching, then do speed workout + general strength routine Thursday: Easy run + general strength routine, including single-leg moves like single-leg calf raise, single-leg glute bridge, and Bulgarian split squatFriday: RestSaturday: Long run + core routine, including planks with leg lifts in all three planesSunday: Easy recovery run or rest For the Half Marathon/Marathon RunnerMonday: Easy Run + strides or hill sprints; follow with hopping routineTuesday: Warm up with Myrtl routine, then easy run + general strength routine Wednesday: Warm up with dynamic stretching routine, then do speed workout + general strength routine Thursday: RestFriday: Easy run + strides; follow with general strength routine, including single-leg moves like single-leg calf raise, single-leg glute bridge, and Bulgarian split squatSaturday: Warm up with Myrtl routine, then long run + core routine, including planks with leg lifts in all 3 planesSunday: Rest
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