One of the things I notice as a runner is that when I’m doing strength training, I tend to focus more on upper-body exercises because I know that (comparatively, at least) my lower body is pretty strong from running. And while it’s true that I’m an upper-body wimp, it’s pretty silly to think that I don’t need to do any lower body work. Specifically, single-leg strength work. If you think about it, running is just balancing on one foot, over and over again, really fast. So doing single leg balancing work is perfect practice for running.
Here is the strength workout I did this morning, presented by my favorite guest model, IronHubs!!
1. Cook Hip Lift – named for the Physical Therapist who created it, the Cook Hip Lift really targets the glutes and hamstrings, without letting you cheat by using your back muscles.
Lie on your back and bring one knee to your chest. Pull in your abdominal muscles, activate your glutes and lift your hips off the ground. If you’ve done back bridges before, you might be surprised at how little you can get your butt off the ground! It’s okay, your glutes will thank you for doing this one properly. Hold for 5 seconds, do two sets of ten on each leg.
2. 100s – this one is a barefoot running exercise, but even shod runners can benefit from it.
This is a deceptively simple exercise: stand with the balls of your feet on a line (maybe where the carpet meets the tile, or the tile grout line, or the seam where your hardwood planks meet), pick up one foot and put it down in the exact same spot, then pick up the other foot and put it down in the exact same spot. This works best barefoot because you can feel your foot landing on the line (or not, as the case may be). Go as quickly as you can and land on each foot 100 times. It’s harder than you think.
3. Single Leg Hop and Stick – the “stick” in the title does not refer to my sticky floors, thankyouverymuch, but rather to the fact that you “stick” the landing and stabilize yourself between hops.
Stand on one foot, hop forward and land on the same foot. Stabilize for a few seconds, then hop again on the same foot. Do 2 sets of 20 hops on each leg.
4. Bent-Knee Hip Abduction (aka “The Clamshell”)
Lie on your side with your knees bent. (This happens to be the perfect position to notice how atrocious your pits smell and how much dog hair is on the carpet. FYI.)
Keep your feet together and open up your knees.
The trick is to keep your back completely straight and not roll over while opening your knees. Holding your abs in helps. Do 2 sets of 10 on each side.
5. Straight-Leg Abduction – once you’re on the ground, you might as well stay there and do some more glute work, ya know?
Straighten your body into a long line, with the toes of the top foot pointed slightly down. Raise and lower the top leg without rolling your back. Do 2 sets of 10 raises on each leg.
6. Ball Push-Up Bridge – okay, time for some stabilizer/core work before our legs turn into jelly! But don’t worry, there’s more leg work coming up.
This one looks so easy in a photograph, maybe I should have taken a video of the shaking arms! Hold the push-up position for 30 seconds, twice.
7. Shoulder Ball Bridge
Similar to the previous exercise, but this time your toes are on the ball. Hold for 30 seconds, twice.
8. Back Ball Bridge
I found this one to be the “easiest” of the three ball bridges, and it doubles as a really nice chest stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, twice.
9. One-Leg Straight Leg Deadlift – you probably saw the two-leg version of this in last month’s Runner’s World. The straight-leg deadlift (SLDL) is big for CrossFitters, but the single-leg version is a little more accessible for us regular folk.
With a heavy dumbbell in your right hand (this isn’t an arm exercise, so it’s okay to go heavy on this one – the weight acts as a ballast for your back leg and actually helps balance you), stand on your left foot. Keeping your back and your back leg as straight as possible, bend slowly forward until your hand almost reaches the floor. Use your glutes to bring yourself back upright. Do 2 sets of 10 on each leg.
10. Split Squat – are your legs feeling like noodles yet? Good, this is the last one!
Start in a lunge position, with your hands up on your head. Bend the back leg until both knees are at a 90 degree angle. Focus on moving straight up and down, rather than forward and back. Do 2 sets of 10 squats on each leg.
Finish up the workout with a good stretch, making sure to get your hammies and inner thighs!
Have you ever done single-leg strength work before?
How often do you work on your balance?
Rose @ Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri says
That first one is a hellish stretch that my trainer makes me do when my butt muscles hurt. UG.
K says
My PT had me strengthen my right leg/hip for over a year because there was such a discrepancy in strength and size. It worked wonders.
Raina says
These look like some tough exercises! But great…
The push-up looks like a plank on the ball. That would be tough. I need a ball!
Alma says
Yum! Thanks for the good exercises – I really need to work on my glutes so that 1st one is on my list now.
Alma says
And P, where you been? Miss your humor!
Renee says
This is Fantastic!! Painful, but Fantastic!! I’v been looking for lower body strength training!! Thanks so much for sharing!! 🙂
XLMIC says
Bookmarking this. Thanks!