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 to work your flexibility and mobility; and How to Treat Tight Quads from Running, you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (this focuses on aerobic work), 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 Exercise
Everyday 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 Exercise
End Your Run With This Cardio-Strength Finisher heart rate Master the Half. Aerobic exercise can be light (like walking), moderate (or navigating a crowded race course or cycling), or vigorous (interval training).
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 Flexibility Exercises for Runners 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 Full-Body Strength Circuit for Beginners. And while it can help you go longer and Bulgarian split squat.
“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 (which help you generate more energy), increases the number of capillaries in your muscles (which improves oxygen delivery), 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.”
Stretches to Improve Your Mobility bodyweight, says Berdan. Mutchler recommends working in exercises that challenge your single-leg stability—like or navigating a crowded race course 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 (which will help you breathe more easily and generate more power) and promoting your balance.
The 5x5 Workout for Runners 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 Exercises
According to the How to Treat Tight Quads from Running, 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 Full-Body Strength Circuit for Beginners 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.
a series of exercises for your hip girdle dynamic stretches or cycling, or vigorous interval training lunges with twists, deep squats, Flexibility Exercises for Runners Myrtl routine (a series of exercises for your hip girdle).
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 Why Slow Running Is So Good for You.
How to Work the 4 Types of Exercise Into Your Week
Whatever 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 Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise.
For the Novice Runner
Monday: Easy run + strides End Your Run With This Cardio-Strength Finisher.
Tuesday: Increase Your VO2 Max a tempo run + general strength routine (mixture of core, upper-body, and lower-body exercises all using bodyweight)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Medium long run + Myrtl routine
Friday: How to Adjust Your Run Workout for Indoors speed workout + general strength routine (mixture of core, upper-body, and lower-body exercises all using bodyweight)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long run + to reduce tension in that area
For the 5K/10K Runner
Monday: Easy run + strides End Your Run With This Cardio-Strength Finisher
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Increase Your VO2 Max speed workout + general strength routine (mixture of core, upper-body, and lower-body exercises all using bodyweight)
Thursday: Easy run + general strength routine, including single-leg moves like single-leg calf raise, single-leg glute bridge, and Bulgarian split squat
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run + core routine, including planks with leg lifts in all three planes
Sunday: Easy recovery run or rest
For the Half Marathon/Marathon Runner
Monday: Easy Run + strides or hill sprints; follow with hopping routine
Tuesday: Warm up with Myrtl routine, then easy run + general strength routine (mixture of core, upper-body, and lower-body exercises)
Wednesday: Warm up with dynamic stretching routine, then do speed workout + general strength routine (mixture of core, upper body, and lower body exercises all using bodyweight)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy run + strides; follow with general strength routine, including single-leg moves like single-leg calf raise, single-leg glute bridge, and Bulgarian split squat
Saturday: Warm up with Myrtl routine, then long run + core routine, including planks with leg lifts in all 3 planes
Sunday: Rest
