Why Strength Training Makes You a Better Trail Runner (and How to Start)

TRAIL NOTES | TRAIL TIPS
the work you do off the trail makes you stronger on it.

Why Strength Training Makes You a Better Trail Runner (and How to Start)

Trail running asks a lot of your body. It asks for power on the climbs, stability on uneven ground, and enough leg strength to maintain form when you are tired. Running alone builds some of this. Strength training builds the rest.

If you have been skipping the strength work, this post is for you.

TRAIL NOTE 01

What strength training does for trail runners

Running is a single-leg sport. Every stride, you are landing on one foot, absorbing impact, and propelling forward. The muscles responsible for this, your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calf complex, need to be strong enough to do that work repeatedly over hours.

Strength training builds the muscular capacity that running alone cannot. It reduces injury risk by reinforcing the joints and connective tissues that running loads most. It improves economy, meaning you use less energy to run at the same pace. And on technical terrain, stronger legs make better decisions faster.

TRAIL NOTE 02

The exercises that matter most for trail runners

You do not need a gym membership or a complicated program. You need a small set of movements done consistently. The following form the foundation of a useful trail running strength practice.

Single-leg squats and step-ups build the quad and glute strength that underpins every stride and every climb. Romanian deadlifts load the posterior chain, which is the engine of trail running. Hip thrusts isolate the glutes in a way that running rarely does. Calf raises on a step protect the Achilles and build push-off power. Core work, particularly anti-rotation and hip stability exercises, holds everything together when the terrain gets technical.

HER TRAILS COACHING CUE
Two strength sessions per week of 30 to 40 minutes is enough to see meaningful improvement. You do not need to sacrifice run time. You need to prioritise the work that makes the running better.

TRAIL NOTE 03

When to do it and how to fit it in

The best time for strength work is after an easy run or on a non-running day, never before a hard run session. If you strength train before a quality workout, you will arrive fatigued and the run will suffer.

In the early weeks of a training block, you can do more strength work. As race day approaches and your run volume increases, the strength sessions reduce to maintenance. This is normal and expected.

TRAIL NOTE 04

On starting from nothing

If you have never done structured strength training before, start with bodyweight only. The movements matter more than the load. Getting the pattern right before adding weight protects you from compensating your way into an injury.

Two sessions in your first two weeks. Then build from there. Your legs will feel heavy initially. That is adaptation. It passes.

HER TRAILS COACHING CUE
Sore glutes the day after a strength session are a good sign. It means the right muscles worked. Pain in the knees, hips, or lower back is a signal to check your form or reduce the load.

TRAIL NOTE 05

The long game

Strength training is not the exciting part of trail running preparation. It does not give you the feeling of a long run finished or a summit reached. But it is the infrastructure that makes all of it possible for longer.

The runners who stay consistent and injury-free over years are usually the ones who do the work that does not show on Strava.

WRITTEN BY THE HER TRAILS COACHING TEAM