Key Points:
- Running Is a Single-Leg Sport: Each stride is essentially one foot in contact with the ground, so training one leg at a time targets the exact demands of running.
- Injury Prevention & Stability: Unilateral exercises help correct imbalances, reduce knee and IT band issues, and keep hips and core strong for a more resilient stride.
- Performance & Efficiency Boost: Stronger single-leg push-off and better neuromuscular coordination lead to improved running economy and faster race times.
- Biomechanical Advantages: Enhanced control and balance reduce side-to-side motion, allowing more energy to be channeled into forward propulsion.
- Practical Implementation: Incorporate 2–3 weekly sessions of exercises like single-leg squats, lunges, and deadlifts to improve form, power, and endurance without overhauling your entire routine.
Running is a sport of repetition—one foot hits the ground while the other prepares for the next stride. Since each step is essentially a single-leg stance, strengthening one leg at a time can have profound benefits for runners. Whether you're looking to prevent injuries, improve efficiency, or boost performance, single-leg strength training is a game-changer. Let's explore why.
Why Single-Leg Strength Training Matters for Runners
Most traditional strength programs focus on bilateral movements like squats and deadlifts. While these are valuable, they don't address the real-world demands of running, which relies on single-leg stability, control, and force production. Training one leg at a time through exercises like single-leg squats, lunges, and step-ups can improve balance, correct imbalances, and enhance movement efficiency.
The Key Benefits:
- Injury Prevention: Reduces common running-related issues like knee pain and IT band syndrome.
- Performance Boost: Improves running economy and power output.
- Better Stability & Control: Strengthens the muscles that keep you aligned and efficient.
- Enhanced Running Form: Encourages a more controlled stride and reduces excess movement.
1. Injury Prevention: Strength for Stability
Running injuries often stem from subtle biomechanical imbalances or weaknesses, especially in the hips and core. Weak hip abductors and external rotators can cause excessive hip drop, knee collapse (valgus), and foot pronation—all linked to common injuries like patellofemoral pain and IT band syndrome.
How Single-Leg Strength Training Helps:
- Improves Muscle Activation: Strengthening the glutes, quads, and calves enhances stability in the single-leg stance phase of running.
- Reduces Unwanted Movements: Studies show that stronger hip and core muscles help control knee and foot positioning, lowering injury risk. [1]
- Supports a More Resilient Stride: A well-trained leg can better handle the repetitive impact forces of running.
Science-Backed Insights
A study on runners with weak hip strength found that after a 6-week hip-strengthening program, participants showed: [2]
- Reduced knee collapse during running
- Less foot eversion (pronation)
- Improved single-leg squat control
What This Means for You: Stronger hips and better control can decrease the risk of knee and foot injuries, helping you stay pain-free on the road.
2. Performance Gains: Run Faster, More Efficiently
Single-leg strength training doesn’t just protect against injuries—it can directly improve performance. Research shows that resistance training, particularly with single-leg exercises, enhances running economy—how efficiently your body uses oxygen at a given pace.
Why It Works:
- Stronger Push-Off: Each stride requires a powerful push from one foot. Strengthening that movement makes your stride more efficient.
- Improved Neuromuscular Coordination: Unilateral exercises enhance the brain-muscle connection, helping you generate more force with each step.
- Less Energy Waste: With better control, you reduce unnecessary side-to-side movement, keeping more energy focused on forward propulsion.
Proven Results from Studies
- An 8–10 week strength training program improved running economy by 4-5% in trained runners. [3]
- Strengthened runners delayed fatigue, increasing their time-to-exhaustion at a given pace. [4]
- Improvements occurred without increasing body weight—crucial for endurance athletes. [5]
Translation? A more powerful, efficient stride = faster race times!
3. Biomechanical Efficiency: How You Move Matters
Running efficiency isn’t just about raw strength—it’s about how effectively your body translates force into forward motion. Stronger legs (especially when trained unilaterally) develop muscle stiffness and reactive strength, both of which improve the stretch-shortening cycle—your body's ability to store and release energy. [6]
The Key Takeaways
- More Stability in Your Stride → Less energy lost to side-to-side movement.
- Stronger Calves & Feet → Shorter ground contact times and better push-off.
- Better Shock Absorption → Reduces stress on the knees and lower legs.
How to Incorporate Single-Leg Strength Training
You don’t need to overhaul your entire training routine to see the benefits. Adding 2–3 sessions per week with these exercises can make a difference.
Must-Do Single-Leg Exercises for Runners
1. Single-Leg Squat
Strengthens the quads, glutes, and core.
How to perform: Stand on one leg with the other leg extended forward. Keeping your chest up, slowly bend your supporting knee and lower your body as far as you can while maintaining control. Drive through your heel to return to the starting position.
Key form tips: Keep your knee tracking over your toes, maintain a neutral spine, and engage your core throughout the movement.
Progression: Start with a bench or chair behind you for support, then progress to free-standing. Add weights for increased difficulty.
2. Reverse Lunge
Mimics the driving motion of running while strengthening hip stability and quad power.
How to perform: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Step one leg backward and lower your body until both knees are bent at approximately 90 degrees. Push through the front heel to return to standing.
Key form tips: Keep your torso upright, front knee aligned with your ankle, and hips square throughout the movement.
Progression: Begin with bodyweight, progress to dumbbells at your sides, then advance to a barbell across your shoulders.
3. Single Leg Deadlift
Develops hamstring strength, hip stability, and balance—critical for injury prevention and powerful running.
How to perform: Stand on one leg, hinge at the hip while extending the other leg behind you. Lower your torso toward the floor while keeping your back flat. Return to standing by engaging your glutes and hamstrings.
Key form tips: Maintain a neutral spine, keep hips square to the ground, and focus on a controlled movement rather than depth.
Progression: Master bodyweight form first, then hold dumbbells or kettlebells to increase resistance.
4. Split Squat
A powerhouse move for hip and quad stability that addresses strength imbalances between legs.
How to perform: Place your back foot on an elevated surface (bench or step). Lower your body by bending your front knee until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Push through the front heel to return to the starting position.
Key form tips: Keep your front foot flat, torso upright, and front knee tracking over (not past) your toes.
Progression: Start with bodyweight, add dumbbells at your sides, then progress to a barbell or more challenging variations.
5. Single Leg Calf Raise
Strengthens the foot and lower leg for better push-off and reduces risk of Achilles and foot injuries.
How to perform: Stand on one foot on a step or raised surface with your heel hanging off the edge. Lower your heel below the step level, then rise up onto your toes as high as possible.
Key form tips: Use a wall or railing for light balance support. Focus on full range of motion and controlled movement.
Progression: Increase repetitions, add weight by holding a dumbbell, or slow down the eccentric (lowering) phase.
Programming Tips:
- Start with bodyweight exercises and progress to weighted variations as you gain strength.
- Keep reps moderate (8–12 per leg, 2–3 sets) for strength and endurance benefits.
- Focus on slow, controlled movements to improve stability and activation.
Final Thoughts: Take Your Running to the Next Level
Single-leg strength training is one of the most effective ways to improve running performance while reducing injury risk. By building unilateral strength and control, you'll develop a more stable, efficient, and powerful stride—whether you're training for a marathon or just aiming to run pain-free.
- T.L Bellchamber, A.J van den Bogert, Contributions of proximal and distal moments to axial tibial rotation during walking and running, Journal of Biomechanics, Volume 33, Issue 11, 2000, Pages 1397-1403, ISSN 0021-9290, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9290(00)00113-5.
- Šuc A, Šarko P, Pleša J, Kozinc Ž. Resistance Exercise for Improving Running Economy and Running Biomechanics and Decreasing Running-Related Injury Risk: A Narrative Review. Sports. 2022; 10(7):98. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10070098
- Støren O, Helgerud J, Støa EM, Hoff J. Maximal strength training improves running economy in distance runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Jun;40(6):1087-92. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318168da2f. PMID: 18460997.
- Luckin-Baldwin, K. M., Badenhorst, C. E., Cripps, A. J., Landers, G. J., Merrells, R. J., Bulsara, M. K., & Hoyne, G. F. (2021). Strength Training Improves Exercise Economy in Triathletes During a Simulated Triathlon. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 16(5), 663-673. Retrieved Feb 26, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2020-0170
- Alcaraz-Ibañez, M., & RodrÃguez-Pérez, M. (2017). Effects of resistance training on performance in previously trained endurance runners: A systematic review. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(6), 613–629. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2017.1326618
- TURNER, AMANDA M.; OWINGS, MATT; SCHWANE, JAMES A.. Improvement in Running Economy After 6 Weeks of Plyometric Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 17(1):p 60-67, February 2003.
