Strength training for runners: lifts that change your gait

You're listening to the Restoring Human Movement podcast. Thanks for joining the movement, movement. I'm Sebastian Gonzales, show curator and head clinician at Performance Play Sports Care in Southern California. This show's for active people, those who refuse to let pain and injury get in the way of their life and how they want to live it. Trails and trips, fields and courts, whatever moves you. Each episode features rotating host, expert guest, and real clinical conversations that help you move better and trust your body again. Here we go. This show is going to be partially an addendum to another podcast that you all should probably go listen to.

It's called the Blueprint to Ultra podcast. Dr. Mandy, our own Dr. Mandy Riehl was on there recently and they were talking about running injuries, different types of running injuries and ways to intervene with them. I liked the podcast. I think the host had great questions. I caught myself as I was listening to it that I wanted to add some more. It was a long podcast, so I can totally understand why some of the things were abridged. But I wanted to clarify on some of the things because I really think understanding some principles that don't really change a lot regarding strength training or when to add mobility, when to add stretching and also when to change mileage, terrain, et cetera.

Like why these things are options to us. And like the, like the, I think there was a paper years ago that came out about a concept called the dynamic systems theory. And so for me, it helped me understand better about what are the different levers that we can pull with each individual. And I know that was a running podcast and I'm hoping that we can all agree that strength and mobility and conditioning, like all these things are for everybody. Strength training is something that is not really specific to a certain sport, nor it should be. I know there's like variables that you would change based upon each individual athlete, their age or their training age, their participation in the sport.

And so there are caps and stuff like that. There's things that we would probably change as targets, but overall, like, like people are people. And then the things that they want to do can be clumped into task. And so I'm not a running coach at all. I don't plan to be. And I think for all of you who have listened to the show before, I realize that I hike, I've backpacked. I've spent time doing some endurance sports, but I didn't really like it. You know, it's not really my thing. And maybe I'll change my mind. And maybe this will be a period of time where I fell away from my true passion of running.

But I, I don't think that's going to be true. And it's funny, like the, I've really developed, gone back to more of my passion over the years of baseball. I've played baseball since I was probably 10, I think, or maybe younger. And I've been playing in an adult league ever since. I love it. And some of the things that I'll be talking about today help me play better and, or become more resilient with that sport. And if you want your sport to be running, that's fine. Each sport has its own risk. I assume the risk that I know that I'm taking with certain, like with my sport, I have a better, I have a higher potential of hamstring injuries, a higher potential of shoulder injuries that you guys wouldn't have with distance running because it's not really, the mechanics aren't really there.

But the most important thing to understand, at least with wellness or is it a long jet, I don't say longevity, but the health span versus lifespan. The health span is like, like how fulfilled you are, how happy you are in what you're doing, like how physically able are you? It really comes down to how frequent and how habitual the person makes that activity. So I will play baseball for a very long time if I can. And I hope that all of you run for as long as you can. And that comes down to like the retention of that activity comes down to passion. How much do you like it? So I say all this because I don't care what sport anybody picks.

I care that they pick the one that they'll stick to. And I will certainly help everybody get back into running if that's what they want to do. Now, the other thing, which is going to be hopefully a takeaway for this, and you guys should listen to the, there's a podcast that says, it's called Strength Changes Everything. Strength Changes Everything covers how important strength is in some of the newer American College of Sports Medicine 2026 guidelines. And it's funny, it comes down to retention. Like how often are you going to be resistance training is more important than how heavy you make it.

So to some, to go there, I will touch on them a little bit today. And I'll talk about some of the exercises that I like as well. But just to kind of put a big umbrella over to everything right now, I am not a running coach. I will not change two of the three variables that are important for injuries. And we'll talk about knees today. So the first variable is the task. The task is, I want you to run this fast, right? I'm not going to tell you to do that because I'm not your running coach. But how fast you run puts different loads and stressors on your body. And it makes your mechanics change. Your gait will change automatically.

Now, if your body is not capable of running that speed, then you'll have maybe problems associated to it. So task is number one. Two is environment. I want you to run fast on these ice skates, right? That the environment is something that's not you, but it changes something too. Or I want you to run fast on this uphill. I want you to run fast on this ice. I want you to run fast on this track. These things will change how your gait happens as well. And there's nothing we can do about it. No matter how much coaching that you do, like the gait will still change. And the third thing we can do, because both of these things will change gait as well as how your body moves, is changing the individual.

The individual is how mobile is your, let's just say, hip or knee. How mobile is your old knee or, sorry, old ankle injury that you turned 15 times back in high school when you were playing basketball. How much load can your knee take with it's because you haven't been strength training. We're changing the aspects of the individual. And that's where, that's where we have all of our, our manual therapy, our stretching, our foam rolling, our strength training. And those are all things where, again, we're changing the individual. We're not changing the other two variables. So today I wanted to cover some things that are easy wins in the resistance training world to help out with runners changing their internal aspects.

And they can do most of this on their own, or at least like some of the starting points that you can. Other things, it's a little bit harder to implement on your own. And I'll explain these kind of as I get to them. I'll share some of the exercises, my favorite ones as well. But always, always, always, as most of you know, if you're looking for streamlining things, you need to work with a coach that is a strength coach, a running coach, or somebody like a medical professional to help you streamline things, especially if you're not really motivated to do so, or you struggle with implementing things.

So I want to draw everyone's attention to a great podcast if I think I said it already, but there is a podcast that I've been listening to, which I really liked. It was called Strength Changes Everything. And they go over some of the current guidelines with the American College of Sports Medicine position statement that was put out in 2026, as well as a bunch of other smaller podcasts that focus on smaller things that are related to strength as well. They kind of say in this position statement that there are, the most important thing with implementing resistance training with people is if they follow through and are consistent with it.

And that's something that's changed over the years. Before, people used to think it was just lifting heavy, and sure, lifting heavy does things. But as some of you out there who have had experiences with lifting, you've had some pain with lifting. And so why try to add strength to an athlete if it may potentially harm them? I've heard some coaches say they don't like people lifting super heavy because they're potentially going to get injured, and especially if there's any form issues. Yeah, like anything. Like if you have improper forms running for too long, like yeah, you get over there for a long time, but like you may have some problems.

You have improper lifting form, yeah, you may have some problems. But that's the reason why you potentially would want to have someone coach you through those types of things, especially to get into more advanced aspects. Now, I would put these people into two categories, and I've seen runners do different things with different points in their running career. And some people are of the thought that they have never experienced resistance training at all. Like they just want to run. I've seen various people like this, and like the hardest thing to do is just getting them into a gym. And we always say the hardest thing about going to the gym is going to the gym.

And that is very accurate for most people, especially since the general observation, according to this paper, was I think they said that 60% of people don't actually resist resistance training at all. And that's maybe because they're scared of it, maybe because they've been told bad things about it, and maybe because they think, oh, this is way too complicated. I've seen all these things on Instagram and all these things about proper form with barbell lifting and so on. I'm not going to do it when really all we care about with those populations is you need to do literally anything. You can go in and do bicep curls and tricep extensions and calf raises, and maybe we all, as coaches, think that these things are inadequate.

I think we can all come to the agreement that this is way better than them not doing anything at all. And will that produce the best results with running? Maybe not, but it's certainly a good starting point. And I think we all have to remember where people have their comforts with these different aspects, like resistance training and running and so on. Everybody has different starting points. Everyone has different belief systems. And I know for a weight training aspect, like coming out of high school, we all did backs and byes, chests and trice, curls for the girls. It's like every generation generally does the same, quote, mistakes.

And then the old generations, you know, are harping on them about how they're doing everything wrong. Well, they're just doing everything as they are learning it at that moment. Then we can optimize it probably a little bit later and make sure they don't get hurt in the process. Now for a quick pause before we keep going. Hey, everybody, it's Sebastian. If what we've been describing in the show so far sounds very familiar and you've been dealing with some ache, pain or stiffness that keeps coming back no matter what you do and no matter what you try, we're offering a free discovery call today where we brainstorm with you what has been working for you, what hasn't been working.

And we also try to unravel what is a critical part of the puzzle that you've actually been missing that's keeping you from full recovery and getting back to full activity. The link's in the description. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the form. Okay, back to the show. Now, for those of you who have gone to the gym and have some experience with lifting, you're not afraid of it, you're dedicated to go. Yeah, those are the people we may want to optimize some of their lifts. We want to teach good form with barbell lifts, with deadlifting, with squatting of various different types. Like, we want to encourage good form as well as good programming.

If you are a running coach, you might recognize that there's going to be a point where you deal with somebody who is under-fueling or doing too many miles and too much load based upon what they've been doing recently because sometimes they say, oh, well, years ago I used to run like this, so now I can do that again. Well, there's a build-up process to it, right? So there's, like, scaling things appropriately as well. So that comes down to programming and doing good general principles of resistance training or strength training. So usually at that point, we'll encourage people to start encountering some of the more complicated lifts, but ones that will still pay off really well for time spent, ones that develop really good strength, barbell work is a good one.

So you can do barbell deadlifting. Some people like to elevate it because they're generally stiff and cannot get down to grab the bar without rounding their back. That is a good example of an environmental aspect. The bar is too low. So how do you expect them to have good form unless you elevate it for them? So you can change it to block pull, pin pulls. You can also put place underneath the weights if you are to a point where you're adding more weights. You can do it at that point and still have benefit from it. There's something we call the window of opportunity with the deadlift, where if the bar or the handles intersect about an inch above and below the knee, that's right, you still get benefit, but you have a lower risk of having back issues associated to it.

Now, you can change the implement completely. You can go into a hex bar, which generally is higher than a barbell and is a good starting lift for a lot of people. Are we squatting the weight instead of hip hinging it more so? Yes, that is what happens. But this is a starting point. And that is literally better than the things that they were doing. Okay. Now, do we need to ask them to go heavy? Well, the question is, do they know their form well? Do they lack form retention between lifting sessions? Have they ever done a lift before in their life? Like, can you, if you suggest, hey, can you do this lift?

And they kind of start moving around like they're trying to find their position. No, probably don't load it excessively heavy. They're still trying to learn the movements. Okay. Now, those are two-legged lifts. Now, a lot of runners seem like they really like single-legged lifts, which I do like. Generally, with deadlifting or hip hinging patterns, I start with a double leg lift first. I start with a kettlebell between their feet, and then I get that weight even higher and higher and higher. Like, I even go to the point where I get to a 100-pound dumbbell, pull it off the rack, flip it on end, and deadlift that between your feet.

That's generally pretty safe. There's not a lot of load in the spine unless they're really manhandling that thing. At that point, I may scale the weight back and start to teach them single leg varieties. Not single singles, but I like to go with 1.5, also known as B stance, also known as kickstand, where you're generally using one leg, but the other leg there is a little bit of a push-off and balance point. Those are fantastic. They work with kettlebells if you're using a single hand. If you're using two hands and all you have is a dumbbell, you need to use two hands because you have to grab both ends of the dumbbell on end.

Can you do the barbell or a trap bar or hex bar? Yeah, you can. But the general principles of lift doesn't really change. Those are really good starting options. The things that I don't like people doing are those single leg flying, looking for balance with weights that are too small and too low, no matter how light the weight is. Those, I don't really love those. But as a general rule, you can get away with a lot more poor form with lower weight. Now, the rep range does matter and you, I'm sorry, the intensity matters rather, but generally we kind of shoot for a certain rep range to get that intensity.

You guys should go back into the other podcast to listen to this part, but a lot of people chronically under load. It's like running the same mile over and over again at the same speed and wondering why you can't go further and feel good doing that. And so you have to do something to push the needle. The needle has to move. And so that's going to be something which is generally challenging, typically around the 10 to 15 rep mark. Can you go up to 30? Yes, you can. Can you go at like around five? Yes, you can. There's generally those bumpers, the guide rails that you can use. However, I'll use my personal experience.

If you ask me to go 20 reps, I will stop because I'm bored. I won't stop because I'm tired or fatigued or I'm getting a pump. I'm just bored. So usually around 10, 15 or so is kind of a sweet spot. I like the rule of eight-ish. Do eight-ish, which is 10 or six or 12, but it's not 15. It's not 20. It's not 30, et cetera, right? But the intensity and getting to a good firm pump that usually comes with a noise is going to be where you want to go on most of your lifts. Now, you can read the papers associated to how frequent those should be. I'm going to let you guys start diving into that independently for it because I won't cover it in this podcast.

But most people chronically underlift. And if you're looking to get the benefits of the lifts, the resistance training, you need to actually have enough stimulus to do so. So we have our two-legged lifts of the deadlift and our single-legged lifts of the deadlift too, or the hip hinge. Remember, it's a hip lift, not a back lift. It's a hip lift. They develop hip strength, which combats overstriding without changing what you think about when you are running. It also helps out with knee mechanics. It helps out with controlling knee valgus, hip adduction, or knee thigh crossing midline. It stops hip internal rotation.

It also helps out with the hip drop that everybody hates. It helps out with all that stuff. It helps out with running economy. And so you just need to get good at some of those lifts to do so. Now, are there other lifts? Yeah. There's push, pull, carry, squat, hinge are the basic starting points. Does that include bicep curls? No, those are considered others. They're accessories. Those are single joint movements. They do do something, but they're not encompassing larger movements that we usually need to be efficient and develop strength through a lot of different areas of the leg and the body all at the same time.

Now, the other lift I like is going to be a squat pattern. And so a lot of times with this, I'll actually start with a single leg variety, which is a step back lunge or a non-moving step back lunge. It's called a split squat. You can do forward lunges. You can do them with goblet holds, which is a weight up at your chest. You can do them with weights at the sides. You can do them with a barbell on your back. You can do all those things, right? Remember the implements can change. And then we go into goblet squats as well with or without a box to show people a depth point. Usually I'll teach tension, keeping tension throughout the lifts, which also decreases the chance of injuries as well.

And you can go with a goblet hold in front. You can go with a sandbag in front, which we call a bear squat, like a bear hug squat. You can go goblet low or weight low, kettlebell low, which is called a potato sack squat. You can do weight up at the side, both sides, which is kettlebell or dumbbell, which are called racks or double racks. All of them are great and they all have benefit. Now, do we need to go knees over toes? Probably. I actually encountered this today. This is a myth that's still around. And yes, it does have context. All of these rules have context. So should you not go knees over toes?

If it hurts, don't do it. This is going to be more associated to people who have sensitivity in their knees or problems or current issues. And we're trying to manage and decrease the amount of forces, shear forces going through the knee to make it so their symptoms dissipate while we're building strength around it and above and below it. The knee is typically at the will of the hip and the ankle and the strength of the entire leg. But yeah, there's certain things you can do around the knee to help out with stabilizing as well. Work in the soleus muscle, which usually done with calf raises, bent knee calf raises are an easy one or sled pushes.

With quad work, which is going to be some of our squatting. Yes, the knee typically has to go over toes with this, but there's ways to modify it with a sensitive knee. And then hamstrings and glutes, like all those tend to help. Okay. Now, the reason I like to start with split stance or single leg work with the squatting pattern is usually because it's easier to get higher loads without having to teach a lot of form. Like the form is generally self-corrected in most cases or else to fall over. But with a double legged squat, you have to teach a little bit more form. And yes, we can eventually get to a barbell and do a back squat and front squat and so on.

But that's usually a little bit more technically as a technical aspect to it. So those have to be taught. And I would totally rather have people go really heavy in a goblet squat and a split squat or a step back lunge in the beginning phases of them experiencing some heaviness and getting to a challenge versus them going to a barbell. The barbell is the most unforgiving of all the implements. It makes it so your two sides link together and they decrease the amount of degrees of freedom that your body can escape to, to escape pain or pinch points. Now, the last thing that I'm going to cover in this is general levels of competency.

What I mean by that is, is it acceptable for someone who is a recreational runner to deadlift maximum 30 pounds? Probably not. Do they need to go to 500 pounds or to a thousand pounds? Probably not. So we can probably all agree there's a sweet spot in here. Normally, this is going to be about body weight or like 1.25 body weight. Some would say 1.5. Back squat is generally kind of the same or the squatting patterns are kind of the same. The difference is if you do a goblet squat and try to get your body weight in your hands, your arms fail first. So typically the barbell is the, is the implement of choice on that, or you can split it into a single legged lift, which I believe they say that a single leg lift does not equal like times two of times two to be equate your double leg lift.

So 50 pounds in a split squat does not equal 100 pound back squat. It's a little bit different. And usually they'll assess that people should about do one third or two thirds or between one third and two thirds body weight per single leg lift. So for example, I weigh 150 pounds. I should be able to probably split squat or single leg press, if you will, you can use machines, one third or two thirds of my body weight. Can I split that between hands? Certainly I can. You can do half and half or you can do a goblet hold and that'll work out okay too. So, but generally we look for kind of those parameters on things and there are ones for upper body as well, but I won't go into that, into this today.

But the last thing we can talk about is mobility again, because we're talking about changing the individual. Strength is the simplest thing. Mobility is something that a lot of times you'll need to use something like soft tissue work. You may need to find a local provider for that. Some people know how to do their own soft tissue work too. I think they slang and call it mash work or foam rolling or whatever you may have. You're like, yeah, that all provides value. Usually when we do an examination, we look to see, is someone generally stiff in an area like a hip? Dr. Mandy covered this in her podcast where you talked about like the problems with having a lack of hip internal rotation and how it couples with hip extension.

And so you can't get the back end of your leg drive. And so, yeah, it's important. Now, what will solve that mobility? Maybe. I've had people where sometimes we do strength exercises and then mobility comes back. The range comes back. And there's various reasons for that. I'm not going to debate them too much on this podcast, but just know that doing mobility work, if it doesn't result in getting better mobility, you may have to try a different strategy to unlock the mobility because part of it may be guarded. So I hope this is a good addendum to the podcast. I was, again, there's nothing wrong with that podcast.

I think it turned out fantastic. But as I started going through that, I thought, you know what? I have things I can share here. I think this would be a fantastic way to prompt me into thinking about what to share with some of our patient population and to get some of our runners and endurance athletes to understand that strength is important. It's not just about looking good. It is very important for their longevity in their sport and for their, not just for them performing well, but them feeling well, they're feeling their joints. If anything in today's episode resonated with you, visit the link in your podcast player.

There you'll find any free resource that we mentioned in the show, any guest links, and a link for a free discovery call with us. We're licensed to work with our outdoor active people via telehealth across many states in the U.S. at this point. In fact, we cover almost half of the population in the U.S. and we add more states every year. Thanks for listening. Subscribe to the show and we'll see you in the next one.