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Try These Bodyweight Exercises to Jump-Start Your Strength Routine

Meet the moves that strengthen all the right running muscles—no equipment necessary.

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As a runner, you can gain plenty of benefits from adding bodyweight exercises to your schedule. Not only do no-equipment moves mean you can get in a strength workout anywhere, but these exercises also help improve your range motion, build strength, boost cardio, Health & Injuries or explosive movements, to your routine. You can add them to any exercise, but moves like the air.

“Bodyweight workouts are good because it gives you a moment to use your own body, get acquainted, have body awareness, and work on your mechanics before you actually load yourself up with weight,” Natalie Johnston, owner of Run F.I.T dumbbells or kettlebells Runner’s World. Johnston says if you don’t have much time to work out or lack equipment, then bodyweight exercises can rival the effectiveness of dumbbells or other equipment. You just need the right moves and a few solid strategies for progressing each exercise.

The Secret to Speed Is in Your Blood posture Consider adding an and it can be particularly helpful for runners when tackling, core, and upper body so you can create one total-body program. What’s more? Running coach and certified personal trainer, Danielle Hirt, also puts some of these moves together into one 15-minute bodyweight workout in the video above. All you have to do is press play and follow along to get a total-body workout sans equipment.

For those using the list below, try incorporating five or more of the exercises into your workout at least three times a week. Do 10 to 15 reps of each exercise for three or more sets. The list is ordered according to body part: lower body, core, and upper body. You can opt for five exercises per muscle group (for example: one week might include a leg-day workout, a core-focused routine, and an upper body session) or opt for a mix of moves to target your entire body in one workout.

How to Progress Bodyweight Exercises

Ready to take these bodyweight exercises to the next level? You can easily up the intensity in a few different ways:

»Julia Hembree Smith: Consider adding an isometric hold—contracting a muscle or group of muscles without changing length or position for a period of time—to exercises, like the for an added challenge. “A Part of Hearst Digital Media lunge position and then you hold it isometrically for five to 10 seconds,” says Johnston. See how many reps you can do with that added hold (probably not as many!). Johnston says adding isometrics to some moves will help runners improve endurance as it teaches your muscles to work for longer without getting fatigued.

Another exercise you’ll want to hold longer: Planks. Johnston says holding your plank allows you to work on multiple muscles—abs, quads, and glutes—at the same time. By holding the plank position longer, you will build core stability, while working your whole body. Plus, a plank helps you on the run as it teaches you to hold your center steady. This is especially important for later miles when you might start to hunch over or feel your strong run form breaking—those long-held planks pay off in keeping you upright.

»CHealth & Injuries: Another exercise youll want to hold longer plyometrics, or explosive movements, to your routine. You can add them to any exercise, but moves like the air squat, lunges, and even push-ups will do. This will not only strengthen your muscles to improve your stride, but it also helps you build power to propel you forward.

»Enhance the strength gains: Deputy Editor, Health & Fitness eccentric calf raise and perform the downward phase of other exercises nice and slow. That means lowering into a squat, lunge, bridge, push-up, superman, or tricep dip on a five to 10 count. Eccentric exercise efficiently builds strength and muscle size, according to research in the Journal of Applied Physiology, and it can be particularly helpful for runners when tackling downhills.

      Lower Body: Air Squat

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      Start standing with feet just wider than hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly out, clasp hands at chest for balance. Send hips back and down, bending knees to lower down as far as possible with chest lifted. Drive through heels to stand back up. Repeat.

      Lower Body: Walking Lunge

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      Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step forward with right foot, bending both knees to 90 degrees. Drive through right heel to stand, while stepping left foot forward and dropping into a lunge on the left side. Continue walking forward, making sure back knee hovers just off the floor with each step and front knee tracks over toes. You can perform this move with bodyweight or holding two The 6 Best Exercises for New Runners for an added challenge.

      Lower Body: Single-Leg Balance

      leg balance exercise
      Staff

      Start standing with hands on hips. Shift weight to left leg and bring right knee up so hip, knee, and ankle form 90-degree angles. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Rest, then repeat on other leg.

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      Lower Body: Reverse Lunge

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      Stand with feet together. Step right foot back, lowering down so both knees form a 90-degree angle, with right knee hovering just above the floor and left knee tracking over toes. Drive through left heel to stand up, stepping right foot forward, feet together. Repeat on left side. Continue alternating.

      Lower Body: Single-Leg Bridge

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      Lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted, arms down by sides on the floor. Lift right leg up toward the ceiling, so that both knees are aligned. Engage glutes and lift hips up, driving through left heel. Lower hips back to the floor. Repeat. Then switch sides.

      Lower Body: Bulgarian Split Squat

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      Start standing. Place top of right foot on a bench or chair behind you, about at knee height. Step left leg out far enough to create a 90-degree angle without the knee reaching past the toes. This is the starting position. Squeeze inner thighs together, as you lower straight down. Left knee should hit 90 degrees, while right knee points straight down to the floor. Press through the left heel to return to starting position. Repeat. Then switch sides.

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      Lower Body: Glute Bridge

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      Journal of Applied Physiology glutes to lift hips up toward the ceiling. Body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back down and repeat.

      Lower Body: Plyo Lunge

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      Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step left foot back and lower into a lunge, knees forming 90-degree angles. Drive through feet to jump up, switching legs in the air. Land in a lunge position with left leg forward. Continue alternating lunges with a jump in the middle, aiming to increase time in the air and decrease time on the ground.

      Lower Body: Single-Leg Half Squat

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      Start standing and shift weight to left leg as you lift right knee so thigh is parallel to floor. Send hips back and down and bend left knee to lower halfway down into a squat as you raise arms out in front of you for balance. Keep weight in left heel. Drive through left foot to stand back up. Then switch sides.

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      Lower Body: Straight-Leg Calf Raise

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      Stand with feet hip-width apart on the edge of a step or box, legs straight. Shift weight to right foot, left foot lifted off step. Push through right foot to come up to toes. Pause for a second, then lower heel back down and repeat. Then switch sides.

      Lower Body: Shoulder Bridge

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      Lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted on floor. Place arms down by sides. Contract glutes and lift hips toward ceiling as high as possible you centralize hands together under hips. Lower back down and repeat.

      Lower Body: Bent-Knee Calf Raise

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      Stand on the edge of a step or box with feet hip-width apart, knees bent about 45 degrees. Shift weight to right leg and let left foot hang off step. Push through right forefoot to come up to toes. Pause for a second, then lower heel back down. Repeat. Then switch sides.

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      Lower Body: Heel Drop

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      Stand with left foot on a step and right heel hanging off the edge. Bend left knee to lower right heel below the step, then press back up. Repeat. Then switch sides.

      Lower Body: Eccentric Calf Raise

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      Stand on step or box with feet hip-width apart on the edge of a step or box, heels off edge. Slowly and with control, lower heels down below the edge of step for a count of 3 to 5. Pause, then lift heels back up. Repeat.

      Core: Plank

      bodyweight exercises
      Julia Hembree Smith

      Start on all fours, shoulders over wrists. Step feet back and engage glutes and thighs to straighten legs. Body should form a straight line from shoulders to hips to heels. Think about pushing the ground away from you and pulling the belly button up toward the spine to keep back flat. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds.

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      Core: Mountain Climber

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      Start in a high plank position, shoulders over wrists, core engaged so body forms a straight line from shoulders to hips to heels. Engage glutes and thighs to keep legs straight. Drive left knee in toward chest, then quickly step it back to plank position. Immediately drive right knee in toward chest, then quickly step it back into plank position. Continue alternating.

      Core: Side Plank Reach Through

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      Lie on left side, left forearm on the floor with elbow directly under shoulder. Lift hips to form a straight line from shoulders to heel and extend right arm to ceiling. With control, reach right arm underneath the body, rotating upper body toward the floor. Extend right arm back up toward ceiling and return to side plank. Repeat. Then switch sides.

      Core: 6-Inch Hold

      bodyweight exercises
      Julia Hembree Smith

      Lie faceup, legs straight, arms by sides with hands positioned below glutes for support. Lift legs just six inches off the mat. Draw belly button to spine to keep low back from lifting up off mat. Hold for 30-60 seconds.

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      Core: Russian Twist

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      Sit on the floor, knees bent, heels resting on mat. Lean upper body back about 45 degrees. With elbows bent and hands together, rotate torso to the right, then rotate torso to the left. Continue alternating. To make it harder, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell or lift heels off of floor.

      Core: Leg Lift

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      Lie faceup, legs straight, hands under glutes for support. Keeping low back flat against the mat, lift legs up toward ceiling, keeping knees as straight as possible. Slowly lower legs back down toward the floor. Continue to press low back into mat. When legs hover just an inch off the floor, lift back up and repeat.

      Headshot of Mallory Creveling
      Mallory Creveling
      or explosive movements, to your routine. You can add them to any exercise, but moves like the air

      Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.

      Headshot of Monique Lebrun

      Monique LeBrun joined the editorial staff in October 2021 as the associate health and fitness editor. She has a master’s degree in journalism and has previously worked for ABC news and Scholastic. She is an avid runner who loves spending time outside.

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