We all know that lifting weights can help your running, but could strength training before a run actually help your performance?
We’re often encouraged to incorporate strength training into our exercise routines. With numerous benefits, strength training ticks a lot of health boxes, but could it be the secret ingredient to precede your run to improve performance, and how should you approach this pre-fatigue run routine?
What is pre-fatigue running?
This fitness method of training under fatigue can potentially help you improve your running efficiency and endurance and may be the key to giving you a stronger finish. The idea is to perform a brief bodyweight strength training routine before starting your run.
Done correctly, it could certainly be something to factor into your regular run training. However, this pre-fatigue state needs to be practised with caution: if you go too hard, it could be counterintuitive. And as with all training schedules, it’s crucial to monitor the overall training load to prevent overtraining and also the possibility of injury.
Danny Brunton, clinical physiotherapist and ambassador for shock absorbing running insole brand Enertor, explains: “Pre-fatigue running is aimed at improving our running efficiency and form and leading towards an increase in performance. Through my experience and the experience of my patients, it has helped with gains such as improvement in overall load tolerance and also aspects such as reducing recovery time from longer runs.”
Research backs strength training
A 2025 study by Loughborough University found that adding strength training to a programme of endurance running improved running economy (the amount of oxygen your body needs to maintain a certain speed). According to the research paper: “Running economy (RE) is an important determinant of endurance running performance, with more economical runners able to run at faster speeds for the same metabolic cost.”
The study focused solely on male runners and examined what happened to those runners who added strength training twice a week for 10 weeks and those who only ran. The results showed that those who incorporated strength training saw a 2.1% improvement in their running economy in the last few minutes of a 90-minute race. Those who just ran did not see the same RE.
The study therefore suggests that ‘stronger’ runners use less oxygen to keep up their speed, even when they’re feeling tired. So, during a race, they can perform more efficiently, which helps them finish faster. The impact of regular strength training builds endurance and efficiency, preparing runners for the fatigue conditions in the final part of a long run.
Mind over pain
Another factor involved in completing a long run (as any devoted runner will know) is mindset. When you feel physically exhausted and are desperate to stop, the mind plays a significant role in completion.
The same applies to pre-fatigue running. Jon Shield, Enertor ambassador, elite ultrarunner and coach, says: “I have previously trained my legs with lots of repetition prior to a run to simulate fatigued legs, mainly when I have been short on time and can’t fit a long run in. This type of training can be useful mentally when you have to run when your legs are feeling heavy. This is often what people experience later on in longer races.”
Approach with caution
Your strength circuit pre-run should be comprised of bodyweight exercises. Think, short, sharp and done! Typically, these exercises involve simple moves that you can perform with excellent form, such as lunges and squats.
“To control fatigue during pre-run bodyweight strength training, focus on low to moderate intensity exercises. The session also needs to be tailored to the individual’s needs and training phase,” says Brunton.
He adds: “For example, if you are a beginner, just returning from injury, or your fitness levels aren’t as high as you would like, consider fewer sets/repetitions. Then, the intensities can be slowly progressed. As we’re aiming for low to moderate intensity exercises, don’t push to failure. To help guide this, you can work around 60-70% of your perceived maximal effort.”
The rule is to remain within a controlled fatigue state, avoiding exhaustion before your run begins. By warming the muscles and getting them into dynamic moves, you’re encouraging them to work effectively under fatigue, just as they have to in a long run.
Another tool Brunton suggests using to control fatigue and ensure you’re not exhausting yourself before a run is the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE). He suggests using this during a workout and maintaining an RPE below 5 (on a 1-10 scale, where one is easy and 10 is the hardest).
Everyone’s different
Whether you combine strength training with your runs will also depend on how seriously you’re running. Professional triathlete and Zone3 ambassador Josh Lewis says he doesn’t do too much pre-race strength training, and if he does, he builds it up gradually over time. He adds: “You get to know what you need to activate if you have any weaknesses that have been identified, and what tends to trigger the muscles to work well.’”
He adds that for him, pre-run strength training is used more to fire up his muscles as he’s conscious that too much of it can be an extra load for big races. “I’m a fairly high-volume athlete, so when I’m at the higher volumes, I move away from doing too much strength and activation, as it’s all extra load, and it needs the correct balance day to day, week to week,” he says.
What to include
So, when it comes to performing pre-run strength training, what types of exercises should you include, avoid or limit?
Lewis reminds us that all training is individual. He does single-leg RDLs for stability and balance and also some lunges to fire up his glutes, as he has a glute weakness.
Bruton advises: “When choosing the low to moderate intensity exercises, it is important to choose exercises that target running-specific muscles like glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and core.”
He suggests the following example of a pre-fatigue running session:
- Glute bridge hold: 30 seconds.
- Bodyweight squats: 10–12 reps – slow eccentric lower (3 seconds down) pause at bottom.
- Plank: Aim for a 30-second hold (doesn’t matter if you don’t achieve this initially).
- Lateral band walks using a resistance band around ankles: 10 steps each direction.
- Single leg calf raises: 10 reps (both left & right).
He advises keeping the RPE around 4–5 out of 10. The session should last about 15 minutes, with a 1-minute rest between circuits and 20-30 seconds of rest between exercises (time and rest can be adjusted according to RPE monitoring). He adds that it’s essential to focus on form and control, rather than speed or intensity.
Professional triathlete and Olympian Russell White suggests activation exercises before a run, including lunges with a twist over the front leg to activate the glutes, quads and core, isometric calf holds, ankle inversions, and crab walks for the glutes and hip flexors. He also performs back squats and hip thrusts to target his glutes and trunk.
How often?
Don’t panic; you don’t have to include a strength session before every run to feel the benefits. If you do it all the time, you may risk injury. Many of us have limited time, so don’t always have extra time for another session before a run. It’s also beneficial to track your pre-fatigue sessions and how they impact your run.
Brunton recommends doing one pre-fatigue session every two weeks to achieve gains. He says: “If you include these sessions in your schedule, keep listening to your body and if you experience any excessive soreness or fatigue, it would be worth limiting these sessions until these aspects have reduced.”
Shield recommends exercises to activate muscles as a warm-up that promote good form when running and lead to improved performance. He suggests exercises such as walking lunges, as he says: “They target all the main muscles involved when running. They improve balance and stability and also stretch the hip flexors.”
He also includes high knees, which aid in running form, activate the hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, as well as A-skip plyometric drills to improve coordination and strengthen muscles, thereby reducing the risk of injury.
Finally, Brunton reminds us to listen to our bodies. “By paying attention to a greater than expected feeling of muscle heaviness, breathlessness, or a drop in coordination (which are signs of excessive fatigue),” he says, “you will be able to adapt the session to help prevent exhausting yourself before the run.”
