Strength, stability & mobility for trail running - part 2

Following on from Charley's previous post, now is a key time to get some solid workouts in. We're ahead of the summer season, but still with enough time to make a real impact on your strength. And for those of you that hate the gym, this can be done anywhere. So no excuses!

Running is hard on your body, there is no doubt, and your body needs to develop the strength and resistance for the miles you put it through. However, running too many miles without the relative strength, stability and mobility opens you up for injury and, potentially, missing your race.

Here is the workout Charley did with the AR Collective crew out here in Chamonix. A simple yet effective all-round workout for runners.

Warm up - mobility
First, I like to move all body parts; perform each for 15-30 seconds:

• Look left and right, then up and down
• Tilt your ears to each shoulder, alternating
• Roll shoulders back, then forward
• Rotate one arm back then the other
• Rotate one arm forward then the other
• Twist thoracic (upper) spine - keeping hips facing forward
• Hip hinges
• Knee bends
• Rotate ankles clockwise & anti-clockwise
• Point toes up and down

Warm up - heart rate & movement
Now to start raising the heart rate and priming the movements we will be training.
Between each movement, perform 10 Pop & Stops.

• 2 x 10 body weight squats
• 2 x 5 wall squats - facing the wall, feet dead straight
• 2 x 5 prying squats
• 2 x 10 ankle bends each side - facing a wall, foot about 4” away, bend knee to touch the wall
• 2 x 10 hip thrusts - bridge your hips up from a supine position
• 2 x 10 inch worms - walk your hands out to press up position, and back
• 2 x 5 press ups - chest to the floor

Workout - part 2
Core integrity is crucial to running form and so we finished off with a short but challenging core drill. The movement is front leaning rest (FLR), or, to most, press up position. With short sets, the aim is to generate as much tension in the body as possible, pulling the heels of your hands towards your toes, forcing you to fully engage your core and rest of your body. For 5 rounds, perform:

• 30 seconds hold
• 30 seconds rest

Workout - part 1
The main part of the workout is a strength and stability superset combining the Bulgarian split squat with single leg deadlift. For 5 rounds, perform:

• 5 Bulgarian split squats - left leg, then 5 on right
• 5 single leg deadlifts - left leg, then 5 on right

Stretching - Moving through the whole body, I like to spend a good 5 – 10 minutes stretching at the end of a session.

• Lying, supine hamstring stretch
• Lying, supine glute stretch
• Lying on your side quad stretch

Same on the other side, then:

• Child pose
• Child pose, hands at 9:50 then 2:10 (on a clock)
• Downward to upward facing dog – back and forth
• Downward facing dog calf stretch
• Pec/chest
• Deltoid stretch
• Tricep stretch

​Good luck!
Charley Radcliffe is a Personal Trainer and Community Manager for The North Face, based in Chamonix, France.