The Ultimate Strength Workout For Runners Who Pronate

Do you over-pronate when you run? Do your arches fall inwards and leave you prone to injury? Strengthening the right muscle groups can ward off injury and help you become a better runner. Try our strength workout designed specifically for runners who over-pronate and see the difference for yourself.

Banded Squats - 3 sets of 10 reps

Back squats are one of the best exercises you can do and will work the largest muscle group in the body – the legs and glutes. It's obvious that you need strong legs to be able to run efficiently, quickly, and tackle hills without issue. It's less obvious that a vast majority of people have weak glutes which let them down, and people who over-pronate when they run are especially likely to have weak glutes.

By adding a resistance band into your squats, you can train your knees outwards and really focus on working your glutes, which will encourage you to run with better form and therefore become less prone to injury.

Place your resistance band just above your knees and keep the tension throughout the entire squat. Make sure you drop low and then squeeze back up using your glutes. We recommend adding weight in the form of a barbell or dumbbells. 

Pistol Squats - 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg

Pistol squats are a favourite of the CrossFit community and are notoriously difficult to execute fully. If you cannot do a full pistol squat, use a bench or a step and sit back onto that.

How to do a pistol squat:

1. Stand with your back to a bench, a couple of inches in front of it.
2. Hold your left leg up off the floor straight in front of you so that you are balancing on your right leg.
3. Hold your arms out straight in front of you to help with balance.
4. Slowly lower yourself down into a seated position on the bench using only the strength in your right leg.
5. Gently tap down onto the bench – don't drop heavily or relax your muscles
6. Use your glute muscles to stand back up.

That's 1 rep on 1 leg. Repeat 10 times then move onto the left leg.

Make sure you keep your knee aligned and don't let it fall inwards as you lower yourself onto the bench. Doing single leg exercises can improve any imbalances you may have which will prevent injury. 

Banded Glute Bridges - 3 sets of 10 reps

This exercise isolates the glutes so that they are forced to work hard. As mentioned above, a lot of runners suffer from weak glutes which can lead to poor running form and inevitable injury. By strengthening your glutes, you will find your knees naturally start to rotate outwards and your arches will lift, which will reverse the effects of over-pronation.

How to do banded glute bridges:

• Place the resistance band just above your knees.
• Rest your upper back and shoulders onto the edge of a bench and bend your knees at a 90 degree angle with your feet flat on the floor hip width apart. You can use your arms to help you balance. 
• Keeping your back straight and using the bench to pivot your body, lower your bottom towards the floor and then use your glutes to power back up.
• Keep your knees wide and squeeze against the resistance band.

That's 1 rep. You will immediately feel the burn! You can rest a weight on your hips to make this harder and see increased results.

Decline Sit-Ups - 3 sets of 10 reps

Although it's important to have strong legs and glutes to help you run with good form and offset the effects of natural over-pronation, it's also very important to incorporate core strengthening exercises into your weekly gym routine. Decline sit-ups are done using the decline bench. If your gym doesn't have one, you can do regular sit-ups on the floor.