As you run, many different muscles are worked throughout the body, and running helps to strengthen and tone them.
It’s not a substitute for strength training, but it will absolutely help you gain the muscle definition and strength that allows you to move through life with ease.
Understanding which muscles are moving allows you to focus on:
And while running focuses mostly on your legs, it’s hitting all of your major muscle groups including your core and upper body muscles!
Read this article to learn what muscles work in running and to help you understand why they are important during gait.
What muscles does running work?
As humans, we are designed to run! The mechanics of our running speed combined with our ability to regulate our body temperature through sweat make us perfect for running.
There are two main phases of running that affect how each muscle works:
- Swing Phase: Moving the leg forward and up
- Foot Strike Phase: Generating electricity from the ground
These constitute two stages. cycle. Swing is when your foot is in the air, and your foot strike or stance is when your foot is on the ground. And of course, none of your muscles work alone.
This is why weakness, stiffness, or muscle imbalances can hinder your progress. Check out what each muscle does when running and what you need to know to avoid injuries.
1. Quadriceps
The quads or quad muscles are often one of the most overworked muscles in runners. They consist of a group of four muscles that run along the front of your thighs between the pelvis and the knee.
The four muscles involved in walking include the rectus femoris and the vastus lateralis. The rectus femoris runs down the middle of the thigh from the hip to the knee, while the vastus lateralis is located on the outside of the front of the thigh.
The other two muscles are the vastus medius and the vastus intermedius. The vastus medialis runs along the inside of the front of the thigh, and the vastus intermedius runs down the middle of the front of the thigh.
These muscles are a key part of bringing your leg forward and assisting in knee drive during the leg swing phase.
They also help us run downhill and protect the body by working against gravity and our body weight. Otherwise, we may injure ourselves trying to bend the knee.
And so, weak glutes and tight hip flexors mean that the quads begin to bear the brunt of the running load. This often results. Runner’s knee And fatigue in long runs. Your glutes need to do most of the work.
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2. Hip flexors
Along with the quadriceps are the hip flexor muscles which are a group of muscles that connect the pelvis to the quadriceps which provide an important part in moving you forward and stabilizing your body.
There are three main muscles that make up our hip flexors, namely the iliopsoas, psoas major, and iliacus. These run along the front of the hip. The rectus femoris, which forms part of the quads, also assists in hip flexion.
During the footstrike phase, they help push off your feet as they flex and extend as you run, and thus propel your leg forward for the next step and as you exit the footstrike phase. Helps when moving into the swing phase.
Hip flexors run into two common problems:
- Tightness that blocks the glutes.
- Weakness that limits leg swing strength.
If you have weak hip flexors that can cause lower back pain, back pain when running, IT band syndrome, and even shin splints.
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3. Hamstring muscles
On the back of the thigh is your hamstring, which is your powerhouse that pushes off the ground and prevents the knee from overextending during this movement.
We focus so much on knee drive, that we often forget the strength that comes from a quick ground push off.
If you want to learn to run faster and more efficiently, having strong hamstrings is key.
Many women are quad-dominant which overcompensates our quadriceps. This is why it is important for all runners, and women in particular, to work on strengthening their hamstrings and increasing their range of motion.
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4. Calves
Located in the lower leg, the calves bear the brunt of the load during each stride of the run. They consist of two main muscles, namely the gastrocnemius and the soleus beneath it.
The muscle that runs down the front of your shin is called the tibialis anterior, and helps lift the heels off the ground during the swing phase.
The calf is the part that absorbs the impact through your foot, then lifts the heel off the ground to push off onto your toes. In fact, your calves can lift your heel up to 1500 times per mile!
Our calf muscles will fatigue faster than other muscles due to their size, which is why it’s not unusual for this to happen. Calf pains from walking Or tightness if our shape is wrong.
Additionally, any weakness in this area can lead to ankle or Achilles tendon pain or shin splints. And when your hip flexors are tight or your glutes are weak, your calves will compensate.
- Stop running on your toes and overtaxing the calves.
- Stretch calves after runs.
- Calf lifts on ladder or holding weights – 1 or 2 times per week
- Improve your calf strength
5. The glutes
The glutes are a primary force in injury-free running. They are made up of three muscles, namely the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
All three are important for helping your leg swing, push off the ground, and stabilize your hips to prevent knee, ankle, and hip pain.
These muscles also work together as a group to help stabilize the hips and pelvis in all three planes of motion.
Weak glutes cause a lot of problems and are one of the most common issues presented by physical therapists when runners come in with problems!
For example, when your glutes are weak they allow your knee to collapse inward during each step of your run, causing knee pain or ankle pain.
Stop neglecting them in your strength training or warm-up routine. Having strong glutes can help you take a powerful step and also help you when running uphill.
6. Core muscles
If you feel like your legs are doing all the work, you’re missing a big part of your power in running. Your core muscles are much more than having six-pack abs.
A strong core will improve your speed and prevent all kinds of pain. Core muscles are worked when running, including the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, pelvic floor muscles, and diaphragm.
Because your core is essentially your entire trunk, it allows your body to work together efficiently. They stabilize and support the trunk and spine when you are running.
Having a strong core not only improves your running form by helping your posture, but also improves breathing mechanics, and helps provide a stable base for our arms and legs.
We’ve partially covered many of these muscles in other areas, so a few more are reserved for the core.
Can You Get Abs From Running?
Yes, but not just by running more.
In fact, there is one process that will make abs running more likely:
- Strength training with heavy weights
- Regular core exercise (even with weights)
- Running sprints and intervals
- running low (Too much running raises cortisol.which leads to belly fat).
- Losing weight – I mean honestly getting body fat to a certain level through nutrition is really the biggest factor.
7. Upper body muscles
Although running primarily works the lower body, your upper body also plays an important role throughout the process. The upper body helps propel you forward and your arms move while running.
They help build momentum and maintain momentum. The upper body muscles most involved in running include the latissimus dorsi, deltoids, and shoulders.
Strength training for runners allows you to maintain good posture as you fatigue over long miles, stabilize the core, and find strength in your upper body.
Of course it’s not working your muscles like a bicep curl, but if your muscles are weak and start to fatigue it will work against you mentally!
That’s right, a strong arm swing means you can power up better and a strong back means you maintain form through fatigue, so running isn’t just focused on the legs.
I think what we learned today is that running is a total body workout which is one of the reasons why it can be so effective when people want to lose weight!
But we’ve also learned that running alone doesn’t work.
You have to cross the train. You have to spend a little time on the pre-hab movement. If you don’t use these tips, you will get injured.
Instead of being overwhelmed by what to do, remember that many of these suggested moves can be part of your warm-up routine or have already been set up for you. 30 Day Runner Core Program!
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