Build a Stronger, Faster Stride This Off-Season: Strength Exercises to Support Speedwork and Mileage

You’re in your off-season, but let’s be real, you have a hard time taking a "break" ;).

You’ve got spring races circled on the calendar, and you know that the work you put in now is what sets up those PR-chasing months ahead.

You’re in it to win it.

This off season is focused on building volume, or maybe speed, perhaps some spicy threshold segments and extra strides that make you feel strong and sharp again.

This season is where you build your head start… your quiet runway before race season officially ramps up.

But, in the back of your mind, you also know what tends to happen when the intensity of your workouts begin to add up and sneak in:

That familiar calf tightness after a speed day

The ankle that feels a little “off"

The knee twinge that wasn’t there yesterday.

None of these are “stop everything” injuries.

But they’re the annoying little niggles that show up just when you feel your new 8-ish week training block is finally clicking.

And you refuse to let two months of smart off-season work get derailed by the same old pattern.

Step into my PT office.

I've built you an off-season, running-specific strength circuit designed to help you build power, strength, speed, and endurance so you can go all in with without trading in miles for injury setback.

Let's deep dive into targeting your glutes, calves, and core to keep you running strong when intensity goes up.

Off-Season Strength Exercises for Runners: Glute, Calf, and Core Circuit to Prevent Common Niggles

Circuit:

2-3 sets each // LIGHT & medium weights

Run-and-reach Bench Plank

• 4x8 reps ea side

Power Up Split Squat

• 4x5 ea leg, RPE 7-8

Weighted Runner's Stance on Edge of Step

• 4 x 30secs ea foot, RPE 7-8

Power Up RDL

• 4x6 ea leg, RPE 7

Make Spring Training Easier, Speedier, and Stronger with Off-Season Strength Exercises for Runners

RUN-AND-REACH BENCH PLANK

• In case you missed it, I'm a PT whose doesn't love doing their own PT exercises.

• THE REASON: this is one of them. Quick story: I was experimenting with some more higher-intensity, power-based hamstring exercises to help you all do speed work without hamstring strains, and my groin/adductors made this GIGANTIC POP. Fun fact: I have a history of right groin strains. And this giant, scary pop could have been entirely avoided if I did this exercise regularly like I had been in the past. Oops.

• This exercise looks like running on your side which means it engages your deep core (your TA), your adductors or groin muscles and, your anti-rotation core muscles (oblliques) AND...your serratus anterior (plus a bunch of other shoulder muscles.)

• This is IMPORTANT because it's teaching your body/core as a whole how to move through and stay strong during through your entire stride. This is especially important because each of the muscle groups also support and strengthen your pelvic floor (yes, you men need this too).

POWER UP SPLIT SQUAT

• No, this is not your regularly split squat or lunge. Let me teach you secrets.

• THE SECRET: I like to space myself out by starting with one knee on the ground. Once I stand up, I actively shift my weight forward so 90% is on my front leg. Grabbing a heavy weight, I slowly lower for 2-3 secs, and then power up (ascend quickly with control) for 1 sec.

• WHAT THIS DOES: the slow, controlled time under tension as you descend directly speaks to your knee tendons, encouraging them to get stronger, especially as you use a heavy weight. The FAST power up part helps to give your muscles (and tendons) a preview of how to run fast, especially if you have speed sessions or threshold runs on you calendar. A lot of running injuries happen during speed-like type work because we don't expose our bodies to that stimulus ahead of time.

• This exercise helps to not only give your body that preview, but also build stronger muscles and knee tendons that can handle that upcoming training load.

WEIGHTED RUNNER'S STANCE ON EDGE OF STEP

• This started out as an experiment... (s/o Ilana!)

• THE KEY: Ilana has been one of my running rescue 1-on-1 runners for several months now and this exercise played a key roll in helping to clear up her heel pain/bottom of foot pain that's been plaguing her for 2+ years. At first I wondered, would this really work? is it too basic? Nope. Not at all.

• WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: after experimenting and vetting this exercise thoroughly, I can say confidently, you really do need at least half your foot off the edge of the step. And if you to make it harder, take your shoes OFF! (think of that shoe as an added brace or support).

• I also need you to not be afraid to pick up a heavy weight. I have a 15# in the video and it was WAY TOO light. I could have easily started with a 30# and worked up. So don't be afraid to pull out the big weights!

POWER UP RDL

• I know this doesn't look like much, but buckle up for some nuance...

• DON'T MISS IT: I originally programmed this as a foot exercise...and here's why. When you power up and through that RDL, leg swept back position and travel into the high knee position, you need to be grounded, actively transfering weight through your big toe. If you don't: you're going to fall over. (yes, you can lightly hold on to a wall with a couple fingers). But here's the thing, you can build the strongest quads, hammies and glutes, but if you can't effectively transfer that weight through your big toe, you're going no where fast.

• So yes, this still targets your hamstrings especially because I want you to grab a comfortably heavy weight that you can still manage, and slowly lower into that RDL position for 2-3 secs and power up and out of it for 1 sec.

• But with this particular exercise, I don't want you to sacrifice weight for efficient (and correct) loading and movement pattern. I need you to stay strong and pushing through that big toe so as your building mileage, volume or tackling hills or speed, your body knows HOW to use the strength your building.

WRAPPING UP: The Secret Link Most Runners Miss

Moving through this off-season circuit, there’s one theme running beneath most of these exercises.

And it’s probably not the one you expect.

Yes, we’re building stronger glutes, more resilient calves, and a rock-solid core. But what we’re really training is your ability to anchor, load, and push through your big toe, the quiet MVP of efficient running.

Think about it: every stride you take starts with how well you can control your body over one foot, and every powerful toe-off depends on how well that foot can transfer force.

In your runner’s stance on the edge of a step, you’re not just hanging out on the ball of your foot.

You're learning to live over that big toe. You’re teaching your body where balance and power originate during stance phase. That’s the foundation of clean, efficient running.

In the split squat power-up, keeping 90% of your weight forward isn’t just a quirk.

It’s deliberate. It forces you to sink into that big toe, activate the deep stabilizers of the foot and ankle, and build the proprioceptive mind-muscle connection that keeps your stride smooth when the workouts get spicy. And when you drive explosively to the top? You’re rehearsing powerful propulsion through your big toe, the same motion that makes your toe-off quick, snappy, and efficient on the run.

And that RDL power-up?

That’s the entire running cycle in one movement. Balance. Hinge. Load. Transfer. Push. Reset. The only way to nail it is to stay grounded through your big toe, even as your hips and core do the heavy lifting.

When you can find and maintain that connection under load, your body learns how to handle volume build, threshold sessions, hills, and speed without wobbling into the compensations that create those classic off-season niggles.

So as you work through this circuit, remember: you’re not just strengthening muscles. You're refining the mechanics that protect you when training intensity climbs.

You’re building the kind of foot-to-glute connection that keeps your stride efficient, your tendons happy, and your off-season momentum rolling all the way into spring.

Your body is learning exactly how to use the strength you’re building.

Until next time...

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit