What's the BEST single leg strength training exercise for runners and cyclists?

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TRAINING BREAKDOWN

“The crux of any training plan is you.”

By Emma O’Toole

Hello,

I often get asked: “what is the best exercise I should be doing to support my running and riding?” … “I’ve seen this exercise online, is it the best one for me to do?”

A quick google search on what is the best single leg strength training exercises for runners and cyclists renders these results:

Runners:

• Single leg deadlifts

• Bulgarian/RFE split squats

• Single leg squats

Cyclists:

• Single leg glute bridge

• Bulgarian/RFE split squats

• Kettlebell swings… ?

As you can see, there is no definitive answer, nor a coherent one with kettlebell swings, a bilateral exercise, coming up on the results page. So to answer the above questions: “what is the best exercise I should be doing to support my running and riding?” … “I’ve seen this exercise online, is it the best one for me to do?” The answer is: It depends.

Now, that likely isn’t the answer you want to hear, but the truth is, there is no one single best exercise that you should be doing right now to support your running and riding.

Instead, there is a whole host of exercises that you could be doing with equal benefit!

What you need to consider is you.

Sounds silly, right? but this is something overlooked in many strength training plans- and also in our running and cycling training- We want to know what workouts we should be doing, what works, and what doesn’t. The crux of any training plan, however, is you.

Let’s go back to the exercises listed above. Every exercise in that list has featured in a strength training plan for runners and cyclists that I have created over the years. There is nothing “bad” about any of those exercises. However, if those exercises have been selected for that runner/cyclist, you can bet that there was a reason for it.

For example, the single leg deadlift is a brilliant hinge based exercise targeting the posterior chain for both runners and cyclists. If however, the athlete in front of me, struggles with the hinge movement pattern and simply turns this exercise into a single leg squat, they are not getting the most out of the exercise and consequentially it won’t yield the same results on their running/riding performance. This doesn’t mean that this athlete will never do a single leg deadlift, it just means that this variation it is not the best exercise for them right now.

Similarly, if a runner/cyclist with ankle instability and ongoing Achilles problems attempts this exercise they’ll likely struggle with balance, and their technique to perform this exercise will change to compensate for this. We often see this in a big hip shift and a flexed back as the weight they are using flails around whilst they are struggling to balance. Simply swapping this single leg deadlift for a wall/fixed-object single leg deadlift to provide support can drastically change the exercise for those athletes.

Ankle and hip mobility affect your ability to squat. A runner/cyclist really struggling with the single leg squat may be better suited to a TRX supported squat, or using a heel wedge and working through a controlled range of motion to get the most out of these exercises.

This is the same for a runner returning back to training after an extended break due to injury, or for the cyclist who used to specialise in time trials and is now moving into mountain bike racing. We wouldn’t expect that runner to jump into an advanced marathon training plan, hitting progression runs at half marathon pace, because that runner is finding their feet again with their training. This is why I wouldn’t ask a runner with ongoing hip problems to perform a barbell single leg deadlift as their first progression with that exercise pattern. Nor would we expect the ex time-triallist to have the skills, or competency, of an experienced mountain bike rider. Same goes for a cyclist who is new to strength training- I wouldn’t program Olympic lifts with a barbell to develop power and speed for this individual as they have very little experience with strength training and have not developed the movement patterns necessary to execute such lifts through other exercises.

As you can see, there are no “best” or “perfect” strength training exercises for runners and cyclists, because it all depends on you and how you move.

The 6 most important questions I ask when programming strength training are:

1. How does this runner/rider currently move?

2. What running/cycling training are they doing at the moment?

3. What is their experience with strength training?

4. What is their injury history?

5. What is their goal with strength training?

6. When is their next race/event and what is their goal with it?

You can take control of ensuring that your strength training maximises your running and cycling by not getting swept away with viral trends online, questioning the information you read (is this person an expert in this area?) and by regressing and progressing exercises as necessary.

If you’re unsure about question number 1: “How do I currently move?”, I recommend you to record a video of yourself from the front and side when performing a strength exercise and watch it back, (you can also post it in our free community for advice and pointers on your technique!)

Designing a strength training program for you:

We all need a starting point, a skeleton, for our strength training program to ensure it is improving our running/cycling. So, regardless of the exact exercises that make up your training program, I recommend the following super six movement patterns feature in your 2x weekly full-body sessions:

• Squat - think squats, split squats

• Hinge - think deadlifts, single leg deadlifts

• Push - think press ups, chest press

• Pull - think rows, lat pull down

• Press - think shoulder presses

• Rotary stability - think side bends, farmers carries, bear holds.

From there you need to answer those 6 questions above and have the confidence to regress/progress certain exercises. If you’re stuck on ideas how to do that, please check out Bodyweight Power Program - a program designed for you to build strength anywhere, anytime featuring 30 strength training exercises with progressions and regressions that use minimal equipment. (click here to learn more)

And if you’d like a starting point with your strength so please respond “YES” to the question below and I’ll send you across a FREE strength training program for runners and cyclists.

Once you’ve answered the question above, please check your emails for details on how to access the programs. And from there, I recommend you really pay attention to how you’re moving with each exercise and ask for support in our community, or directly from me.

And if you’re ready to take things further to set yourself up for success in 2025, check out our 12 week strength training programs- just click the option you’re most interested in below to receive all the details.

This can be a funny old time of the year for us in the lead up to Christmas, so make the most of the extra time you may have away from work and outside of training and learn more about strength training for runners and cyclists to drive your performance and robustness.

Enjoy!

Emma

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