Running is primarily a single-leg sport. Over a 60-minute run, runners can take upwards of 10000 steps. Each step requires balance, stability, coordination and muscle strength. While moving, each step or landing can subject the calf muscles to up to 8 times a person’s body weight. For ultrarunners - whose race durations are much longer than 60 minutes - this translates to handling 8x bodyweight, 160+ times each minute (assuming ultrarunning is not a 180spm+ sport), for hours and hours at a stretch.
When it comes to mountain running, these demands are simply transposed to movement that is vertical in nature. Varying terrains, steep inclines and technical descents make these demands more complex, as athletes need to also prepare themselves for movement in the vertical plane.
This places single-leg strength training at the top of the mountain running training pyramid, and makes single-leg strength one of the most specific demands for the sport of mountain running.
Single-Leg Strength Training for Mountain Running
To maximise the benefits of single-leg training for mountain running, it’s essential to progress methodically through a structured training programme. Beginning with foundational balance and stability exercises lays the groundwork for building strength and resilience in the lower body. These exercises not only enhance proprioception but also reinforce the neuromuscular connections necessary for precise movement on uneven terrain. Training for balance and stability is often recommended in conjunction with building maximal strength with compound lower body movements - together, these form the foundation for sport-specificity and performance optimisation.
The next stage in single-leg progression is to add a dynamic element with single-leg plyometrics. Plyometric exercises are designed to develop explosive power and reactive strength, two qualities that are essential for mountain running. These train the body to elicit adaptations that are required to generate force rapidly, mimicking the demands of explosive movements encountered on steep inclines and technical terrain. Incorporating plyometrics not only enhances the ability to generate power but also improves the overall running economy, allowing mountain runners to maintain speed and efficiency over long distances.
Finally, to fully prepare for the demands of mountain running, it's essential to integrate sport-specific eccentric and concentric exercises into the training programme. Eccentric exercises focus on controlling the lengthening phase of muscle contractions, which is particularly important for managing downhill descents and absorbing impact forces. Incorporating eccentric movements helps to strengthen the muscles and connective tissues responsible for deceleration and shock absorption, reducing the risk of injury and improving overall durability on the trails. Similarly, concentric exercises target the muscles involved in ascending steep inclines, helping to develop the power and endurance needed to tackle challenging climbs with confidence.
Foundations - Balance and Stability
Before diving into intensive single-leg exercises, it’s crucial to build a foundation of balance and stability. Mountain running requires a high level of proprioception, which is the body's ability to sense its position and movements in space. This is essential for navigating uneven terrain and maintaining control during technical descents and climbs.
While balance and stability are achieved unilaterally, it’s worthwhile to understand that it is the core that’s being targeted and trained for anti-rotation dynamics. When trained alongside lower body compound exercises that build maximal strength through progressive overload, these form the basis of a mountain running strength training programme.
Balance and stability exercises can start as early as the off-season (or pre-season), and the entirety of the General Physical Preparation (GPP) phase can focus on progressive overloading to achieve maximal strength.
Basic Balance and Stability Exercises
While heel-to-toe walks and balance boards can train overall balance, a simple single-leg stand is great as a unilateral exercise. The basic exercise is to stand on one leg with the other leg bent at the knee, and holding this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Some ways of progressively overloading this are:
Increasing the duration of holding the position;
Adding external load in the form of dumbbells, barbell or kettlebell;
Performing an upper-body movement (e.g., overhead press) while holding the position.
Other options involve programming movements that develop maximal unilateral strength. General movements like lunges, squats and deadlifts performed unilaterally (with progressive overload) add to the foundation of strength. This may overlap with the Special Physical Preparation (SPP) phase depending on the programming choices used.
Power Development - Single-Leg Plyometrics
Single-leg plyometrics specifically enhance unilateral power, coordination, and muscle elasticity, which are critical for navigating steep inclines and technical terrain. The primary benefits of single-leg plyometrics are:
Improved Explosive Strength: ability to generate power quickly is crucial for quick bursts of speed during uphill sections.
Enhanced Coordination: improved coordination between muscle groups leads to more efficient and controlled movements.
Increased Muscle Elasticity: ability of muscles and tendons to store and release energy improves running economy.
Single-leg plyometrics and power development should be introduced during the in-season SPP phase, as performing plyometrics requires a good baseline of strength.
Plyometric Movements
Plyometrics essentially involve jumping, landing and taking off. For mountain running, while plyometrics may not fulfil specificity demands (which is why these should be programmed before the specificity phase), these help train the fundamental dynamics of running in the form of the stretch-shortening cycle. Plyometrics are, therefore, tightly correlated with improved running economies even for mountain running. Some exercises that train single-leg power development are:
Split squat jumps and RFESS;
Unilateral broad jumps;
Single-leg depth jumps.
Specificity - Uphill and Downhill Training
In mountain running, eccentric strength is crucial for controlling descents and absorbing the impact forces encountered during downhill running. Eccentric muscle contractions occur when a muscle lengthens under tension. Concentric loading, on the other hand, focuses on the upward drive needed for climbing. Training for mountain running, therefore, should include both concentric and eccentric loading to prepare for the vertical challenges of the sport.
Specificity training is typically taken up closest to the event. This forms a part of the Sport-Specific Preparation (SPP) phase, where the adaptations from the previous phases are used to train for the demands that are the most specific to the event. For mountain running, this simply translates to simulating muscular endurance over uphill and downhill movements.
Exercises and Drills
Specificity for uphills and downhills can be achieved in the gym or outdoors. The best way to do mountain-specific training is to train in the mountains - however, depending on the availability of mountains and/or other equipment, environment and facilities, the programming may include a combination of exercises and drills. Some examples are:
Box step-ups for uphill concentric loading and step-downs for downhill eccentric loading;
Hill-bounding and hill sprints for uphill power and endurance;
Downhill controlled intervals for eccentric loading;
Stair climbing (with or without added load) for uphill endurance.
Conclusion
Progressing single-leg strength is crucial for mountain runners to optimise performance and reduce the risk of injury. By starting with balance and stability exercises, moving on to power development through single-leg plyometrics, and incorporating eccentric training and uphill-specific exercises, a comprehensive training programme can be built that is tailored to the unique demands of mountain running.
If you’re looking for customised strength training for mountain running or a trail race, we’re happy to help.
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