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Exercises

Ultramarathon strength training: what to lift and when

Published October 24, 2026

Ultramarathon strength training works best as two short sessions a week built on single-leg exercises (step-ups, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts), heavy basics in the off-season (squats and trap bar deadlifts for 4 to 6 reps), slow lowering work for descents (Nordic curls, slow step-ups), both kinds of calf raise, and hip and trunk work for late-race posture. Lift heavier when mileage is easy, hold strength with less volume during the race build, and stop progressing a few weeks out. Keep every set 2 to 3 reps short of failure so lifting never costs you a run.

  1. Step-Up Quads, Glutes
  2. Bulgarian Split Squat Quads, Glutes
  3. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  4. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  5. Single-Leg Calf Raise Calves
  6. Seated Calf Raise Calves
  7. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  8. Side Plank Abs

Single-leg strength for climbs and descents

Hills decide most ultras. Step-ups train the climb and, with a slow lowering, the descent; split squats build the single-leg control every landing needs.

Quads and glutes, single-leg climb

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Climbing is a step-up repeated thousands of times, and the step-up trains it directly: one leg lifts your whole body onto a higher surface. Lowering slowly on the way down also trains the braking your quads do on every descent.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing a knee-high box or bench, dumbbells hanging by your hips.
  2. Set your whole right foot on the box.
  3. Push through that foot to stand up on the box, bringing the left foot up beside it without pushing off the floor.
  4. Step the left foot back down slowly, taking three seconds, then the right. Finish the reps on one leg, then switch.

Cues

  • Lead foot does all the lifting
  • Three seconds down
  • Stand fully tall on top

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing off the back foot to get up: start with the trailing toes lifted so they cannot help.
  • Dropping down from the box: the slow lowering is half of what makes this useful for descents.

Swap for: Kettlebell Step-Up, Barbell Step-Up, Bulgarian Split Squat

Build a session with Step-Up

Single-leg quads and hips, rear-foot elevated

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

Trail running is single-leg work on uneven ground. With the back foot raised, one leg carries nearly all the load and the hip has to stop the knee from caving, which is the control you need when tired legs land on a rock.

How to do it

  1. Stand a long step ahead of a bench and lay the top of your rear foot on it, dumbbells at your sides.
  2. Sink until the front thigh sits about level and the rear knee is close to the ground.
  3. Keep your front knee tracking over your middle toes.
  4. Drive up through the front foot. Finish the side, then switch.

Cues

  • Knee over middle toes
  • Most weight on the front leg
  • Control the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Knee caving inward on the way up: slow down and use less weight until it tracks straight.
  • Short stance that lifts the front heel: step farther from the bench.

Swap for: Dumbbell Split Squat, Reverse Lunge, Step-Up

Build a session with Bulgarian Split Squat

Heavy strength for durable legs

Low reps with heavy weight in the off-season raise your ceiling, so the same pace costs less effort hours into a race. One squat and one hinge are enough.

Maximal leg strength, barbell squat

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

Running never asks your legs for heavy force, so heavy squats in the off-season give your quads and glutes strength they cannot get from mileage. More strength means each stride uses a smaller share of what you have, which is what keeps legs together late in a race.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar on your upper back in a rack, hands just outside your shoulders, and step back with feet about shoulder width.
  2. Brace your trunk with a big breath.
  3. Sit down and back until your thighs reach about parallel, knees following your toes.
  4. Drive up through your whole foot to stand, and breathe at the top.

Cues

  • Brace before you descend
  • Knees follow toes
  • Same depth every rep

Common mistakes

  • Letting the chest collapse forward out of the bottom: brace harder and lift your chest as you stand.
  • Chasing heavier weight with shallower reps: keep the depth and add load slowly.

Swap for: Front Squat, Goblet Squat, Leg Press

Build a session with Barbell Back Squat

Glutes, hamstrings and back, heavy hinge

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

A heavy hinge builds the glutes and back that hold your posture on long climbs, especially with poles or a loaded vest. The trap bar lets runners new to deadlifting load the hinge with a more upright torso.

How to do it

  1. Stand inside the hex frame and grip the handles with a flat back, hips above knees.
  2. Tighten your trunk and lats as if bending the handles outward.
  3. Drive the floor away and stand tall.
  4. Reverse the motion with control until the plates touch, then reset.

Cues

  • Bend the handles out
  • Drive the floor away
  • Reset between reps

Common mistakes

  • Rounding the back to reach the handles: lower your hips until the back stays flat.
  • Hyperextending at the top: finish standing straight with glutes tight.

Swap for: Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift, Barbell Deadlift

Build a session with Trap Bar Deadlift

Hamstrings that hold up on descents

The hamstrings brake each stride. One hinge on one leg and one slow lowering exercise cover them.

Hamstrings and hip stability, one-leg hinge

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Every stride lands on one leg, and late in a long race the hip on the landing side starts to drop. Hinging on one leg trains the hamstrings and the side of the hip that keep the pelvis level, plus the foot and ankle balance you need on rough ground.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell in the hand opposite your standing leg.
  2. Hinge forward at the hip while the free leg reaches straight back, keeping your hips square to the floor.
  3. Lower until your torso and back leg are near level or your hamstring stops you.
  4. Drive the standing hip forward to come back up tall. Finish the side, then switch.

Cues

  • Hips square, toes of back foot down
  • Long line from head to heel
  • Soft standing knee

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hip so the back leg turns out: point the back toes at the floor.
  • Rushing and losing balance: slow down, and touch a wall with the free hand if you need it.

Swap for: Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Single-Leg RDL

Eccentric hamstrings, partner-held lowering

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

The hamstrings brake your lower leg at the end of every stride and work hard on steep descents. The Nordic curl trains them in a slow lowering against your bodyweight, which builds the eccentric strength that mileage alone does not.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a pad with a partner holding your ankles down firmly.
  2. Keep a straight line from knees to head with your hips extended.
  3. Lean forward as slowly as you can, resisting with your hamstrings.
  4. Catch yourself with your hands near the floor, push back up lightly, and repeat.

Cues

  • Hips stay forward
  • Fight the fall the whole way
  • Hands only at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to shorten the lever: keep knees, hips and shoulders in line.
  • Dropping fast once it gets hard: control even the first few inches, and stop the set if you cannot.

Swap for: Glute Ham Raise, Lying Leg Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl

Build a session with Nordic Hamstring Curl

Calves and ankles

Train both calf muscles: straight-knee raises for the outer calf, bent-knee raises for the soleus underneath.

Calf and Achilles, straight-knee raise

Single-Leg Calf Raise

Calves

Your calves absorb and return force on every step for hours. The straight-knee raise trains the larger calf muscle through a full stretch, one leg at a time, so a weaker side cannot hide.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot on a step edge with the heel free and one hand on a support, a dumbbell in the other hand.
  2. Lower the heel slowly into a full stretch.
  3. Press up onto the ball of the foot as high as you can.
  4. Hold the top for a second, lower for three, and repeat. Then switch.

Cues

  • Knee straight
  • Three seconds down
  • Big toe pushes

Common mistakes

  • Rolling out to the little toes at the top: push through the big toe side.
  • Quick, short reps: the full range and slow lowering matter most.

Swap for: Standing Calf Raise, Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise, Smith Machine Calf Raise

Build a session with Single-Leg Calf Raise

Soleus, bent-knee raise

Seated Calf Raise

Calves

With the knee bent, the deeper calf muscle, the soleus, does most of the work, and it carries a large share of the load during running. Many runners train only straight-knee raises; this fills the gap.

How to do it

  1. Sit at a seated calf machine with the pad on your lower thighs and the balls of your feet on the platform.
  2. Release the safety and let your heels sink into a deep stretch.
  3. Push up as high as you can onto your toes.
  4. Pause, lower slowly, and repeat.

Cues

  • Deep stretch, high finish
  • Pause at both ends
  • Steady tempo

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing at the bottom: pause there instead.
  • Loading so heavy the range shrinks to an inch: use a weight you can move fully.

Swap for: Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise, Kettlebell Seated Calf Raise, Leg Press Calf Raise

Build a session with Seated Calf Raise

Hips and trunk for late-race posture

Posture fails before legs do. Train the side of the hip, the obliques, the deep abs, and a one-handed carry.

Glute medius, side steps against a band

Lateral Band Walk

Abductors

The muscles on the side of your hip keep your knee from drifting in and your pelvis level on each landing. Side steps against a band wake them up and build endurance in them, and they make a good warm-up before running too.

How to do it

  1. Place a mini band just above your knees or around your ankles.
  2. Sit into a quarter squat with feet set at hip distance.
  3. Step sideways with one foot, keeping tension on the band, then follow with the other without letting the feet meet.
  4. Take the target number of steps one way, then come back the other way.

Cues

  • Stay low
  • Toes forward
  • Never let the band go slack

Common mistakes

  • Standing up tall as you tire: hold the quarter squat throughout.
  • Swinging the torso side to side to step: keep the shoulders level and move from the hips.

Swap for: Band Standing Hip Abduction, Hip Abduction Machine, Clamshell

Build a session with Lateral Band Walk

Lateral trunk and hip, side hold

Side Plank

Abs

Holding your body straight on its side trains the obliques and the outside of the hip together, the same chain that stops you from sagging sideways as you fatigue on a long climb or with a full race vest.

How to do it

  1. Lie on one side with your elbow under your shoulder and your feet stacked.
  2. Raise your hips so your body forms a straight line.
  3. Hold steady and breathe.
  4. Lower down and switch to the opposite elbow.

Cues

  • Hips forward and high
  • Stack the shoulders
  • Long neck

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sit back: push them forward in line with your shoulders.
  • Holding your breath: breathe steadily for the whole hold.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank, Pallof Press

Build a session with Side Plank

Deep abs, anti-extension with moving limbs

Dead Bug

Abs

Holding the pelvis still while the arms and legs move is the trunk's job for every running stride. The dead bug trains it lying down, with no load on the spine, so it fits into a recovery day.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with your arms reaching to the ceiling and hips and knees bent at right angles.
  2. Flatten your lower back against the floor.
  3. Extend the opposite arm and leg slowly until they hover just off the ground.
  4. Return and switch sides.

Cues

  • Back flat the whole time
  • Breathe out as you reach
  • Slow and even

Common mistakes

  • Arching as the leg reaches out: shorten the reach.
  • Moving both sides at once in a rush: alternate deliberately.

Swap for: Plate Hollow Hold, Pallof Press, Plank

Build a session with Dead Bug

Trunk and grip, one-sided carry

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Carrying weight in one hand forces the trunk to keep you upright against a sideways pull, which is close to running with a bottle in one hand or a pack that sits unevenly. It also trains walking posture for the hiking sections of long races.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one heavy dumbbell at your side, the other hand free.
  2. Stand tall with your shoulders level.
  3. Walk with normal steps for the target distance without leaning toward or away from the weight.
  4. Switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Shoulders level
  • Walk like nothing is in your hand
  • Ribs stacked over hips

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight: use a lighter dumbbell.
  • Letting the dumbbell bump your leg: hold it just off your thigh.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry, Side Plank

Build a session with Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Off-season or base phase

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets27 a week
  • Per workout~40 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Dumbbells, Flat Bench, Trap Bar +1

You are between race builds, running easy mileage, and have room for two proper gym sessions a week.

This is when to build strength, because your running is mostly easy. Session A is heavy squat and calf work, session B heavy hinge and single-leg work, each with 4 to 6 rep sets at 2 reps in reserve: heavy enough to build strength, far enough from failure that you can still run the next day. Around 14 working sets per session.

A: Squat and Calves
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Step-UpPer leg, 3 s down. 3 × 6–8 2 90 s
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. 3 × 40 2 45 s

Open A: Squat and Calves in the session builder

B: Hinge and Single Leg
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–8 2 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 2 × 3–6 2 2 min
Seated Calf Raise 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Dead BugPer side. 2 × 8–10 2 45 s

Open B: Hinge and Single Leg in the session builder

How to run it
Lift on easy-run days, at least a few hours after the run, and keep two days between A and B. Avoid lifting legs the day before a long run.
How to progress
Add load whenever every set of a lift reaches the top of its range at 2 reps in reserve. After eight to twelve weeks, move to the race-build plan.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Race build, peak mileage

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench, Resistance Bands

You are 6 to 16 weeks from an ultra, running your biggest weeks, and the gym has to hold onto strength without taking anything from long runs.

In the build, running gets priority. One short session done twice a week keeps the strength from the off-season with about a third less volume: 11 working sets, still moderately heavy, but at 3 reps in reserve so nothing is sore for the weekend long run. Cut to one session a week in the last three weeks and drop it in race week.

Maintenance Session
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift 2 × 5–6 3 2:30 min
Step-UpPer leg, 3 s down. 2 × 6–8 3 90 s
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 2 × 8 3 1 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min
Lateral Band WalkSteps each way. 2 × 12–15 2 45 s
Dumbbell Suitcase Carry30 m per hand. 1 × 1 2 1 min
How to run it
Lift after an easy run early in the week and again midweek, never within 48 hours before your long run.
How to progress
Do not chase progress here. Keep the loads from the end of the off-season and stop adding weight; the goal is to arrive at the start line with the strength you built.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Mountain ultra with long descents

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench, Seated Calf Raise, Resistance Bands

Your race has thousands of feet of descent, and your quads have given out on downhills before.

Downhill running loads the quads and hamstrings while they lengthen, so this plan builds strength in exactly that phase: slow three-to-four second lowering on step-ups, split squats and Nordics, plus heavier calves. Expect sore legs the first two weeks; that is why everything starts at 3 reps in reserve and moves to 2 only after the soreness fades. 13 working sets per session.

Session 1: Quads
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Step-UpPer leg, 4 s down. 3 × 6–8 3 90 s
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg, 3 s down. 3 × 6–8 3 90 s
Seated Calf Raise 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 40 2 45 s
Dead BugPer side. 2 × 8–10 2 45 s

Open Session 1: Quads in the session builder

Session 2: Hamstrings and Hips
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–5 3 2 min
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 75 s
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg, 3 s down. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Lateral Band WalkSteps each way. 2 × 12–15 2 45 s
Dumbbell Suitcase Carry30 m per hand. 2 × 1 2 1 min

Open Session 2: Hamstrings and Hips in the session builder

How to run it
Do Session 1 and Session 2 once a week each, in the 8 to 16 weeks before the race, on easy days. Pair them with hill repeats or downhill practice runs on other days.
How to progress
Week by week, lengthen the lowering to four seconds, then add load. Stop progressing three weeks before the race.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How many days a week should ultrarunners strength train?

Two sessions a week in the off-season and during most of a race build, then one a week in the last few weeks before the race. Put them on easy-run days, a few hours after the run, and keep them away from the day before your long run.

Should ultrarunners lift heavy?

Yes, in the off-season. Sets of 4 to 6 on squats and deadlifts build strength that running cannot, and they do not add much bulk at that volume. During the race build, keep the weight moderately heavy but cut the sets.

What strength exercises are best for trail running?

Step-ups, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, Nordic hamstring curls, straight and bent-knee calf raises, lateral band walks and side planks. Most of them are on one leg, because every stride on uneven ground is.

How do I strengthen my quads for downhill running?

Train the lowering phase: step down from a box over three to four seconds, lower slowly in split squats, and build up over several weeks, since this kind of work makes you sore at first. Add downhill running practice on easy days so the legs adapt to the real thing.

Will strength training make me slower for ultras?

Not when it is two short sessions, a few reps short of failure, on easy days. The risk is fatigue, not the lifting itself, which is why the race-build plan cuts the volume and stops adding weight.