5 Exercises for Beginners Who Want to Get into Half Marathons

Whether you're an experienced runner or just getting started, the best way to get ready for half marathons is to start training.

One of the best ways to train is with strength exercises. You may be short on time, need to make things quick and effective, or you don't want to feel as if you're working out during your running workouts, but worry not.

You can still build muscles that improve your running performance by doing strengthening exercises before and after your runs.

Making these workouts more convenient not only helps you stay on schedule; it might even help you increase the frequency and quality of your workouts.

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Five Essential Workouts to Prepare for Half Marathons

Here's a look at five such workouts to help you prepare for half marathons:

1) Lunge

If you're training for the big day, half marathons (or even a full marathon), lunges are a powerful exercise, allowing you to shape and strengthen almost every muscle in your body. They can also be a valuable part of a strength training or circuit training workout.

Here's how you do lunges:

• Stand with your feet spread apart and parallel.
• Your torso should be straight and weight evenly distributed between both feet.
• Bend your knees, and lower your body till the back knee nearly touches the floor, but don't let it touch.
• At the bottom of the movement, the front thigh should be parallel to the ground and the back knee pointed towards the floor.
• Push up from this position, keeping your weight on the heel of your front foot.

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2) Squat

Half marathons pose a similar challenge to squats and require many of the same muscles, ligaments and joints of the body to be strong and stable.

Possessing the ability to survive a half marathon is important to keep joints healthy. That can also strengthen the entire body and make it more resilient and less prone to injury.

To do squats:

• Keep your feet a little wider than hip width, toes facing front.
• Bend your knees; push your hips back, and keep your heels on the ground as you sit into a squat.
• Try to get your knees bent at a 90-degree angle, keeping your chest up, shoulders back and weight on your heels.
• To stand up straight again, push into your heels, and straighten your legs.

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3) Dumbbell Overhead Press

Half marathons are long and challenging, but with your best lifting buddy, you can conquer them together.

Using the overhead press as a foundational lift in any upper body routine, you can build muscle while avoiding rotator cuff injuries and shoulder overextension. You'll be ready to complete a half marathon without having to stop mid-race due to injury.

Here's how you do a dumbbell overhead press:

• Lift the dumbbells, and raise them such that they're aligned with your shoulders.
• Keep your legs at shoulder width, back straight and chest out.
• Squeeze those glutes; keep your head straight and looking forward.
• Press the dumbbells overhead (locking out your elbows), and lower them till they are again aligned with your shoulders.
• Repeat from this position for as many repetitions as you can manage in one set.

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4) Plank

When you train for half marathons, planks can help strengthen your neck, shoulders and biceps so that you can focus on what's more important - other exercises to get a great leg workout. By strengthening them in the plank position, you'll be able to do other exercises with better form and ease.

Here's how you do planks:

• The forearm plank is a common exercise.
• In this exercise, you lie face up on your forearms, and keep your body straight from head to toe.
• Tighten your abs area, and hold the position.
• Only your toes should touch the ground; don't let your knees touch the ground.
• Hold this position for as long as you can. It may be difficult at first, but keep practicing till you get it right.

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5) High Knee

High knees might seem like a simple exercise that can help you prepare for half marathons. They get your heart pumping, activate your lower body and core muscles and lead to great sweating.

They're amazing for warming up, or as an intense cardio burst between resistance training exercises. You can even include a high knee in HIIT workouts.

To do this workout:

• Make sure you feel comfortable and supported in your shoes.
• You can do this exercise on a supportive gym floor or grassy area, particularly if you have any knee or ankle issues.
• To get started, stand tall with your feet about hip-to-shoulder-width apart; open your chest and engage your core muscles.
• Bring one knee toward your chest just above waist level while simultaneously pumping your opposite arm.
• Quickly lower that leg, and repeat with the other one. Alternate knees for the desired time period.

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Takeaway

The key takeaway is that if you're just starting out, don't feel pressured to jump right into hardcore half marathon training.

Your best bet, as with any endurance activity, is to start slowly, and work your way up to the distance and intensity you want to achieve while staying within your limits.