Favorite Workout: Prehab + Cross-Training

by Sophia Etienne - GRP Trail Run

I’ve been a runner since I was in middle school, spanning decades of different coaches and training methods, with soccer being my main sport until mid-college. Over that time, I’ve come to realize that I’m somewhat… injury prone, as an athlete. Whether it’s due to my running form or just plain genetic luck, I know that I must spend a good portion of my training doing prehab strength exercises and cross-training. With a good strength and cross-training routine, I can function as a high-performing athlete and not feel so saddled by injury (or anxiety about the possibility of injury) throughout my season. 

Intentional cross-training is becoming more and more common among runners, with athletes like Parker Valby and Courtney Dauwalter utilizing arc trainers, cycling, and skiing to supplement their training. Multi-sport athletes like Sophia Laukli have been dominating the trail racing scene recently, with an emphasis on their enormous endurance base from skiing and insane climbing skills. 

As a flat-lander from the midwest, I don’t see any remotely competitive skiing in my future. But adding in 1-2 days of strength, sometimes heavy, sometimes not, and 1-3 days of cross training on the bike or ski-erg has made a world of difference in the amount of training volume I can handle in a week. Like most runners, I struggle with chronic niggles in my hamstrings, hips, and glutes, so targeting posterior chain exercises through strength and switching up my movements throughout the week allows my problem areas to recover while still building aerobic endurance and speed. 

An example week includes 1-2 days of intensity workouts (intervals, hills, etc.), one long effort (2-4 hours), and the rest of the days spent with lower intensity cycling or other cross-training, with 1-2 days of strength added in on the intensity days. If I’m really trying to stave off an injury, I’ll use the bike for one of the intensity workouts as well. Moderate cycling also tends to allow us to stay in a lower HR zone, something I appreciate as a boost for my aerobic base. 

Some of my favorite strength exercises for posterior chain maintenance include banded squats, donkey kicks, elevated glute bridges, single leg heel taps, single leg Romanian deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, and eccentric Nordic hamstring curls. Add in some upper body for balance (let’s make runners look STRONG again) and lots of core work, and, in theory, you’re bulletproof!