Basic Strength and Conditioning Exercises
Basic Strength and Conditioning Exercises
and Conditioning
Exercises
If you talk about a ‘strength exercise’, you’re speaking about any activity that makes your
muscles work harder than they usually do. Strength training increases your muscles’ strength,
size, power as well as endurance and involves making use of your body weight or working
against a resistance.
You should try to do two sessions or more of muscle-strengthening exercises a week which
target all major muscle groups so that you don’t develop a weakness in one particular muscle
group.
1. Squat
A classic move in any strength and conditioning
routine, the squat helps to work on power output, strengthen
the glute muscles, hip hinges and develop the posterior chain
(glutes, hamstrings, etc).
How to do Squat:
• Stand with your feet just over shoulder width apart. Feet at a
0–45 degree angle (or however comfortable)
• Shoulders back and down, looking straight ahead
• Engage your glutes and core
• Push hips back over the heels, until your knees are at 90
degrees (see image above) — imagine sitting on a chair behind
you!
• Push through the heels to drive back to standing position
• Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
2. Lunges
Lunges are a key strength exercise for running and cycling, and to help avoid injury, working on
muscle recruitment and balance. Work on the ‘acceleration’ phase, by stepping back and then driving back
up to standing.
How to do Lunges:
Stand hip-width apart, then take a big step back so your knees are at 90 degrees
Make sure the front knee is behind the toes
Back knee movement is down — think about sinking down towards the ground
Keep weight on the front knee
Squeeze the glutes (bum), keep your hips tucked under
Push with your front heel to standing
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions for each leg
3. Bulgarian Squat
This exercise focuses on strengthening
the glute muscles, as well as working the hip
flexors, which is beneficial for runners and
cyclists who have tight hip flexors.
How to do Bulgarian Squat:
Begin in the standing position, with one foot
behind on a bench around knee height
Shoulders back and down
The front knee should be at 90 degrees
Slowly, and in a controlled manner, move the
body down towards the floor
Push back up with the front heel
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
4. Glute Bridge
Cyclists are quad dominant, so this one really helps to strengthen the glutes.
How to do Glute Bridge:
Lie on your back with feet on the floor, hip-width apart and close to the bum
In a slow controlled movement, drive your hips up to the ceiling by pushing through your heels
Ensure you control the movement on the way down — don’t touch the floor, just hover above the
ground
Timing is 1 second up, 3 seconds down
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
5. Lateral Lunge
This exercise focuses on recruiting muscles that aren’t in the forward motion, used during
running and cycling.
How to do Lateral Lunge:
Start in a standing positioning and take a big step to the side, hinge your hips back with your
chest and head up
Drop the knee between 45–90 degrees
Driving through the heel, push yourself back up to standing
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
6. Push-Ups
This is another classic exercise that can be done anywhere with just your
bodyweight.
How to do Push-ups:
Start by placing your hands on the ground, just outside shoulder-width apart (like a high
plank)
Maintain tension throughout the body (don’t drop the hips) and slowly lower your body
towards the ground, then push back up to the starting position
If this is too much of a challenge, start on your knees
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
7. Dead bugs
The dead bug is a core stability exercise that teaches you
to move your hips and shoulders without involving the
spine. It requires plenty of co-ordination, so practice in
slow and controlled movements. Start off with your arms
only, and then progress to lowering the legs.
Here are some top tips for this exercise, because it can be
tricky: don’t twist into it, keep the spine flat against the
floor at all times and practice with just the arms before
incorporating the legs.
How to do Dead bugs:
Lie on your back with knees in a table top position (90
degrees at the knee and hip)
Hold your arms out straight towards the ceiling, pushing
the lower back into the ground and sucking your belly
button in
Slowly lower your right arm and left leg to just above the
ground
Ensure your spine is flat against the floor without doming
Bring your arm back up and repeat with the other arm/leg
Repeat for three sets of 8–12 repetitions
8. Plank
The plank is an excellent abdominal and core exercise. To ensure you keep your core strong
and stable.
How to do Plank:
Start on your forearms, elbows just underneath the shoulders
Hold tension in the whole of your body, being careful not to drop the hips or hold them too high
Hold this exercise for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how it feels
Bonus: try moving between your regular plank and a high plank as an extra challenge (using
straight rather than bent arms)
9. Bear Crawl Hold
This is a core and shoulder stability strength exercise. You’re building tension in your quads, as
well as working on your coordination.
How to do Bear Crawl Hold:
Start on all fours, with your pelvis tucked in. Hands should be under your shoulders
Knees should be situated under the hips at 90 degrees and 1-inch above the ground
Make sure the glutes and core are engaged
Keep the spine neutral from head to tail
Hold this exercise for 30 seconds to a minute
10. Mountain Climber
The Mountain Climber is a bodyweight exercise
that serve as a great full-body workout. This
plyometric plank movement does it all: increases
core strength, defines the shoulders, chest and
upper back, works the quads and glutes -- all
while raising the heart rate.
Strength - The ability of a person to exert force on physical objects using their
muscles.
Hill Sprints
This can be a really
intense workout, so ease your
runners into it. You don’t need
a very steep hill either. Start
out small, do just a few reps
per workout, and build on that
strength with steeper inclines,
more reps, and less recovery
time.
Long, Slow
Runs
Slow running is subjective, because each person
will have their own pace. However, a good way
to determine whether you’re running “slow”, is
to see if you can have a conversation with your
running partner. If you can, then that’s your slow
running speed.
Another way you can determine what your slow
pace is, is to check your heart rate. If you’re
running at a gentle pace, then your heart rate
should be somewhere between 110 to 140 beats
per minute.
Essentially, if your breathing isn’t too heavy and
you don’t feel like you’re putting in too much
effort, then you’re running at a slow pace (and
by taking normal breaths, you’re able to hold a
conversation).
Interval Runs
Intervals runs are like HIIT workouts: you work at
high intensity for a short period of time, recover,
and do it again. If you have access to a track, use it
for your interval speed workouts.