Have your sights set on a PR this year? Then it’s time to add some strength work to your training plan. Research shows a weight-training routine can boost your running economy, making you more efficient on your feet. And weight training for speed—with moves that build your power—will get you to the finish line faster.

That’s because lifting weights not only builds strong muscles, but also adds force and forward propulsion to your stride, helping you run faster with less effort. “Strength training also makes our body more resilient, and the more resilient we are, the more load our body can handle,” Danielle Hirt, a.k.a Coach D, NASM-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach based in Arlington, Virginia, tells Runner’s World. “Running is an extremely high-impact sport, so the stronger our muscles are, the better we can absorb that load.”

Thankfully, Hirt designed a full weight training for speed plan that takes just 20 minutes to complete and taps into your strength, power, and resiliency, with moves chosen specifically to upgrade your pace. “These exercises are excellent power moves. Being able to move through an exercise quickly and with control creates power,” Hirt says. “Through these movements, we generate that neuromuscular response and develop movement patterns that translate to the run.”

One thing to keep in mind before you jump into this routine: Master the movement first, before you add in speed. You want to feel strong and stable through each exercise, Hirt says, so don’t rush it. Also, start with lighter weights to get the movements down, and then start to increase that load the more comfortable you become with each exercise.

This is especially important for those new to weight training. You don’t want to conquer weight training for speed without first mastering a squat, deadlift, and lunge—three main movement patterns you’ll see throughout the workout. Nail the form for those moves, add in weight slowly, and then you’re ready to conquer this workout.

How to use this list: Perform each exercise below for the reps and sets listed. You’ll start with a warmup, move on to set one, then set two, and end with a finisher.

Fun Half Marathons kettlebell Health & Injuries.

Hirt demonstrates the entire workout in the video above so you can follow along and learn the form for each exercise.

Warmup: 2 rounds

Good Morning

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands behind head. Unlock knees.
  2. Hinge at hips by sending hips straight back. Keep back flat and core engaged.
  3. Have your sights set on a PR this year? Then its time to add some strength work to your.
  4. Running Send hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips lower than knees, if possible.

Air Squat

  1. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
  2. Send hips down and back to lower into a squat.
  3. Repeat. Do 20 reps.
  4. Running Send hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips lower than knees, if possible.

Kettlebell High Pull

  1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell by the handle with both hands. Pack shoulders down and back.
  2. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
  3. the kettlebell back and up, behind hips and close to groin.
  4. Running Send hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips lower than knees, if possible.

Set 1: 3 rounds

Kettlebell Deadlift

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, kettlebell between feet. Unlock knees.
  2. Hinge at hips by sending hips straight back, keeping back flat and core engaged. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
  4. Repeat, holding the kettlebell. Do 12 reps.

Kettlebell Squat Clean

  1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell by the handle with both hands, arms straight down in front of you. Pack shoulders down and back.
  2. Pull elbows straight up, and as the kettlebell reaches chest height, bring hands around handle to hold at the bottom of the handle.
  3. Then, immediately drive hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips below knees if possible.
  4. Repeat. Do 20 reps.
  5. Send hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips lower than knees, if possible.
  6. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.

Kettlebell Swing

  1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  2. With a kettlebell placed arm’s-length away, hinge at hips by sending hips straight back, and grab the kettlebell with both hands.
  3. Pack shoulders down and back and tip the kettlebell toward you.
  4. Swing the kettlebell back and up, behind hips and close to groin.
  5. Use glutes and hamstrings and drive feet into the floor to swing the kettlebell through legs and up to chest height, engaging core so you hit an upright plank-like position at the top.
  6. Let the kettlebell’s momentum bring you back into a hinge, kettlebell coming back between legs.
  7. Repeat. Do 20 reps.

Set 2: 3 rounds

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift With Clean

  1. Stand on left leg, holding a kettlebell down in front of you in right hand.
  2. Hinge at hips, lowering torso toward floor with flat back and core engaged. Lift right leg behind you. Keep kettlebell close to body and slight bend in left knee.
  3. Drive through left foot to stand up and as you do, pull right elbow high, rotating kettlebell around wrist for the clean so it rests on right forearm and elbow lands pointing downward, with kettlebell at shoulder. Drive right knee up to chest.
  4. Pause, then repeat the single-leg deadlift, tipping the kettlebell back down and extending right arm. Do 6 reps.

Bulgarian Split Squat

  1. Sit on a box, chair, or bench that’s about at knee height, holding a kettlebell at chest with both hands. Extend left leg, heel on the ground. Plant left foot and stand up, keeping foot where it is, so you’re standing and facing away from the box. Place right foot on the box behind you. This is the starting position.
  2. Lower into a lunge-like position, front left knee tracking over toes, and back right knee hovering just above the floor.
  3. Pause, then drive through left foot to return to starting position.
  4. A Deep Core Workout for Run Performance.
  5. How to use this list.

Finisher: 4 rounds

Deadlift

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, kettlebell between feet. Unlock knees.
  2. Hinge at hips by sending hips straight back, keeping back flat and core engaged.
  3. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
  5. How to use this list.

Goblet Squat

  1. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out. Hold a kettlebell at the bottom of the handle with both hands.
  2. Send hips down and back to lower into a squat. Aim to get hips lower than knees, if possible.
  3. Repeat. Do 20 reps.
  4. Strength Training Boosts Performance, Study Says.

Swing

  1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  2. With a kettlebell placed arm’s-length away, hinge at hips by sending hips straight back, and grab the kettlebell with both hands.
  3. Pack shoulders down and back and tip the kettlebell toward you.
  4. Swing the kettlebell back and up, behind hips and close to groin.
  5. Use glute and hamstrings and drive feet into the floor to swing the kettlebell through legs and up to chest height, engaging core so you hit an upright plank-like position at the top.
  6. Let the kettlebell’s momentum bring you back into a hinge, kettlebell coming back between legs.
  7. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.

After the fourth round of the above, do 20 seconds of jump squats:

  1. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
  2. Send hips down and back to lower into a squat.
  3. Drive through feet to stand up and explode upward, jumping off the ground.
  4. Repeat the hinge, holding the kettlebell. Do 6 reps.
  5. Repeat.
Headshot of Mallory Creveling
Mallory Creveling
Deputy Editor, Health & Fitness

Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.

Headshot of Jess Movold
Reviewed byJess Movold

A running veteran for more than a decade, Movold is a licensed strength and running coach for Runner’s World+ members and at the Mile High Run Club in New York City. When she’s not motivating class-goers through grueling treadmill workouts, you’ll likely find her zig-zagging boroughs on bridges throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan or training for her next marathon . She’s ready to push you to your next running goal as she chases her own—running a marathon in under 3 hours.