Strength Program for Marathon Prep

Chelmsford Physio • January 12, 2026

Preparing for a marathon is a journey that involves more than just clocking up miles. Getting stronger plays a crucial role in enhancing your endurance and preventing injuries.


This guide provides a simple yet effective leg strength program tailored for marathon runners.


Why Strengthen Your Legs?


Strong legs are essential for marathon runners. They help in maintaining stability, improving running efficiency, and reducing the risk of injury.


By focusing on these muscles, you can improve your overall performance and endurance.


Simple Exercises to Build Leg Strength:


Chair Squats


How to Perform:

  • Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as if to sit, then stand back up.
  • Aim for 3-4 sets 15-20 reps
  • Benefits: This exercise targets your quadriceps and glutes, crucial for power and stability.




Reverse Lunges


How to Perform:

  • Step back with one leg and lower your body until the front thigh is parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.
  • Aim for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps L&R
  • Benefits: Reverse lunges are great for working the hamstrings and glutes, improving balance and coordination.




Bridge Drills


Bridge drills are great exercises to improve strength through the posterior chain of muscles. Aim for single leg holds, and try to build up your hold time to 30-40 secs on each side.



Calf Raises


Strengthen the lower part of your legs, and are possibly the most important part of the body to strengthen for running. You could start with some single leg calf raises and try to work on 3 sets to fatigue L&R.

We have written a specific blog on the importance of calf exercises for runners, with further information and a more specific advice/recommendations for exercise.



Additional Exercises:

  • Leg Presses: Target multiple leg muscles.
  • Hamstring Curls: Focus on the back of the thigh.


Incorporating Strength Training into Your Routine

  • Frequency: Aim for at least two strength training sessions per week.
  • Duration: Each session should last around 20-30 minutes.
  • Progression: Gradually increase the intensity, load and volume of your workouts.




Balancing Running and Strength Training


It's important to find a balance between running and strength training. Overdoing either can lead to fatigue and injury. Listen to your body and adjust your training accordingly.


To start with it might be sensible to perform your strength exercises on non running days. So your weekly plan might have 3-4 days for runs, and 2 days assigned for the strength exercises.


Conclusion


Strengthening your legs is a vital part of marathon preparation. The exercises mentioned are easy to incorporate into your routine and can significantly improve your running performance. Remember, consistency is key, and it's important to listen to your body to avoid overtraining.


For personalised advice and support, don't hesitate to contact Chelmsford Physio. Our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your marathon goals with tailored physiotherapy treatments in and around Chelmsford, Essex.

How Athletes Adapt Their Training to Cope with High Temperatures: The Science of Heat Acclimatisation

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Athletes competing in hot and humid environments face significant physiological challenges that can impair performance and increase the risk of heat-related illness. From marathon runners in tropical climates to footballers playing summer tournaments, the ability to tolerate and perform in high temperatures is a critical component of elite sport. As a result, many athletes use structured heat acclimatisation strategies to prepare their bodies for environmental stress.  What Is Heat Acclimatisation? Heat acclimatisation refers to a series of physiological adaptations that occur when an athlete is repeatedly exposed to hot conditions during training. These adaptations typically develop over 7–14 days and help the body improve its ability to regulate temperature, maintain performance, and reduce cardiovascular strain during exercise in the heat. Common methods include: ● Training in hot environments (natural or artificial heat chambers) ● Passive heat exposure (saunas or hot water immersion post-training) ● Adjusting clothing to increase thermal load during sessions ● Gradual exposure to increased environmental temperatures The goal is to safely stress the thermoregulatory system so the body becomes more efficient at dissipating heat.

Why Footballers & Athletes Use Ice Baths: The Science Behind Cold Water Immersion

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
Ice baths, also known as cold water immersion (CWI), have become a common recovery strategy among elite athletes, particularly footballers. From Premier League changing rooms to Olympic training camps, many professionals immerse themselves in cold water after intense matches and training sessions. While the sight of players sitting in freezing water may seem extreme, there is growing scientific evidence explaining why this recovery method is so widely used. What Is an Ice Bath? An ice bath typically involves immersing the body (or lower limbs) in water between 10–15°C for 10–15 minutes shortly after exercise. The aim is to promote recovery by reducing muscle soreness, inflammation and fatigue, allowing athletes to perform consistently during periods of heavy training or competition. Why Do Footballers Use Ice Baths? Football is a physically demanding sport involving repeated sprinting, jumping, tackling, rapid changes of direction and high-impact collisions. These actions create microscopic muscle damage and trigger an inflammatory response. Cold water immersion is commonly used because it may help: ● Reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) ● Minimise post-exercise swelling ● Decrease perceptions of fatigue ● Improve recovery between matches ● Maintain performance during congested fixture schedules For professional footballers playing two or three matches per week, rapid recovery is often as important as training itself. 

The Physio’s World Cup Playbook: Most Common Injuries at FIFA World Cup 2026 (and What to Do About Them)

By Chelmsford Physio • July 29, 2026
The FIFA World Cup is a unique tournament environment: elite athletes compressed into a short, high-stakes schedule, with repeated sprinting, sudden acceleration/deceleration, frequent collisions, and often limited time for full tissue recovery. It’s not surprising that the injury pattern in football tends to cluster around the lower limb—particularly the hamstrings, groin/hip-adductors, knee, and ankle. Across football research more broadly, these are repeatedly identified as the most common locations and/or injury mechanisms, even if the exact percentages differ by competition and injury-reporting method. Below is a physio-focused overview of the most common injury “types/regions” you should expect to see at World Cup 2026, along with practical assessment and management themes. 1) Muscle strains—especially hamstrings (HSI)  Why they happen in tournaments: Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) are strongly associated with high-speed running and the physical demands of sprinting mechanics. In injury surveillance and football epidemiology, hamstring injuries consistently appear among the most common soft-tissue problems, with meaningful recurrence risk. What a physio will look for: - History: onset during acceleration/sprinting, feeling of “pull,” bruising (sometimes). - CNS/tissue considerations: prior injury, training load spikes, inadequate sprint exposure progression. - Clinical exam: focal tenderness, resisted muscle testing, and functional tests aligned to your local protocols (e.g., pain-free activation and lengthening tolerance). Rehabilitation themes: - Restore capacity for high-speed eccentric/concentric demands (not just range of motion). - Use progressive loading and functional return-to-play criteria to address reinjury risk—because football research highlights that the hamstring is one of the most frequently reinjured regions.