One-Hour Workout: Strength and Stability

This strength workout from Marilyn Chychota is perfect for this time of the season when you’re looking to set the foundations for the year ahead.

Photo: Getty Images

New perk! Get after it with local recommendations just for you. Discover nearby events, routes out your door, and hidden gems when you sign up for the Local Running Drop.

The off-season is the ideal time to spend a little longer in the gym and this session from coach Marilyn Chychota will enable you to build a foundation while also improving your postural strength, stability, and core. This is all key for injury prevention, too. Ideally, you would do this workout for six to 12 weeks, twice a week, leaving 72 hours between each session.

Be sure to warm up before getting started with this workout. This could be 10 minutes of cardio or 10-15 minutes of mobility work, such as foam rolling. The main set involves four sets of 10 reps, unless otherwise stated.

Strength and stability

Warm-up

10 min cardio and/or 10-15 min mobility/foam rolling

Main set

4 sets of 10 reps throughout, unless otherwise stated:

Monster walks with a band (video)
Lunge matrix: forward lunge, lateral lunge, reverse lunge (video)
Single-legged calf raises
4×45 sec planks
Swiss ball pass (back and forth with partner or against a wall if solo)
Seated rows
Lat pull downs
Chest press
Single-legged RDL (romanian deadlift) (video)
Squats

Cool-down

Light stretching or 10 min spin if time allows

Popular on Triathlete