Machines in the Gym That Increase Running Speed

Building a stronger body can help you increase your running speed, and the gym is full of machines that help you develop strength and power. With hundreds of options available, you can choose from a variety of lower-body, core and upper-body machines to build muscle mass for increased running power. You also use cardio machines to enhance your speed and endurance. By knowing which machines to use, you can effectively drop your pace and build a more powerful body.

  1. Lower-Body Machines

    • Developing stronger leg muscles helps you run faster by giving you the ability to push off the ground with more force in a shorter amount of time. At the gym, use machines that target your quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes. Use the leg press and squat machines to target multiple muscle groups at once. Use the leg extension, hamstring curl and calf raise machines to isolate individual areas. If your gym has a glute press machine, use it to cultivate stronger glutes to specifically help you power up hills faster.

    Core Machines

    • A strong core can help you run faster by giving you better form, which helps you fatigue less quickly and use less energy with each step. Because your core consists of your abs, hips, lower back and glutes, you need to use a variety of machines to cover the area. For your abs, use the ab crunch and seated twist machines. You can also use the cable machine for side bends, kneeling cable crunches and standing wood choppers. Target the other areas of your core with the seated lower-back machine and the hip abductor machine.

    Upper-Body Machines

    • A strong upper body can improve you running form and efficiency, which can help you run both faster and farther. To develop a strong upper body with gym machines, you must target your biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders and back. You can work multiple areas with the cable machine alone, or you can isolate each area on specific machines such as the biceps curl, triceps extension, chest press, pec fly, seated row, lat pull or shoulder press machines.

    Cardio Machines

    • Outside of weight machines, you can improve your pace by doing speed workouts on the treadmill. These machines allow you to control your pace and do workouts such as speed intervals and tempo runs to help you train your body to go faster. You also can use stationary bikes and spinner bikes for cross-training workouts that improve your leg speed and help develop stronger quads for running power.