Does Trail Running Build Muscle? | Definitely Defined

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 05:16 pm

When we think of building muscle we usually picture an air-conditioned gym environment. While weight training is certainly a valuable part of building muscle it isn’t the only way to develop a well-defined physique. Trail running builds muscle by requiring an increased rate of energy expenditure through more difficult terrain. Trail running may be one of the best ways to achieve strong defined legs and a solid six-pack.

Below we cover the ways trail running can lead to increased muscle mass and definition, and we provide a number of real-world examples of ripped trail runners. While trail running won’t make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger it will help build some very prominent muscle groups.

Your Leg Muscles Will Get Stronger

If you’ve done any consistent running in your life you will know that running has amazing benefits for your leg muscles. Trail running takes the benefits for your leg muscles to the next level by providing more difficult terrain, steeper hills, and potentially long distances.

Calves, Quads, Hamstrings, and Glutes

All three of these muscles help at all times during a run. During a trail run, each is engaged more frequently and with more intensity due to the difficulty of trail runs. Typical trail runs require steeper hills, tighter turns, and steeper declines, all of which will stress your muscles in a positive way.

Simply put, hills burn. Your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quads will be screaming at times. That said, you’ll have the capacity to build great muscle strength if hills are a repeated part of your normal running routine. If you don’t want to focus specifically on hill repeat exercises, no sweat, just find a route with some big hills throughout and run that route a few times a week.

Trail Running Provides Core Strength (abs!)

When looking into getting a defined six-pack many people immediately look into sit-ups or other ab-specific exercises. This is one of the largest missteps I see when people are focusing on muscle building and physique definition. Ab-based exercises do not burn a lot of calories, and for this reason, you may be getting stronger (and larger) abdominal muscles, but no one may ever get to see them.

Ab Definition And Trail Running

If your exercises aren’t burning calories you will be less likely to achieve a defined physique. This is where trail running helps you get more defined muscles. Trail running burns a lot of calories, and in part, because of this, you will be more likely to achieve the six-pack you always wanted.

Trail Running Provides a More Well Rounded Core Strength

Doing hardcore ab exercises without setting up a base of core strength is a recipe for injury. Running is actually the best way to gain core strength as a beginner. Through running you will gradually build your core strength with each step you take, and as you run further distances you will continue to gradually increase the strength load of your core muscles.

Keep in mind that there is more to your core than your abs, and running trails will improve all of these core muscles as opposed to just those in the front we all think of. Your lower back, your hip flexors, and your pelvic floor are just as important, and trail running will strengthen each of them.

Simply put, the best thing anyone can do for core strength (and ab muscle definition) is trail running.

A Stronger Heart (Your Heart is a Muscle)

Trail running is an aerobic activity. During aerobic exercise, you will be forced to breathe deeper, and your heart will be required to pump more blood. While your legs are pumping around curvy single track and up steep hills, your heart will be pumping alongside them.

Sure, the external benefits of having a strong heart won’t be as evident as firm glutes, but there is no doubt a strong heart will provide tons of health benefits. More energy, faster metabolism, and decreased fatigue to name a few.

The heart is a muscle, and as a muscle, we are able to work on improving it.

Get Defined Muscles Running Trails

Building muscle strength is a benefit of trail running, but what about muscle definition?

To achieve muscle definition a few things need to line up with your workouts and energy consumption.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

You need to maintain a healthy weight if you want to gain muscle definition. This doesn’t mean you need to lose weight, but it does mean you need to maintain a balance for the calories you have coming in and the calories you are burning during your runs.

As you continue to develop your trail running routine your metabolism will increase until it finds an equilibrium. The increased metabolism goes a long way in providing advanced muscle definition.

Increase Distance or Increase Repetitions

Believe it or not, increasing the distance you run can increase the muscle definition you experience from running. Think of a weight lifting analogy for a comparison: Heavier weights and fewer repetitions will provide larger muscles, but lighter weights for more repetitions will increase muscle definition. This is essentially the same concept when it comes to running. Duration

Recovery After Trail Running

As with any exercise routine, it is important to pay special attention to recovery. This isn’t only true to ensure your energy level is high at the time of your next workout, but also to ensure you are building muscle. Since trail running, and long-distance running in particular, requires a lot of calories it is very important that strenuous runs are followed by the consumption of adequate calories heavy in protein.

Examples of Muscular Trail Runners

One only needs to look through social media to see the muscles on some of the runners that focus on trails, or at the very least spend a lot of time running on them. The runners below spend significant time on the trails, but also supplement their running with various cross-training exercises. Cross training and additional strength training will certainly help build muscle.

Tommy Rivs

Possibly one of the most photogenic runners on social media. Know for his cut physique and long-form personal captions on Instagram, Tommy Rivs is proof that trail running builds muscle. On another note, Tommy Rivs and his family have been going through some unique challenges lately related to a surprise diagnosis of a serious illness; if you care about trail running and the global running community, check out and consider donating to the Tommy Rivs Rest Up GoFundMe page related to these challenges.

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A post shared by tommy_rivs (@tommy_rivs) on Jul 29, 2018 at 6:46am PDT

Sandi Nypaver

A trail runner, influencer, and content creator who is a shining example of how trail running can build muscle. Sandi is also co-owner of Sage Running, which is a platform for runners that desire coaching. There is also great content on the site in the form of an eBook and a Podcast. Check the site out, and take a look at her running form below.

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A post shared by Sandi Nypaver (@sandinypaver) on Aug 16, 2018 at 4:04pm PDT

Sage Canaday

A self-described mountain-ultra-trail runner, Sage has become a popular social media persona and (like Sandi Nypaver) is also co-owner of Sage Running. I didn’t plan to have both owners of Sage Running featured in this post BUT when I found one on social media I quickly found the other, and both seemed deserving of a shoutout. Outside of that their posts on social media make it easy to see that trail running has been a benefit to their building defined muscle.

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A post shared by Sage Canaday (@sagecanaday) on May 8, 2019 at 4:13pm PDT

Trail Running Should Be A Part Of Your Strength Training

Whether you have been running roads for a few years, or have never run before, trail running should be a part of your routine. There are tons of benefits to trail running, but one of the main confidence-boosting benefits is you will look and feel healthier. Part of this confidence comes from having stronger more defined muscles.

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Image credit: Paul dobson (source) Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0); reduced file size and cropped