HOW TO STRUCTURE STRENGTH TRAINING SESSIONS AROUND RUN TRAINING
Structuring strength training around your running schedule is highly individualized and depends on your goals, recovery, energy levels, and preferences, with many ways to effectively integrate it into your routine.
For runners, structuring your strength training routine around your run training schedule can
seem daunting at first, but it’s all about finding what works best for your unique goals and
schedule. Every runner is different, and everyone’s routine will look different. Running and
lifting is very individualized based on your goals, recovery, schedule, energy levels, as well as
what you enjoy doing. All this said, there are many ways to integrate strength training into your
run training block.
The purpose of this blog post is to give you some helpful general tips and guidelines to
consider:
Take your goals into consideration:
Strength Goals: If your main focus is building strength – ex. During a base build phase, running
for fun, or wanting to make gains in the weight room, you’ll want to get in your strength
sessions before your runs. This will allow you to give maximal effort in the weight room.
Running Goals: If you are primarily focused on running performance, lifting after your runs
ensures you’re able to give your best effort during running sessions.
Balance hard and easy days:
Hard days: On these days, you can combine a strength training session with a quality run (speed
workouts, tempo runs, long runs). You can lift immediately after your run or split them up
between morning and afternoon.
Easy days: Keep easy days truly easy to promote true recovery and avoid overtraining and
burnout.
RUN/LIFT SPLIT EXAMPLES
*based on doing 2-3 lifts/week
Running 4 days/week
- Monday: lift
- Tuesday: easy run
- Wednesday: easy run/tempo run/speed work + lift
- Thursday: REST
- Friday: lift
- Saturday: easy run
- Sunday: long run
Running 5 days/week
- Monday: lift
- Tuesday: easy run
- Wednesday: easy run/tempo run/speed work + lift
- Thursday: easy run
- Friday: easy run + lift
- Saturday: REST
- Sunday: long run
Running 6 days/week
- Monday: easy run + lift
- Tuesday: easy run
- Wednesday: easy run/tempo run/speed work + lift
- Thursday: easy run
- Friday: easy run + lift
- Saturday: REST
- Sunday: long run
*since these plans are structured around lifting 2-3 days/week, it’s always recommended to
take at least 1 full day between strength sessions and doing full body lifts!
GENERAL TIPS AND GUIDELINES
Splits in Strength Training
These sample plans are just that – a general guideline to go off of. When considering your own
personal strength training split, it’s important to adapt your plan based on several factors:
Experience: Your background and familiarity with strength influences how often you should be
lifting
Goals: Your personal goals should influence how you structure your strength training – are you
looking to build strength, improve muscular endurance, recover from an injury?
Running volume: Your weekly mileage should influence how often you’re lifting as it impacts
your recovery needs and overall training load
Again, everything outlined in this blog are just general guidelines to get the most out of your
running and lifting. There is no “perfect plan” – the best plan takes into consideration your
history, goals, injury history, personal preferences, and schedule and adapts as needed to
training demands. While it’s important to incorporate strength training as a runner, consistency
and listening to your body are key to finding the right balance for you.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly for guidance on how this might look for
you! We’re here to help!