As runners, we all know that the best way to improve our performance is to continue running, either working to increase how far we run, how fast we run, or a combination of the two.
But, there’s another incredibly effective training technique for improving our ability to run further and faster, all while reducing our injury risk.
The secret? Resistance training.
Not only should all runners be lifting weights, but they should be tailoring their strength training to the specific distance they’re training for.
Different distances place unique demands on your body, and your strength training needs to align with those demands in the same way your running does.
A 5k race, for example requires more speed and power, while a 50k ultra marathon requires more muscle endurance.
When you look at what this means for your resistance training, a 5k runner and a 50k ultra runner will have very different strength training goals.
And that’s what we’re going to help you learn today:
- How strength training improves running performance
- The best type of strength training required for different running distances
- Strength exercises and workouts to incorporate into your training
- How to include strength training in your training schedule
- Practical tips to help you benefit the most from your resistance training routine
How Lifting Weights Improves Running Performance
Resistance training, and particularly resistance training that aligns with your race distance, is extremely beneficial for runners. Benefits of strength training for runners, includes:
- Reducing your injury risk
- Improving your running speed
- Enhancing your running economy
Let’s take a closer look at each.
1. Reduces Your Injury Risk:
Strength training causes your muscles to contract against an external force. And as you continue progressively overloading your muscles with more weight or additional sets or reps, you’re increasing your muscle strength and endurance.
Here’s how that helps reduce your injury risk:
- Supports Joints: Stronger muscles provide better support and stability to the joints during running and reduce your risk of overuse injuries and muscle imbalances (that can lead to injury). By strengthening the muscles surrounding your joints, particularly your knees, hips, and ankles, the more they can help control joint movements when running.
- Leads To Better Running Form: Your running form will improve as resistance training corrects any existing muscular imbalances you may have. As these imbalances are corrected, your movement patterns and running form will improve, which can help prevent common running injuries such as IT band syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and shin splints.
- Makes Your Bones & Tissue More Resilient: Resistance training also helps improve the resilience of your connective tissues, reducing your risk of tendonitis, ligament strains, and other overuse injuries, while increasing your bone density. Improving your bone density can help reduce your risk of stress fractures, which are common among runners due to the repetitive movements involved with running.
2) Improves Your Running Speed:
This 2005 study found that runners who followed a consistent strength training program improved their speed and overall running performance.
The runners’ improvement in performance is attributed to resistance training’s ability to improve muscle coordination.
As your muscles’ coordination improves, it leads to more efficient movement patterns and better running mechanics, including stride length, cadence, and ground contact time.
As you run with better alignment and correct running form, you’ll naturally become a more efficient runner. And, an efficient runner tends to be a faster runner.
By focusing on resistance exercises like squats and deadlifts, which help you develop explosive muscular power, every stride you take will have more force behind it.
Your increased muscular power output will lead to greater propulsion and acceleration.
The result of resistance training is that you will run faster due to more powerful muscles that work together better and more efficiently.
3) Improves Your Running Economy:
Running economy is the efficiency with which a runner uses oxygen while running at a specific pace.
If you have a good running economy, you can maintain your pace while using less energy compared to a runner with a poorer running economy.
Factors that contribute to running economy include:
- Biomechanics
- Muscle strength
- Oxygen utilization
- Running technique
Improving running economy is often a goal for runners aiming to enhance performance and endurance, and resistance training can play a role in obtaining it.
By strengthening your muscles, your running movement patterns will become more efficient, improving your alignment, stride mechanics, and form. As you perfect your running form, you’ll eliminate unnecessary movements, waste less energy, and become a more economical runner.
The more efficient your running form becomes, the more you can maintain a consistent pace with less effort.
This is thanks to your stronger muscles, which provide more support and stability, reducing the energy required to stabilize joints and absorb impact forces.
Simply put, you’ll be able to run faster for longer.
How To Tailor Your Strength Training Program to Match Your Running Event
Your strength training should reflect the specific demands of the event that you are training for because that will provide you with the greatest benefits.
Shorter events, such as 5k and 10ks, require more power and speed to improve your ability to generate power and be more efficient.
As such, you’ll want to include strength routines that include heavy weight or explosive training.
Longer race distances, particularly marathons and ultras, require more muscular endurance and a focus on injury prevention to support the increased running volume.
A weekly routine when training for the full or ultra will have a greater dose of injury prevention workouts and with more focus on improving muscular endurance.
This 2021 study found the following repetition ranges benefit strength, power, and muscular endurance.
- Strength/Power: 3 to 6 repetitions at a heavy weight.
- Muscular Endurance: 8-15 repetitions using a moderate light weight.
The following sections outline how to incorporate strength training for each major racing distance.
Before I get into that, I want to mention that if you want an exact plan and routine to follow, we do have a comprehensive strength training for runners program available.
This program will give you…
- A 16 week progressive strength training program for each race distance 5k to the ultra
- Show you exactly which days to strength train and how to progress based on race goals,
- Detailed breakdowns and videos of each exercise
- Additional routines for injury prevention and rehab, weight loss, speed, masters runners and more
Now, here are some overall examples for the 5k/10k, half and marathon distances.
5k-10k Strength Training
Because the 5k and 10k distance focuses on speed and power, your 5k strength training should focus on speed and power too.
This 2021 study found that strength training for speed and power can be accomplished by performing 2-5 sets in the 3 to 5-repetition range (we’ll go over specific exercises shortly).
For speed and power, you want to safely move the weight as fast as you can for each repetition.
This teaches your muscles to produce power quickly and develops your muscle coordination, leading to the many benefits we discussed above, such as faster running and better form.
When first determining what weight to use, start with a moderately heavy weight. Don’t use an ultra-heavy weight at first while you learn proper form and adjust to the movements.
Once you feel confident in your form, the weight you select should be fairly difficult, causing fatigue after performing 1 to 5 repetitions as fast and powerfully as you can.
Because you are lifting heavy, you’ll need to give your muscles time to recover in between sets. Aim for 2 minutes of rest between each of your sets.
Sample 5k Strength Training Routine
Of course, there’s a lot of different routines you can do and you’ll want to progress slowly and at your own pace. This sample routine assumes you have some experience with strength training and that you generally do your harder workouts Tuesday and Friday with a longer run on Sunday.
Here are some quick guidelines that apply universally…
- Rest 1-2 minutes between sets
- Move the weight fast and powerfully
- Use heavy weights that cause you to fatigue by 5 repetitions
- When working with heavy weights and powerful movements, always ensure you have perfected your form first.
Monday – Core Routine for Injury Prevention (2 sets)
Tuesday – Lower Body Training
Wednesday – Off/Recovery
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Thursday – Optional Power Core
Friday – Plyometrics or Heavy Lower Body
Saturday – Off/Recovery
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Sunday – Form and Speed drills
Half Marathon Strength Training
Resistance training for the half marathon should primarily focus on training for muscle endurance.
Speed is still important, but muscular endurance should be the primary focus of your half marathon training plan as it will increase your muscles, joints, and connective tissues’ ability to be used for a long period.
To improve muscle endurance, perform 3-5 sets of 8-15 repetitions at a light weight with a controlled speed.
A secondary training goal for half marathoners should be to improve speed and power.
As speed and power training should always be done before muscular endurance work, start your program with 1 strength and power exercise, performing 2-5 sets and 1-5 reps within each set.
Remember to use a heavy weight and perform the repetitions fast and powerfully, while following proper form.
After you’ve performed your strength and power exercise, you can move on to your endurance-focused movements.
Sample Half Marathon Strength Training Plan
Again, keep in mind that this sample routine assumes you have some experience with strength training and that you generally do your harder workouts Tuesday and Friday with a longer run on Sunday.
This weekly routine is designed to…
- Primarily focus on muscular endurance
- Address speed and power as a secondary goal
- Place one speed and power exercise at the beginning of your week/workout
Monday – Dynamic Core
Tuesday – Leg Circuit
Wednesday – Off/Recovery
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Thursday – Power Core
Friday – Functional Strength
Saturday –
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Sunday – Post Run Speed Drills
Ultra and Marathon Resistance Training
Strength training for the ultra and marathon is different than any other event because the most important physiological demands of the race are unique to the marathon distance.
The primary goal is to prevent injury to allow for more mileage, healthy long runs, and longer workouts.
The secondary focus is on building up fatigue resistance in the muscles and improving your muscular endurance, meaning the amount of time you can recruit maximum muscle fibers.
Finally, just like in the running portion of training, the focus will be on increasing your body’s ability to efficiently burn fat as a fuel source.
As such, marathon strength training will be mainly focused on injury prevention and building the tolerance of your muscles to handle the upcoming increases in training. Heavy and more explosive plyometric exercises will be cut so you still have the energy need to complete your longer workouts and long runs.
Sample Marathon Strength Training Schedule
Keep in mind that this sample routine assumes you have some experience with strength training and that you generally do your harder workouts Tuesday and Friday with a longer run on Sunday.
- Perform 3-5 sets of 15+ repetitions, resting 30 seconds between sets
- Use light weights that enable you to perform at least 15 reps
- Performing your exercises in a circuit is a time-efficient way to include muscular endurance resistance training in your program
Monday – Core Workout
Tuesday – Single Leg Balance
Wednesday – Off/Recovery
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Thursday – Optional Lower Leg Injury Prevention
Friday – General Strength
Saturday – Off/Recovery
Feel free to add some dynamic stretching or recovery today.
Sunday – Post Long Run Mobility
How To Include Resistance Training In Your Running Schedule
To get the most out of your weekly runs and resistance training, scheduling your workouts correctly is key to properly recovering and improving your overall performance.
Before you can determine how to add resistance training to your schedule, you need to understand why recovery is important. To help, let’s start by briefly reviewing the muscle-building process:
- Lifting weights is a process that breaks down your muscle fibers.
- During recovery, your muscle repairs itself by growing back even thicker, creating a muscle that is stronger and bigger.
- But if your muscles aren’t given time to rebuild, they will constantly be in a “broken down” state, which not only doesn’t build muscle but causes you to feel fatigued and hinders your performance.
But, over-training during your recovery window can make it harder for your muscles to recover and may temporarily decrease your running performance.
Research supports this, as this 2023 study found that muscle damage increases for up to 48 hours after resistance training, negatively impacting both running economy and overall running performance.
The changes in running economy altered runners’ gaits and reduced their stretch-shortening cycle effectiveness, which is crucial for a powerful running stride.
Based on the study’s findings, the researchers recommended structuring your training so your strength training and longer or more intense runs don’t adversely affect each other.
To support proper recovery, schedule your lower body resistance training day 48-72 hours before your longest or hardest workout of the week, enabling your muscles to recover from weight lifting and be ready for your long run.
Allowing 2-3 days for muscle recovery is ideal for separating your weight and long-run workouts, as this 2001 study found that muscle soreness and breakdown typically occur 24 to 48 hours after exercise.
Place Short, Easy Runs After Resistance Training Days
If your weekly mileage is high and you run 5-6 days a week, you don’t need to avoid running entirely in the 2-3 days following a lower-body resistance training workout.
Just avoid placing your longer runs or higher-intensity runs on these days. Strategically place your shorter, slower runs on the days following a weight-lifting session.
You may find, especially when you first begin adding weights into your training regimen, that even after 2-3 days your legs are still sore. As long as it’s not a sore feeling that comes from being injured, it’s completely fine to proceed with running.
Training with sore muscles can be a beneficial training technique, as it helps you adjust to running with fatigued legs, an important quality for longer distances such as the half marathon and beyond.
Stay Consistent
You won’t see results if you occasionally throw a few random weight-lifting exercises into your training from time to time.
Instead, you need to incorporate resistance training sessions into your routine 2-3 times a week to reap the benefits it will have on your running performance.
You can decrease this to 1-2 times as you get closer to a race and your running workouts increase in intensity.
Focus On Proper Form & Technique
When you’re just starting, regardless of whether you’re focusing on strength and power or muscular endurance, use light weights or your body weight as you learn proper form and technique for each of the exercises.
Once you’re confident you’re using the correct lifting form, you can increase your weight.
When in doubt, enlist the help of a personal trainer or running coach to learn proper form and determine the best weight for you to begin with. This leads us to….
Take An Individualized Approach
We’ve provided many general guidelines and more specific guidelines for different racing distances, but every runner is different.
For best results, you’ll want to tailor their strength training program according to your specific needs, abilities, and goals. Consulting with a coach or following a program will help you hit your goals faster.
Focus On Progressive Overload:
Progressive overload is key to building muscle and increasing your strength, power, and endurance.
This means lifting heavier weights or trying to add a set or a few reps each time you lift.
One of the biggest mistakes runners make when it comes to strength training is doing the same routine with the same weight over and over again.
This would be like running the exact same mileage, workout, and paces every week and wondering why you’re not improving.
Even if you’re only able to do one more repetition of one set, you’ve put in more work than you previously did, which supports improving your strength, power, and endurance.
Monitoring Progress:
A smart way to ensure you’re progressing is to track your workouts, making note of the weights you used and the sets and reps you performed for each exercise.
It’s also worth tracking any running milestones you hit once you start resistance training, as your running wins will help motivate you to continue lifting weights.
By staying consistent, planning your resistance training and runs for optimal recovery time, and training your muscles with your race distance in mind, you’ll see your overall running speed increase while simultaneously decreasing your injury risk.
