How to Implement Heavy Strength Training for Runners

By Jason Koop,
Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning,
Author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”

I’ve written before about how heavy strength training is superior to light weight/high repetition strength training for runners. In response, runners have asked about how, why, and when to implement a strength training program. I’ve also received a number of inquiries as to how to transition from a high rep/low weight or bodyweight based program to a more efficacious one. So, here goes; you asked and I will provide the best answer I can.

Let’s start with some science. A study I like to use as an example was published in the European Journal of Sports Science and compared three different types of strength training interventions for 6 weeks in recreational runners: low rep/heavy weights (i.e. 3 sets of 5 reps), high rep/light weights (i.e. 3 sets of 20-30 reps), and complex training which is a combination of low rep/heavy weights and plyometric movements. The heavy weight/low rep and complex interventions produced superior improvements compared to the light weight/high repetition protocol. The light weight/high repetition version produced no distinguishable improvements despite being load matched to the other two interventions.

For anyone following strength training and running for the past several years, the results should really come as no surprise. Rather, they add to the vast body of literature that continually demonstrates that heavier weights with lower repetitions will produce bigger improvements compared to their lighter weight counterparts.

The Big Picture

To start out with, do you even want to strength train? It’s a legitimate question, particularly for runners who are time crunched or have an allergic reaction to rubber plates and iron. There’s no rule that says you have to strength train to be a good runner. There are plenty of runners throughout the pack that are perfectly successful without a strength training program. In fact, if you look deep into the literature, you should only expect very modest performance improvements (by way of improved running economy, reduced chances of injury, etc.) from strength training interventions. These are likely to be on the order of a few percent in any category depending on how you slice it.

So, don’t expect strength training to turn you into the next version of your favorite elite runner overnight (or at all). Expect that a reasonably well thought out strength training program can (not will) yield some modest, if imperceptible, improvements… so long as it does not compromise your overall running plan.

Commit to long-term strength training

Next, to achieve the greatest benefit, be prepared to do strength training all the way through your key event. This means continuing to hit the iron (albeit in a less stressful fashion) when your training load is the highest. This is something few ultrarunners are willing to do while trying to maximize volume, doing back-to-back long runs, and eeking out every drop of vertical gain. Strength training is a “use it or lose it” proposition. So, if you are looking at strength training specifically for performance gains, be willing to make this commitment.

Is strength training useless without this commitment. Not always. It’s plausible that a limited strength training intervention for a relatively short period of time (like 6-weeks) could produce benefits that translate to more productive workouts in the short term. Then, those more productive workouts could cascade downstream for weeks and months, producing additional adaptations. But these trickle down benefits are not likely to amount to much, which calls into question whether short-term strength training is worth the effort.

Strength train for life, not just sport

Finally, if you just like strength training or it’s valuable in pursuit of other life goals, that’s fine! If your goals are to be able to lift your grandchildren in the future or heft your suitcase into the overhead compartment without assistance from the person sitting in the aisle seat, that’s great. Want to do some ‘curls for the girls (or guys)’? Perfect! Want to be more ‘functional’ or whatever that means? That’s cool. If you want to strength train for these reasons, there’s no reason to masterplan it out. You can do a program that you like, that fits in your lifestyle, is reasonably challenging and achieves these goals without having to over-orchestrate the whole thing.

However, in my humble opinion, if you are going to take the time and effort to dedicate yourself to strength training, you might as well make it applicable to your running as well as your life!

Strength Training Periodization for Ultrarunners

Run training doesn’t stay the same month after month (or at least it shouldn’t). Your mileage changes depending on the time of year and you use different types intensity depending on your goals and needs. Your strength training should be no different! This is why ‘one size fits all’ strength training programs fail. Doing the same set and rep combinations of of the same exercises is the equivalent of running 50 miles per week, every week, and expecting to continually improve. Lunacy.

In developing strength training programs for athletes, I utilize a three-phase approach. I divide the entirety of training into roughly equal thirds. For the purpose of this example, let’s assume you have nine months to train. The early season, the very beginning of your training, will be roughly three months. You should be lifting relative heavy weights, with 4-5 sets of 4-6 reps. Your mid season would be months 4-7. For this timeframe, you will want to decrease the weight and number of sets while increasing the reps.

Finally, when the late season comes around, you decrease the weight even further and add more reps, up to 15 and most importantly, decrease the frequency by one day per week. This two-month final phase is purposefully lower in overall stress so that you can concentrate on the bigger miles in those final several weeks. If your timeframe is shorter or longer, adapt proportionally.

Exercise Types: Push, Pull, Squat, Hinge, Carry (or rotate)

I give triathletes a fair amount of grief for overcomplicating their training, but the strength training world takes workout complexity to a whole other level. With convoluted names like derivatives, potentiation complexes and ballistics, it’s hard to determine if you are reading about an actual workout or have stumbled upon a lecture in quantum mechanics. If strength training is your primary focus, a high level of precision may be warranted. If you are a runner incorporating strength training into your program, you really need only 5 classes of exercises to get the job done. Thankfully, they each accurately describe the actual movement you are doing.

• Push: a pushup, bench press or dumbbell press
• Pull: Lat pull down, a pull up or row
• Hinge: Deadlift of any variety or hip thrust
• Squat: A squat, lunge or reverse lunge
• Carry or twist: Literally, carry something heavy or woodchoppers/medicine balls slams

One exercise in all of these categories should be in each of your strength training sessions. If you want to get complicated and substitute a step up for reverse lunge because you feel it’s more specific to trail running, be my guest (it’s probably not). However, at the end of the day consistency is going to trump specificity. So, pick exercises you are familiar and comfortable with. Below is a common way I prescribe these to athletes who have two days per week of resistance training:

DAY 1

• Push Ups
• Dumbbell Row
• Romanian Deadlift
• Squat
• Farmer’s Carry

DAY 2

• Overhead Press
• Pull up (with assistance if needed)
• Hip Thrusts
• Reverse Lunge
• Medicine Ball Slams 

Don’t be intimidated

Let’s face it, no one reading this article is going to have 500 lbs on their back getting ready for a one rep max squat. Runners by nature are not that strong! And, all too often, runners are intimidated into not loading up heavy weights because they feel the need to have picture perfect proper form in the weight room or else they are going to break something on their delicate frame. News flash: like running mechanics, there is no perfect weightlifting form. Furthermore, if you can handle running 100 miles, you can handle a few more pounds added to a back squat. So, don’t be intimidated! Trust me, you are going to be just fine.

Even if you have a very elementary level understanding of strength training, you can pick up the basic movement patterns of a push, pull, squat, hinge and carry fairly quickly and with some deliberate instruction. If you are completely new to strength training, hire a qualified personal trainer or have one of our coaches watch you on Zoom. Trust me, it won’t take long.

Furthermore, none of the strength training set/rep combinations need to be done to total failure, unless you are highly experienced (see the RPE scale above). So, if you are new, ease into the weight. Settle on weight that you would allow you to squeeze out on or two reps more per each session. 

Fitting strength workouts into a training week

Now, how do we structure these training days into the overall architecture of your weekly schedule? Remember that strength training should complement your run training, not detract from it. Notice a few things in the sample week below. First, strength days are scheduled as far away as possible from long run and hard runs. This allows you to go into those workouts as fresh as possible so you can have the best workout.

Second, scheduling your strength training workouts in the evenings of the days with more intense running work allows you to truly take your easy days easy. On the days where you lift and run on the same day, it is important to prioritize your training, taking care to program your runs prior to your strength work. For your particular schedule, you might be forced to do your long runs in the evenings or on a different day, but in any case, the overall strategy of placing your strength training days such that you have as much recovery as possible should reign supreme. Things get particularly tricky if you add a third strength training day to the week, but the general theme should remain the same: schedule your strength training sessions as far away as possible from your next hard or long run.

What if I don’t have a gym?

My neighborhood gym closed down years ago during the pandemic, and I travel so much that consistent gym access is difficult to maintain. So, how can I (and you) get a reasonably effective workout without a gym? Resistance bands. Not the things you see in your physical therapist’s office. I’m talking about heavy, thick resistance bands, some of which can create resistances equivalent to over 200 pounds. Although they are not perfect, you can do any simple exercise with more than a reasonable amount of resistance with a set of bands that will only set you back $50. Brands like Rogue sell entire sets and can easily be found on-line or at your favorite local retailer right now. Some have handles, some come in loops but they can all do the trick with minimal instruction.

So there you have it. You asked, I answered. If you are going to strength train, do it right. Doing it the right way that’s productive to your training need not be complicated, nor take up copious amounts of time and energy. All it needs is a bit of reasonable structure and effort.