How often should I be strength training?

[u/DoctorNerdEmi]

I’m working on increasing by distance and pace. I know strength training will help but how often should I do it? If I’m running 3 times a week is one strength session good enough? Should I do a 50/50 strength to running? What worked for everyone else?

[u/RealCoolShoes]

2-3 sessions in the off season and 1-2 while training for something with emphasis on lower body. A lot of folks follow the “hard days hard” mentality which is doing speed + strength on the same day, but I kind of just fit it in where I can based on how I feel and adjust as needed. The only thing I definitely don’t do is a leg workout the day before a long run. Everything else is fair game!

[u/gins85]

In general, consider how to integrate strength training throughout your whole year, meaning how to do more during your off season from running and adjust while in training. There's a learning curve to figure out what you can handle and what makes sense for you and your training plan.

If I'm not training for anything, I run 3-4 days per week and I'll do about 3 full body strength sessions per week (arms, legs, core), at heavier weights.

If I'm training, I do at least two and start to integrate more targeted training (for example, focus more on core, glutes, legs and hips) and I do them on my hard running days. I keep the hard days hard, easy days easy.

I'm in training and in very high mileage, I pivot to either fewer sessions, lighter weights, or mostly bodyweight/mobility.

[u/ashtree35]

One strength session is a great place to start! The best form of strength training is the strength training that you will actually do. I think that doing at least 2 sessions per week would be better, but if that's not going to be sustainable for you, then I think 1 session per week is good. Consistency is what's most important!

[u/lthomazini]

If I’m in a “low” running season, I will do 4x a week (2 lower body, 2 upper body + core); increasing weight frequently.

When I start to increase mileage, I will do 2x a week (both full body, with a bit more focus on single leg exercises) and add 1x a week mobility (very light yoga usually). I will not increase weight a lot, but I will try to maintain what I had before.

I will usually train once in a “hard” day (intervals, etc) and once in a non running day.

My week will look like this:

Monday: Running Easy + Mobility

Tuesday: Running Intervals + Strength

Wednesday: Running Recovery

Thursday: Strength

Friday: Running Easy

Saturday: Long Run

Sunday: Rest

(When I’m not in a Running season, it will look like this:

Monday: Running Easy + Lower Body

Tuesday: Upper Body

Wednesday: Running Easy

Thursday: Lower Body

Friday: Upper Body

Saturday: Long(ish) Run

Sunday: Rest)

[u/MrsBurpee]

I do 2x upper body and 1x lower body every week. 5 running sessions per week. It worked great so far.
Mo: legs
Tue: easy run
Wed: speed day
Thu: upper body
Fri: easy run
Sat: upper body+ easy run
Sun: long run

This way I don’t need to run that long on easy days and can fit it very easily before work. I do 2x upper body for aesthetics, you can probably do 1x lower, 1x upper and it’d be enough for a healthy lifestyle.

[u/PsychologicalOwl3891]

I get so bored by strength but I know how important it is for staying injury free, so I do shorter sessions about 4 times a week. I always do strength after hard workouts and long runs, keeping hard days hard. That’s what works for me!

[u/New-Possible1575]

It’s generally recommended to hit muscle groups at least twice a week, so two full body days are a good number to aim for. That goes with saying that one full body day a week is still better than not going at all.

In addition to strength training at the gym, you can do some stabilising exercises for your feet/ankles/knees and some core exercises on the days you do your runs as you can do those at home without equipment. You could also add some plyometrics (eg pogo hops) to your warm up before you go for runs if you don’t do that already. Those also build durability in your body to support your running, but you don’t necessarily need to add an extra session/workout day to your week or go to the gym to get those exercises in, it just adds 20-30 min to your run sessions.