Can You Train for Running and Still Get Stronger? Yes — Here’s How

If you’ve ever started running more and then felt your strength slipping, you’re not imagining it.

This is one of the biggest frustrations for busy adults trying to do both. You want to improve your fitness, maybe build up for a 10k, half marathon or just run more regularly, but you also do not want to lose muscle, feel flat in the gym, or end up permanently tired. The good news is that you can absolutely improve your running and still get stronger — but you need to train with a bit more structure than just cramming everything into the week and hoping for the best. Research on concurrent training shows that combining endurance and strength work can improve both qualities at the same time, although the way you organise it matters.

At SPC, this is where a lot of people go wrong. They do too much medium-hard work, not enough proper strength work, and they recover badly. The result is they feel busy, but they do not move forward. The aim is not to become a full-time hybrid athlete. The aim is to make running fitter, easier and more enjoyable, while keeping the strength, muscle and resilience that help you stay healthy and perform well. Recent reviews show strength training can improve running economy and endurance performance, while broader concurrent training evidence suggests strength and muscle gains are still very achievable when endurance work is planned sensibly.

First, why people think running “kills gains”

The idea that cardio automatically ruins strength progress is overblown. The old “interference effect” is real in some situations, but it is not a blanket rule. The biggest issues usually show up when people do high volumes of endurance work, especially running, and then try to layer in hard lower-body strength training with poor recovery, poor fuelling and no sensible split across the week. A major meta-analysis found that concurrent training can reduce strength and hypertrophy gains compared with strength-only training, with running creating more interference than cycling, especially for explosive power. But more recent reviews suggest the overall effect is often small and manageable in real-world training, particularly when programming and recovery are sensible.

In plain English: running does not stop you getting stronger. Bad programming does.

What actually works

The best approach for most busy adults is simple: keep 2 proper strength sessions per week, run 2 to 3 times per week with a clear purpose, and stop turning every session into a suffer-fest.

That tends to work because strength responds well to consistent, progressive exposure, while running fitness improves when you balance easy aerobic work with a small amount of harder work. For runners, strength training performed 2 to 3 times per week over 8 to 12 weeks has repeatedly been shown to improve running economy, and heavy resistance training and plyometric methods both appear effective. ACSM’s updated resistance training position stand also reinforces that regular progressive resistance training is enough to improve strength and muscle function in healthy adults; it does not need to be wildly complicated.

Strength training should stay in

This is the bit many runners get wrong. When mileage increases, strength training is often the first thing dropped. That is usually a mistake.

Strength training helps runners by improving force production, stiffness through the muscle-tendon system, and running economy — which basically means using less energy at a given pace. It can also help maintain muscle mass and robustness when run volume rises. Systematic reviews in trained runners show meaningful improvements in running economy from strength training, particularly when programmes include heavy resistance work, explosive work, or a combination of the two.

For most SPC members, that means keeping the basics in place:
squats or split squats, hinge patterns, presses, rows, calf work, core control, and some power or plyometric work where appropriate. You do not need a bodybuilding split. You need effective full-body training that supports the demands of running rather than competes with it. The newest ACSM position stand emphasises that many resistance-training prescriptions can work, as long as the training is progressive and consistent.

Running needs a job description too

If you want to get stronger and fitter, each run needs a reason.

A good weekly setup for most people is one easy run, one harder quality session, and one longer steady run if time allows. What you do not need is four or five “sort of hard” runs every week. That is the grey zone where people accumulate fatigue, blunt gym performance and feel like they are constantly training without actually progressing. Evidence on concurrent training suggests the total endurance load is one of the key factors affecting how well strength and muscle qualities are maintained.

A simple breakdown looks like this:

Easy run: conversational pace, aerobic base, recovery-friendly
Quality run: intervals, hills, tempo, or structured efforts
Longer run: steady pacing, aerobic development, confidence and durability

That is enough for a lot of people to make very solid progress.

Which should come first: running or weights?

This depends on the goal of the day.

If getting stronger is the bigger priority, do strength first. If the key session is a hard run — for example intervals or a tempo run — do that first and avoid trying to smash a heavy lower-body session straight afterwards. Research on same-day concurrent training suggests exercise order can affect some power outcomes, while broader reviews indicate sequencing is one variable among many rather than the only thing that matters. In practice, keeping your priority session fresher usually makes the most sense.

For busy adults who need to combine sessions on the same day, a good rule is this: avoid hard lower-body lifting immediately before hard running. If you can separate them by several hours, even better. And if you are doing both on one day, pair your hard sessions together and protect your easy days. That usually creates a better recovery rhythm across the week than spreading fatigue into every day. This recovery-based recommendation is consistent with concurrent training reviews emphasising programming, session design and total fatigue management.

The mistake busy people make most

They add running on top of everything else instead of adjusting the full week.

If you currently strength train three hard days per week and then suddenly bolt on three runs, something will eventually give. Either your lifts will stall, your legs will feel dead, your sleep will worsen, or you will pick up niggles.

The solution is not to do less forever. The solution is to do the right amount for your current recovery capacity. Concurrent training works best when the overall dose is appropriate. Research suggests that when endurance work becomes too frequent or too fatiguing, it is more likely to compromise strength-related adaptations, especially in the lower body.

A realistic SPC-style week

For a busy adult who wants to run better and still get stronger, a week might look like this:

Monday: Strength session 1
Tuesday: Easy run
Wednesday: Rest or light walk/mobility
Thursday: Strength session 2
Friday: Quality run — intervals, hills, or tempo
Saturday: Optional longer steady run
Sunday: Rest

That is not the only way to do it, but it is a very workable template. It gives you enough quality strength exposure, enough running to improve, and enough recovery to actually adapt. The evidence for strength work 2 to 3 times per week and a sensible concurrent setup supports this kind of structure for many non-elite adults.

If you are more running-focused for a period, you might reduce strength volume slightly while keeping intensity reasonably high. That helps preserve strength without creating loads of soreness. Reviews on runners and concurrent training suggest maintaining some heavier lifting is useful, even if overall gym volume comes down during higher-running phases.

Do not ignore food and recovery

A lot of people blame “hybrid training” when the real problem is under-fuelling.

If you are trying to run more and still perform well in the gym, you need enough total energy, enough carbohydrate to support the running, and enough protein to support recovery and muscle retention. The ISSN position stand on protein recommends physically active individuals typically consume around 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, with around 20 to 40 g of high-quality protein per meal often being a useful target.

That means if your running goes up, you cannot keep eating like someone doing very little activity and expect to feel strong. Poor sleep, low calories and badly timed training are often the real reasons people feel flat.

What if your legs always feel cooked?

That usually points to one of four things:
too much hard running, too much lower-body gym volume, poor fuelling, or not enough recovery days.

This is where coaching matters. Most people do not need more effort. They need better organisation. If your legs are trashed all the time, that is not a badge of honour. It is a sign the week needs tidying up. Studies on concurrent training repeatedly point to training load, endurance mode, frequency and recovery as major moderators of outcomes.

So, can you train for running and still get stronger?

Yes — absolutely.

But the answer is not to do everything, every week, at maximum effort.

Keep 2 quality strength sessions in. Run with purpose. Respect recovery. Fuel properly. Progress gradually. If you do that, you can get fitter, run better, keep building strength and avoid feeling like your body is fighting itself the whole time. The current evidence strongly supports the idea that strength and endurance can be trained together successfully, especially when volume, sequencing and recovery are handled properly.

At SPC, that is the goal. Not random hard work. Smart training that fits real life and gets results.

References

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Lundberg TR, et al. The Effects of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training on Muscle Fiber Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2022.

Schumann M, et al. Compatibility of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Size and Function: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2022.

Wilson JM, et al. Concurrent Training: A Meta-Analysis Examining Interference of Aerobic and Resistance Exercises.Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2012.

Llanos-Lagos C, et al. Effect of Strength Training Programs in Middle- and Long-Distance Runners: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2024.

Balsalobre-Fernández C, et al. Effects of Strength Training on Running Economy in Highly Trained Runners: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016.

Denadai BS, et al. Explosive Training and Heavy Weight Training are Effective Concurrent Training Methods to Improve Running Economy in Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2017.

Jäger R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017.

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Blechschmied R, et al. Sequencing Effects of Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training Applied Within the Same Session: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2024.

Lee MJC, et al. Order of Same-Day Concurrent Training Influences Some Indices of Power Development, but Not Strength, Lean Mass, or Aerobic Fitness. 2020.