How often and how many should I be performing?

Something to consider when planning the amount of days per week you should perform strengthening exercises is the Interference Effect. The Interference Effect describes how performing aerobic training (ie. running) alongside resistance training (ie. strengthening) can interfere with each other and limit the progress of each training effect when performed too close to one another. Therefore, it is important to try and spread out your different training sessions as feasibly as possible. Depending on the individual and their schedule, this may look like running training in the morning and weight training in the evening, or better still separating your running and strength sessions by a night of sleep.

As a general rule, when programming exercises for strengthening we want to be performing 2-4 sets of 6-10 repetitions for each exercise 2-3 times per week.

Strength training for runners is often dismissed during preparation for an upcoming running event. However, there is good evidence to suggest that incorporating strength training alongside your running training will improve running economy and performance. If you’d like to find out more about how to incorporate strength and running training together be sure to book in with one of the Peak coaches who can help tailor a program that suits you, whether that be in our prevention classes, at home, or your individual gym.