How to Add Lifting to a Plan

When gearing up for a half marathon, you’re obviously spending a lot of time on the road or the treadmill. But for the strongest finish—and a lower chance of getting hurt—you should also spend some time each week in the weight room.

All runners can benefit from adding some weights to their routine, especially if you’re starting to log higher mileage each week, as that puts an extra toll on your body. “Strength training is important for half marathoners because it improves overall tissue capacity and your ability to withstand the large magnitude of forces your body will sustain during your race training,” says Brad Whitley, D.P.T., a doctor of physical therapy at Bespoke Treatments in San Diego.

Figuring out how exactly to add strength training to a half marathon plan can seem a little trickier than understanding why it helps. So we chatted with experts to get all the details on how to add lifting to your schedule, with details of what to do from base building through your taper to help you get race-day ready and stronger than ever.

Strength Training in the Base-Building Phase of Half Marathon Prep

The ideal time to start strength training: as soon as possible. “The best way to see consistent gains is to start early and follow a progressive overload program,” says Mary Johnson, a running and strength coach and founder of Lift Run Perform. A progressive plan means you’ll gradually add weight, reps, sets, or range of motion to the exercises you do to consistently challenge your muscles.

Johnson advises beginning a strength routine at least 16 weeks before race day. At this time, when you’re still building a base of weekly mileage, she recommends doing three to four strength workouts every week. Each of those workouts should focus on total body, Johnson says. However, if you’re pressed for time, go for a lower-body specific workout or focus on the core. (Keep in mind, you can get in a solid strength workout in just 20 or 30 minutes.)

When choosing which moves to do for a total-body workout, aim for six to 10, with at least one that falls under each of these movement patterns: squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, and carry, Whitley says. Here are some examples:

Johnson recommends keeping these workouts focused on hypertrophy (a.k.a., muscle-building), which means doing three to five sets of six to 12 reps. Don’t worry about added muscle being bulky or slowing you down; research shows strength training with heavy loads can significantly improve running economy, time to exhaustion, and time-trial performance.

As for what days to schedule your strength workouts, it’s best to double up weightlifting and runs, so you have true rest days after hard workout days. Whitley recommends scheduling your week so your toughest strength session is on the same day as a moderate-intensity run.

On days when you have a run and a strength workout, do them in the order that makes sense for your schedule, says Johnson, or your goal for the day. (During base building, you may want to focus on strength, for example, so you could do your strength workout first. As you get closer to half marathon race day, you probably want to run first.)

“You’re not ruining your gains if you’re lifting first then running or vice versa, but it’s best to have four to six hours in between the two activities,” Johnson explains. “In an ideal world, we’d run or lift in the morning, have a break, then do the second activity later in the day—but it doesn’t always work that way. We’re busy people. Life happens.”

Keep in mind that not every strength session should leave you wiped out. “Not every day in the weight room should be hard—just like with your easy run days and hard speed work days, your strength workouts should vary in intensity,” says Whitley.

More challenging strength sessions should incorporate complex exercises (those that work multiple muscles as one time) and single-leg moves to improve your stability; easier sessions could reduce load.

Base strength building = 3-4 days a week, focusing on total body, lifting for 6-12 reps and 3-5 sets.

Strength Training in the Half Marathon Training Cycle

Once you jump into the actual training block, you’ll want to tweak your strength routine a bit. For the majority of the time you’re actively training for your half marathon, do two to three strength workouts per week (again, pairing strength with run days and aiming for a rest day or easy run day after). Continue to focus on total-body training for these sessions, adding variables like increased weight, reps, or sets, or increasing range of motion.

Around this time, Johnson recommends bumping up the amount of weight you’re lifting (and then decreasing to three to five reps, while maintaining three to five sets) and adding some plyometrics moves. “People hear ‘plyometrics’ and think it means they have to be doing box jumps all the time—that’s not true,” she says, noting that simple moves like A skips and B skips are beneficial.

It’s a proven formula: Both workouts with heavy weights and workouts alternating strength exercises with plyo moves led to significant improvements in maximum strength, running economy, and max aerobic speed after just six weeks, according to a 2020 study published in the journal Applied Sport Sciences. Another study published this year also found heavy lifting and plyometrics the most effective forms of strength training for runners.

For strength moves, you can weave in new exercises or stick to the same ones you’ve been doing. Don’t worry about your muscles getting too used to them, says Johnson. “You’re not supposed to do different things to your muscles every week,” she explains. Following a similar plan for four to six weeks is actually beneficial, just increase the sets or reps as you go.

Strength training during half cycle = 2-3 days a week, focusing on total body, heavier loads (3-5 reps), and plyometric moves.

Strength Training in the Half Marathon Taper

This is likely no surprise, but now is not the time to push it with your strength work. Just like you’re using the last few weeks leading up to race day to gradually dial back your runs, you should do the same with weightlifting. Stay consistent with your strength work, but don’t try anything new in this window.

“During the taper, it’s still important to maintain some sort of strength training to help with neuromuscular strength, but reduce overall volume,” says Whitley.

He and Johnson both recommend doing one to two strength workouts per week in the last month before your race, maintaining a similar amount of weight you’ve been lifting but decreasing the number of sets or reps. You can keep doing plyometrics, but lower the intensity and stick to moves you’ve been doing.

Johnson also recommends dialing back lower-body moves as you move through the taper and focusing on core and upper-body exercises. “You’ll still be creating a ton of core strength and stability, which will help your running performance,” she explains.

During this final portion of race prep, the most important thing is to listen to your body and adjust as necessary, says Johnson. “If you feel really sore or fatigued after a certain exercise, like squats, cut those out starting around the four-week mark [ahead of race day],” she explains. It’s always better to take an additional rest day during the taper than to push through when you’re tired or not up for a workout.

For the last week before the race, feel free to skip strength entirely—unless you’re feeling antsy and think a little time in the weight room will help ground you.

Strength training in the taper = 1-2 days per week, same load but fewer reps and sets, reducing intensity as you get closer to race day, and avoiding anything new.

How to Know When to Go Harder or Dial It Back

It’ll likely take some fine-tuning to find the right exercises and loads that will bring you the biggest strength (and running) gains. With an adequate load, it should feel challenging to maintain proper form during the last rep or two, says Whitley.

Another simple way to gauge if you’re pushing it hard enough in your strength sessions: how sore you are afterward, and for how long.

“Soreness is okay,” says Whitley, “but generally we want it to go away within the first 24 to 36 hours after a workout. If you’re still sore for more than 48 hours and that soreness doesn’t go away with an easy warmup, your previous session was too far over capacity and the program should be reduced in intensity or volume.” That means lighter weights, or lower reps and sets.

Consistent soreness could also be a sign that you need to get more sleep or bump up the protein in your diet, notes Johnson.

On the flip side, if you’re never sore the day after a strength workout, you might be taking it too easy on yourself. Try upping the load you’re lifting or your range of motion to see bigger gains in the weight room and on race day.

Laurel Leicht is a writer and editor in Brooklyn. She’s covered health, fitness, and travel for outlets including Well+Good, Glamour, and O, The Oprah Magazine.