How Many Days a Week Should I Lift and Run? (The Honest Answer)

If you have ever tried to Google a straight answer to this question, you will know the frustration. You get one article that says two days, another that says three, a Reddit thread where someone swears four days ruined their marathon training, and a YouTube video that starts with a six-minute intro before getting to the point. None of them tell you what Tuesday looks like.

This article does. It gives you the actual number, the research behind it, and three real weekly schedule templates you can use this week. The templates are built around the UK and Irish running week: parkrun on Saturday, a long easy run on Sunday, and whatever chaos you have going on Monday through Friday. Because that is what most runners here actually deal with.

The Quick Answer

Most runners benefit from 2 to 3 strength sessions per week. Research by Rønnestad and Mujika (2014) found that two sessions per week is enough to improve running economy in recreational distance runners. Schedule your lifting on the same days as your hard run sessions to reduce interference with recovery.

That is the number. If you want the logic behind it, and the actual weekly schedules, keep reading.

Why the Number of Days Matters Less Than the Timing

Here is something that surprises most runners when they start thinking about this: the question of how many days to lift is less important than the question of which days to lift.

To understand why, you need to know about the interference effect. This is the well-documented phenomenon where concurrent training (running and lifting in the same programme) can reduce the adaptations you would get from either discipline alone if the training is scheduled poorly. Hard running creates physiological stress that demands recovery. Hard lifting does the same. If you separate your hard sessions with rest days, you are compressing your recovery budget and making your easy days harder than they need to be.

The solution is same-day stacking: place your strength sessions on the same days as your hard run sessions. Your hard days stay hard, and your easy days stay genuinely easy. Rønnestad and Mujika (2014) used this approach in their study designs, placing strength sessions on the same days as interval and tempo run sessions. That is the model to follow.

The practical implication is this: if you run hard on Wednesday and Saturday, those are your lifting days. Monday and Friday should be easy or rest. Not a light jog followed by a casual gym session. Actually easy or actually rest.

The Sample Weekly Schedules

These three templates use parkrun Saturday as the fixed anchor. If you do not do parkrun, treat Saturday as your hardest run of the week (a tempo effort, a race simulation, or simply your best effort of the week). The principle is the same.

The 5-Day Week (For Beginners or Time-Pressed Runners)

This is the starting point. Two strength sessions, three to four run sessions, and built-in rest. If you are new to concurrent training, start here and run it for eight weeks before progressing.

A note on Strength Session B on Saturday: it is listed as optional for a reason. If parkrun was your hardest effort of the week and your legs feel like they belong to someone else, shift Session B to Monday instead. The key is that you do two sessions somewhere in the week, not that they happen on specific days.

The 6-Day Week (For Runners Building Towards a Race)

This template works well for runners following a 10K or half-marathon plan who want to maintain strength work without it eating into their running quality.

Here, Tuesday becomes a dedicated lifting day because Wednesday's session follows a hard run. This is slightly less optimal than full same-day stacking but is a reasonable compromise for runners who cannot face a gym after a tempo session.

The 7-Day Week (For Intermediate Runners With a Structured Plan)

This is not for beginners. Seven active days requires strong recovery habits and a clear reason to be training at this volume. Most recreational runners will get better results with the 5-day or 6-day template.

If you are on a 7-day training week, reduce lifting volume in your peak run training weeks. One session per week in taper weeks is enough to maintain your strength adaptations without adding recovery stress before a race.

What Happens If You Lift Too Much?

The interference effect is real but it tends to get overstated in online fitness discussions. For a recreational runner doing three to four run sessions and two lifting sessions per week, it is not a concern provided recovery is adequate.

Where it becomes a problem is volume per session, not frequency. A runner who does five exercises for five sets three days a week is asking for trouble. A runner who does five exercises for three sets two days a week is not. The research from Beattie et al. (2014) found that two to three sessions per week with moderate volume produced meaningful running performance gains. Adding more sessions did not produce proportionally better results. More is not more here.

The warning signs that you are doing too much: your easy runs are no longer feeling easy at the same pace. You feel heavier and slower than usual on days that should feel relaxed. Your sleep is worse than usual. You do not particularly want to train. Any of these sustained for more than five to seven days is a signal to cut back volume before adding any more.

The most common mistake is not lifting too often. It is lifting too much in each session.

Beginner vs Intermediate vs Advanced: What Changes

As your training age increases, so does your capacity to recover and adapt. Here is a framework for how the structure evolves.

Beginner (0-6 months of concurrent training)

Two sessions per week. Four to five exercises per session. Three sets of eight to twelve reps. The priority at this stage is learning the movements, not loading them. Focus on the squat pattern (goblet squat progressing to barbell squat), the hip hinge (Romanian deadlift), single-leg work (split squat), hip thrust, and a basic plank or dead bug. If you want a full programme built on exactly this structure, the free 8-week strength training programme for runners is a good starting point.

Intermediate (6-18 months)

Two to three sessions per week. Five to six exercises per session. Three to four sets, moving toward lower reps (five to eight) and heavier loads. Add the Nordic curl, the Bulgarian split squat, and barbell work. At this stage you can experiment with the full 7-day template above.

Advanced (18+ months, targeting specific race times)

Two to three sessions per week, but periodised around the race calendar. Reduce lifting volume in peak run training weeks. Maintain with one session per week during taper. The goal in a race build is to maintain the strength you have already built, not to make new strength gains.

Should You Lift Before or After Running?

When you are stacking a lift and a run on the same day, order matters less than most people think, but there are general principles worth following.

If the run is the priority (which it usually is during a race build), run first. Your central nervous system is freshest at the start of the session and you want that freshness directed at the quality run work. Lift after. Rønnestad and Mujika (2014) typically used this order in their study designs.

If you are in an off-season or base-building phase and you have decided to prioritise building strength, lift first and run after.

When the two sessions are genuinely separate (morning run, evening gym), order matters very little. Three hours between sessions is enough for meaningful recovery of neuromuscular function.

One practical note on parkrun Saturday: most people who do parkrun are not doing a gym session beforehand. The post-parkrun routine typically involves a banana, a chat at the finish funnel, and a coffee that takes longer to arrive than it should. That is fine. Do your lifting after parkrun or shift it to another day. Do not skip parkrun to go to the gym. Priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run and lift weights on the same day?

Yes, and in most cases this is the preferred approach. Stacking hard sessions on the same day keeps your easy days genuinely easy and reduces overall recovery stress across the week. Separate the sessions by at least three hours when possible. On parkrun Saturday, lift after rather than before.

Should I lift before or after running?

During a race build, run first. Your nervous system is freshest for the session that matters most. In the off-season, lift first if strength is the current priority. If your run and gym sessions are more than three hours apart, order does not meaningfully affect adaptation.

Will lifting weights affect my running the next day?

A well-dosed strength session (four to five exercises, three sets each) should not leave you significantly impaired the following day if you are eating enough and sleeping adequately. If you are consistently feeling heavy or slow the day after lifting, you are either lifting too much volume, not eating enough around sessions, or not sleeping enough. Address those variables before cutting the sessions.

How long should a strength session be for runners?

Forty-five minutes is the sweet spot for most runners. That is enough time for a five to ten minute warm-up, four to five compound exercises for three sets each, and a brief cool-down. A ninety-minute powerlifting session is not what you are aiming for. You are there to support your running, not replace it.

Is 2 days a week enough to build strength?

Yes, for runners, two sessions per week is sufficient to see meaningful improvements in running economy and injury resilience. Rønnestad and Mujika (2014) found significant running economy improvements with just two sessions per week. The diminishing returns from a third session are real. If time is the constraint, two well-executed sessions beat three sloppy ones every time.

Do I need to go to a gym to strength train as a runner?

For the first four to six weeks of a beginner programme, a set of resistance bands and some space on your living room floor is genuinely enough. Goblet squats with a single dumbbell, bodyweight RDLs, split squats, glute bridges, and plank variations will produce real adaptations. For weeks three onwards, access to a barbell and some plates makes progressive overload significantly easier, but it is not a requirement to start.

The Bottom Line

Two sessions per week. Stack them on your hard run days. Keep the volume sensible (four to five exercises, three sets each). Do not overthink the order when your sessions are on the same day. Run first if you are prioritising running. Lift first if you are prioritising strength. And after parkrun, eat your banana, have your chat, and then decide whether you want to do thirty minutes in the gym. Scheduling flexibility is not weakness. It is how you stay consistent over months and years.

Sources: Rønnestad, B.R. and Mujika, I. (2014). Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 24(4), pp.603-612. PMID: 23914932; Beattie, K., Kenny, I.C., Lyons, M. and Carson, B.P. (2014). Sports Medicine, 44(6), pp.845-865. PMID: 24532151