Runima

Strength Training Plan Generator for Runners

An evidence-graded strength, power and plyometric plan fitted to your race, running week and equipment

Runner
Comfortable with squats, deadlifts and split squats for 6+ months.

Slows impact progression and adds an energy-availability check.

Goal
Timeline
Phases are set for you: base, build, peak, taper and race week.
Time
The most you can do.
Your running week

Tap a day to cycle rest, easy, hard and long. Lifting goes on hard days so easy days stay easy.

Equipment
Choose items (33 selected)

Free

Small kit

Home weights

Gym

Injury history

Removes risky jumps for that tissue and switches to gentler rehab work.

Intermediate10K–half marathonBalancedFull gym16 weeks · up to 2×/week · 45 min
Session count capped.
You chose 2 per week, but taper uses fewer. Extra lifting there adds fatigue without extra benefit: 2 a week builds strength, 1 a week maintains it.

Season

Select a week
General baseSpecific buildPeakTaperRace weekDeload weekNumber under week = sessions

Week 1 · General base

Week 1 of this phase
MonRest
TueHard
A
WedEasy
ThuHard
B
FriEasy
SatEasy
SunLong

On days with a run and a lift, run first and lift at least 6 hours later if possible. In the first 3 weeks, avoid a long run the day after heavy legs while soreness settles.

ATue

Heavy bilateral

Jumps, then the heaviest lift of the week, heavy soleus work and Nordics.

~34 min, including a 8-min warm-up

  • Warm-up

    Dynamic warm-up

    Leg swings, skips, lunges with reach, then 2 lighter ramp-up sets of the main lift

    8 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    C

  • Plyometric

    Pogo hops (double-leg)

    Plantarflexors, Achilles

    2 × 20

    Maximal intent, quick stiff ground contact

    Rest 1–2 min · 40 ground contacts

    Perf.
    Injury
    B

  • Main lift

    Heavy half squat

    Quadriceps, glutes

    4 × 6

    RIR 3 · ~78% 1RM

    Rest 2–4 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    A

  • Calf / soleus

    Seated calf raise

    Soleus

    3 × 10

    Heavy · RIR 2 · 2 s pause at the top

    Rest 90 s–2 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    B

  • Hamstring

    Nordic hamstring curl

    Biceps femoris, semitendinosus

    2 × 5

    Lower as slowly as you can; push back up with your hands

    Rest 2 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    A

  • Accessory

    Pallof press

    Obliques (anti-rotation)

    3×10–12 per side

    Perf.
    Injury
    C
BThu

Heavy single-leg

Running-shaped jumps, single-leg strength, a hinge and standing calf work.

~42 min, including a 8-min warm-up

  • Warm-up

    Dynamic warm-up

    Leg swings, skips, lunges with reach, then 2 lighter ramp-up sets of the main lift

    8 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    C

  • Plyometric

    Countermovement jump

    Quadriceps, glutes

    5 × 6

    Maximal intent, quick stiff ground contact

    Rest 1–2 min · 30 ground contacts

    Perf.
    Injury
    B

  • Main lift

    Bulgarian split squat

    Quadriceps, glute max, adductors

    4 × 6 /leg

    RIR 3 · ~78% 1RM (single-leg)

    Rest 2–4 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    B

  • Second lift

    Trap-bar deadlift

    Glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings

    3 × 8–9

    RIR 3 · ~78% 1RM

    Rest 2–3 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    A

  • Calf / soleus

    Weighted standing calf raise

    Gastrocnemius, soleus

    3 × 10

    Heavy · RIR 2 · 2 s pause at the top

    Rest 90 s–2 min

    Perf.
    Injury
    A

  • Accessory

    Side plank with hip abduction

    Glute med, obliques

    3×8–10 per side

    Perf.
    Injury
    B

Left out to fit 45 minutes: Foot-core circuit.

Progression

Main lift · calf · jumps · Nordic
WeekPhaseSessionsMain liftCalfJump contactsNordic
1 General base24×6 RIR 33×10702×5
2 General base24×6 RIR 33×10752×5
3 General base24×6 RIR 33×10773×5
4 General base · deload22×6 RIR 32×10572×5
5 General base24×5 RIR 24×8853×6–8
6 General base24×5 RIR 24×8973×6–8
7 General base24×5 RIR 24×81053×6–8
8 Specific build24×4 RIR 24×6933×6–8
9 Specific build24×4 RIR 24×6973×6–8
10 Specific build24×4 RIR 24×61003×6–8
11 Specific build · deload22×4 RIR 22×6552×6–8
12 Specific build24×3 RIR 1–24×61003×6–8
13 Peak23×3 RIR 23×6–8552×5
14 Peak23×3 RIR 23×6–8552×5
15 Taper12×3 RIR 32×626—
16 Race week0————

RIR means reps in reserve: how many more reps you could have done. RIR 2 means stopping two reps short of failure. Add load when every set reaches the target reps at the listed RIR. Jump contacts are the week’s total.

Why this plan

  • Heavy loads are the core. Heavy strength training improved running economy and time-trial performance; loads of 90%+ 1RM and programmes of 10+ weeks worked best. Light circuits and isometrics alone did not improve economy. (Llanos-Lagos 2024; Eihara 2022)
  • Jumps go with heavy lifting, not instead of it. Combining heavy lifting with plyometrics gave the largest effects on economy and performance; plyometrics alone improved economy only at slower speeds (12 km/h or less). (Llanos-Lagos 2024)
  • Calves and soleus come first among accessories. The plantarflexors provide most of the support force at distance-running speeds, and training them stiffened the Achilles tendon and cut the energy cost of running by about 4%. (Dorn 2012; Albracht 2013; Bohm 2021)
  • Jump volume rises gradually. The first two weeks use entry-level jumps; contacts then grow by at most 15% a week and drop on deload weeks. Progress to harder jumps only with pain-free, stable landings.
  • Nordic curls protect the hamstrings. Programmes including them halved hamstring injuries, mostly in football players. (van Dyk 2019)
  • Strength is kept, not dropped, near races. In cyclists, one heavy session a week preserved strength for 13 weeks; in soccer players, one session every second week lost strength and sprint speed. (Rønnestad 2010; 2011)
  • Lifting sits on hard-run days. This keeps easy days easy. Concurrent training barely blunted strength gains, but explosive gains suffered more in the same session: run first, then lift 6+ hours later if you can, or straight after. (Schumann 2022)

Train safely

  • Stop every set 1–3 reps short of failure; never grind out a rep with broken form.
  • Learn each lift with light loads first, and add weight only when the technique stays the same.
  • Squat inside a rack with the safety bars set just below your lowest position, or with a spotter.
  • Keep jumps quiet and stable; skip them on any day landings hurt or feel heavy.
  • Hold jump volume steady in weeks when your running distance rises by more than 10–15%.
  • If next-day runs feel unusually heavy after two sessions in a row, repeat the week instead of progressing.
  • Stop and seek medical help for chest pain, fainting, unusual breathlessness or a sudden sharp pain.

This tool turns published research into a starting plan; it is not medical advice. Ratings are estimates built from programme-level studies. If you have pain, a medical condition, are pregnant or under 18, or are returning from injury, check the plan with a physiotherapist, doctor or qualified coach first.

How it works

The generator builds a periodised plan from a catalogue of 112 exercises. Each exercise has a performance rating, an injury-resilience rating and an evidence grade. It filters the catalogue by your equipment, experience and injury history, then prescribes sets, reps, intensity and jump contacts for every week. Your settings are saved in this browser only. The plan is calculated on Runima's server, which doesn't store or log them.

What the research shows

Heavy strength training improves running economy and time-trial performance; it does not raise VO2max. In the largest recent meta-analyses, high-load training gave a small improvement in economy and combined heavy and plyometric training a moderate one. Plyometrics alone helped only at speeds of 12 km/h or slower, and light-load circuits and isometrics alone did not beat control groups. Loads of 90% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) or more and programmes lasting 10+ weeks gave the largest effects.

In a 2025 trial, well-trained runners who added heavy strength and plyometric work twice a week for 10 weeks kept their economy steadier across a 90-minute run. At the end, their time to exhaustion improved by 35%, compared with an 8% decline in the running-only group. In cyclists, one heavy session a week preserved strength for 13 weeks; in soccer players, one session every second week did not.

What the injury evidence shows

Across sports, strength training reduced injuries to about a third and stretching had no effect. In runners specifically, the evidence is weaker: a 2024 meta-analysis found no overall injury reduction from exercise programmes, and only supervised programmes lowered risk. The best-supported options are specific: programmes including Nordic curls halved hamstring injuries (mostly in football), recreational runners without an 8-week foot-core programme were 2.42 times more likely to be injured, hip strengthening reduced patellofemoral pain, and heavy slow resistance calf work treated Achilles tendinopathy as well as daily eccentric training.

Rules the generator follows

  • Two sessions a week build strength; one maintains it in-season. Masters runners keep two. Taper weeks get one short primer and race week none.
  • Session order: warm-up, jumps, heavy lift, calf and soleus, Nordic curls, then accessories.
  • Main lifts use 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps at 1–3 reps in reserve, never to failure. Beginners ramp up from 2×10–12 over six weeks.
  • Jumps start with double-leg pogos, jump rope and countermovement jumps for two weeks, then grow by at most 15% a week: 40–80 contacts per session in base, 60–110 in build, 30 in-season. Beginners stay at or below 60; runners over 50, those with menstrual disturbance and sore tissues get fewer.
  • Every fourth week of off-season, base and build halves the sets at the same loads.
  • Lifting goes on hard-run days and avoids both the day before a key run and back-to-back days. Masters runners get more spacing between sessions.
  • A current injury removes the jumps that load that tissue, and a sore hamstring swaps Nordic curls for gentler bridge work. Shin pain removes all jumps until a clinician has ruled out a bone stress injury.
  • Sessions fit your time: low-priority accessories go first, then sets, never the main lift.

How exercises are rated

Performance (1–5) estimates the benefit to running performance; 5 means the method has meta-analytic support and heavily loads the calves, hips or knees. Injury resilience (1–5) estimates protection; 5 means trial evidence for preventing or treating a specific running injury. Evidence is graded A (meta-analyses or several trials), B (at least one trial, or strong evidence for the exercise class), C (mechanistic studies or other populations) or D (coaching practice). Most trials test whole programmes, so per-exercise ratings are informed estimates, not measured effects.

Limitations

Many economy trials involved young, well-trained male runners, Nordic and Copenhagen injury data come mainly from football, and masters evidence rests on small samples. The plan cannot see your pain, sleep or running load, so treat it as a starting point and adjust it with a coach or physiotherapist. To track how your running load changes alongside it, import your activities into Runima.

References

  1. Albracht & Arampatzis (2013) Triceps surae stiffness, strength and running economy
  2. Beyer et al. (2015) Heavy slow resistance for Achilles tendinopathy
  3. Blagrove et al. (2018) Strength training and distance-running determinants
  4. Bohm et al. (2021) Soleus efficiency and running economy
  5. Dorn, Schache & Pandy (2012) Muscle strategy across running speeds
  6. Eihara et al. (2022) Heavy resistance versus plyometric training
  7. Hutson et al. (2021) Bone stress injury and menstrual disturbance in female runners
  8. Lauersen et al. (2014) Exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries
  9. Llanos-Lagos et al. (2024) Strength training and running economy at different speeds
  10. Llanos-Lagos et al. (2024) Strength training methods and running performance
  11. Piacentini et al. (2013) Strength training in masters runners
  12. Rogan et al. (2019) Hip abductor exercise for patellofemoral pain
  13. Rønnestad et al. (2010) In-season strength maintenance in cyclists
  14. Rønnestad, Nymark & Raastad (2011) Maintenance frequency in soccer players
  15. Schumann et al. (2022) Concurrent aerobic and strength training
  16. Taddei et al. (2020) Foot core training to prevent running injuries
  17. van Dyk et al. (2019) The Nordic hamstring exercise and hamstring injuries
  18. Wu et al. (2024) Exercise-based injury prevention in endurance runners
  19. Zanini et al. (2025) Strength training and running-economy durability

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