Strength training makes running more efficient
High confidence
Add strength work and trained runners usually become 2 to 8 percent more efficient, meaning they burn less energy at the same pace. Coaches call this running economy. VO2 max, the most oxygen the body can use, barely moves. The improvement comes from stronger muscles and stiffer tendons, not the heart and lungs.
Why it works
The nervous system learns to fire muscles more efficiently, tendons get stiffer and springier, and each stride pushes off with more force. The heart and lungs are not doing the extra work.
What it means in practice
Two to three strength sessions a week belong in a distance runner's schedule as a standard part of training, not an extra. A plan that leaves strength out entirely has a real gap, and plan reviews should flag it.
The evidence
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Distance runners who added strength work (heavy resistance, explosive resistance or plyometric training) to their running generally improved running economy (2-8% versus running-only controls), time-trial performance over 1.5-10 km, and sprint speed, though these gains were not a consistent finding across every study reviewed. Maximal oxygen uptake, blood lactate and body composition were typically unaffected, and body composition was not negatively affected. That points to a neuromuscular and tendon-related mechanism, not a cardiovascular one.
n=469
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Strength training improves running economy in highly trained middle- and long-distance runners. This meta-analysis pooled 5 controlled trials (n=93), all with VO2max above 60 ml/kg/min, in which runners added low-to-high intensity resistance work plus plyometrics 2 to 3 times per week for 8 to 12 weeks. The pooled effect on running economy was large (SMD -1.42, 95% CI -2.23 to -0.60), and 4 of the 5 trials used low-to-moderate loads (40-70% of 1RM). That VO2max threshold excludes typical recreational runners, so the effect at lower fitness levels stays an open question.
n=93
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Foot-ankle strengthening (Taddei 2020) was associated with a running injury incidence 2.42 times higher in controls over a one-year intervention, and in a soldier cohort resistance exercise at least 3 times per week was associated with 54% lower injury risk than doing none or less than weekly. Six weeks of neuromuscular training (jumping, landing, strength, endurance, agility, trunk) lowered injury incidence in track and field, most clearly for MTSS (p=0.012), though the authors call it a very small study (n = 22) with limited generalizability. The same section reports null results (a trial in 1020 soldiers, p = 0.162; a strength program for NYC marathon runners, p = 0.90; stretching in 1538 soldiers), and the review concludes that lower-limb resistance exercise may help reduce running-related injury risk but further evidence is needed. Trail-runner risk factors include running experience, skipped warm-ups, no specialized plan, asphalt training, and double daily sessions. More than 70% of running injuries are overuse, but inadequate technique and poor neuromuscular control are also key mechanisms.
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In 27 recreationally trained distance runners, 11 weeks of unilateral and bilateral plyometric training matched for volume improved running economy (5.6% and 4.9%) and 3-km time-trial performance (2.4% and 2.5%) with no significant difference between them. The authors favor bilateral training as the safer default, reasoning from the bilateral force deficit rather than any measured injury outcome. On that basis they recommend periodized, high-volume low-intensity bilateral plyometrics where injury risk is a concern. This is a single small trial in recreational runners, so the safety edge stays inferred rather than demonstrated.
n=27
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Strength training improved running economy in trained middle- and long-distance runners, but the best method tracked with pace. Plyometrics helped most at lower speeds, at or below 12 km/h (ES -0.307, p=0.028). Heavy loads at 80% 1RM or above worked better at faster speeds and in runners with high VO2 max. Submaximal and isometric loading barely moved economy at all.
n=652
Why we call confidence high
Several randomized trials, a systematic review and two meta-analyses point the same way: heavy resistance and plyometric (jump-based) training make trained distance runners more efficient. Most trials find an improvement, though not every one does, and how big the gain is varies from one study to the next. Llanos-Lagos 2024 (652 trained runners) found small effects for heavy loads, larger at faster speeds, and no effect from light or isometric loading.
Where it applies
Trained adult distance runners with at least six months of consistent running. The evidence is strongest in male runners and holds in female runners too, on a smaller body of studies.
Does not apply to: novice runners with under 6 months of running; sprint athletes; sedentary adults starting running.
Plans that respect this
Plans that scored well on the rubric measures informed by this claim.
- 10-Week Advanced 10k Training (5 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster 10k (3 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster 10k (4 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster 10k (5 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster 10k (6 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster Half Marathon (3 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster Half Marathon (4 days)
- 10-Week Run a Faster Half Marathon (5 days)
- 10-Week Run Your First 10k (3 days)
- 10-Week Run Your First 10k (4 days)
- 10-Week Run Your First Half Marathon (3 days)
- 10-Week Run Your First Half Marathon (4 days)
Last reviewed Oct 14, 2026. See how we score.