How to Balance Leg Day & Running as a Hybrid Athlete
One of the first conflicts you may run into when taking a hybrid approach to your training is how to juggle running & strength training for your legs in the same week.
The reality, for most people, is that programming them together does not require highly intricate or complex thinking. More likely, you just have limiting beliefs about how they can be programmed together while still seeing results.
So, the aim of this article is to explain, and break down, these limiting beliefs & discuss how to combine leg day and running most effectively.
If there are any questions you have that went unanswered, I encourage you to comment below and I will respond as quickly as I am able.
Basics of load, fatigue, and recovery
Fundamentally, the key to success with hybrid & concurrent training is properly managing load fatigue.
To do so effectively requires understanding what these mean for different forms of exercise, such as lifting and running.
Running & leg strength training are very different forms of exercise.
Their effects in terms of load & fatigue and their demands in terms of recovery are quite different.
The mistake many people make is assuming they are the same. You may have thought that if you run today you shouldn’t train legs tomorrow (or vice versa). This thought is incorrect.
Gabbet & Oetter [1] recently published a comprehensive review outlining the differences in how these two forms of training affect your system. I’ll provide you with the take-homes that are practical and relevant to you.
From a recovery needs standpoint, strength training typically requires about ~48 hours or so before it should be repeated (varies based on volume, but this is average).
What’s important to understand is that this does not mean you can’t use your legs again within those 48 hours, it’s just best not to place a high demand on them again within that time.
These 48 hours are for your legs specifically, not your system overall.
The recovery needs of running varies substantially based on the workout at hand.
A low- to moderate-duration run done at a low intensity only requires a few hours to recover from.
A long run can be taxing on the system overall and may need ~24 hours to recover from.
A high intensity run, such as high intensity interval training, is highly taxing on the legs & the system at large. This typically requires ~72 hours to recover from.
Understand, though, these are not set-in-stone numbers.
True recovery needs vary person to person and on the specific workout at hand. These numbers are averages, and a good starting point.
Hopefully you can see that to properly combine strength training your legs & running is to solve the puzzle of mapping out these types of loads (systemic vs local) and recovery needs together.
Guidelines to follow
There’s just a few guidelines worth following when putting this into practice.
High intensity running: your legs should be given ~72 hours before they are used intensely or for a prolonged period of time again.
Strength training: your legs should be given ~48 hours before they are used intensely or for a prolonged period of time again.
Long running: your legs should be given ~24 hours before they are used intensely or for a prolonged period of time again.
short- to moderate-distance, easy running: this can be programmed anywhere.
To clear up some definitions:
Using your legs “intensely” can mean strength training or high intensity running
Using your legs for a “prolonged period of time” and “long running” mean the same thing here
Do note: “short,” “moderate,” and “long” running means something different for everyone. A short run for you might be a long run for someone else, and vice versa.
Long runs, even when done at low intensities, require some recovery time because they will typically deplete you of your carbohydrate stores. At least, they should if programmed right.
This it itself requires some recovery time.
Short- to moderate-distance easy runs are the outlier here in that you can program them anywhere you want.
You can program them the day before or after an intense run, before or after a strength workout, or the day before or after a long run.
If you’re someone who wants to, or is willing to, have some days where you train twice in a day, then you could also use these sort of runs on such days.
This could look like a short run in the morning before work and a leg strength workout in the evening.
In my opinion, what trips most people up with this goal is that they don’t understand that you can perform such workouts anytime you want or need to; even if your legs feel sore or tired. There is no reason why you would not be able to.
What this looks like in practice
To finish up this article, I wanted to provide you with a few sample weeks to make this a little clearer.
For this first example, let’s assume you are in a phase of placing a slight emphasis on strength training with slightly less emphasis on running.
The following is one way to approach this:
Monday: lower body strength
Tuesday: upper body strength
Wednesday: moderate-distance easy run
Thursday: lower body strength
Friday: upper body strength
Saturday: VO2max intervals or tempo run
Sunday: moderate distance easy run
Conversely, let’s say you want to put a slight emphasis on running and slightly less emphasis on strength training.
This could be done with the following:
Monday: full body strength
Tuesday: long run
Wednesday: mixed modality aerobic training (swimming, SkiErg, AirDyne, etc.)
Thursday: lower body strength
Friday: upper body strength
Saturday: VO2max intervals or tempo run
Sunday: Moderate-distance easy run
Yes, there is a long run the day after a full body strength day; which presumably includes some legs.
A lot of these recovery times depend on volume done. This can be more than okay to do depending on how the full body workout is structured.
As a final example, let’s assume you want to undergo a 50/50 split emphasis on strength & running.
Here’s one way you could go about this:
Monday: 1/2 full body strength & 10-minute max-distance run
Tuesday: short-distance easy run
Wednesday: full body strength
Thursday: moderate-distance run
Friday: full-body strength
Saturday: long run
How to use cross-training for better results
“Cross-training” is a term used to describe training done with modalities other than running itself, for the purpose of improving running performance.
This can be especially helpful while following a hybrid program.
Running as a form of endurance training tends to be more fatiguing and may require more recovery than other forms of endurance training.
The impact & eccentric loading demands of running are two unique characteristics that make this so.
Modalities such as cycling (road, trail, or stationary), rowing, and others can promote aerobic/cardiovascular adaptation with less need for recovery and lower perception of fatigue.
What this looks like in practice can take a few different forms.
The easiest example is to just swap out a short- or moderate-distance run for a swimming, cycling, or a training session on a rower, SkiErg, or Airdyne.
Something to keep in mind is that the volume (in terms of duration of work) that you can handle is typically higher on these forms of aerobic training as compared to running.
For instance, a 60-minute cycle and 30-minute run may have the same needs in terms of recovery; but the cycle gave you double the duration of aerobic stimulus.
As another option, you could start a workout with a 30-minute bout at 60-70% max heart rate on a bike followed by a 15-minute easy run.
In many ways, this will give you very similar results to a 45 minute run; but it will require much less recovery.
As I hope you can see, there is a lot of opportunity for creativity here.
Why you need to think long-term
Something you can expect when combining strength training & endurance training is a short drop in performance that will resolve itself within ~2-3 weeks or so.
If you notice this, it does not mean the program you are following is bad, it usually just means you need to give your body a little more time to get used to this new stimulus.
Once you acclimate, you can expect to begin seeing progress as usual again.
Running with sore legs re-visited
A mindset that stops a lot of people is thinking that they can’t run when their legs are sore.
Don’t let yourself fall into this trap. You can 100% run if your legs are sore from a workout the day prior. Furthermore, running on sore legs is something your body can adapt to.
It may not be best to do a super-long run or highly intense run the day after a strength workout, but that does not mean you can’t run at all.
Your total weekly mileage is an important variable to track, and increase, over time in order to see progress.
With a hybrid program, this will sometimes mean running with sore legs.
That said, running on sore legs is harder than running on fresh legs. So, here are some things that can help alleviate this if desired:
start your run off extra slow
The simplest way to make yourself feel better in any workout is to just spend a little extra time warming up. Starting your run off extra slow can help you do this.
Don’t obliterate your legs on any one day of the week
All of the above training weeks involve your leg strength volume spread out to more than just 1x/week.
Strength training any muscle two or more times per week tends to yield better results than just 1x/week [2].
Plus, doing so makes it so that there is no day in the week where it feels you like you can’t walk.
Don’t over-think this
Don’t let the pursuit of hyper-perfection be what stops you from seeing progress.
You can only optimize things so much. At a point, chasing further optimization becomes counter-productive.
Give yourself permission to train “sub-optimally” from time to time, because that is sometimes better than not training at all.
The guidelines presented in this article should help you get started, but also understand that what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.
So, start with the strategies presented here today, and adjust as you feel is best for you.
References
Gabbett TJ, Oetter E. From Tissue to System: What Constitutes an Appropriate Response to Loading?. Sports Med. Published online November 11, 2024. doi:10.1007/s40279-024-02126-w
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
