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Your Lifting Schedule is Killing Your Marathon: The Ultimate Guide to Scheduling Your Lifts Like an Elite
Jonah Rosner
January 02, 2025
Your Lifting Schedule is Killing Your Marathon: The Ultimate Guide to Scheduling Your Lifts Like an Elite
Estimated read time: 3.36 minutes (about as long as it takes before I give up explaining to my grandma what Strava is)
Hey Performance Nerds! Jonah here. 🤓
Are your strength workouts secretly sabotaging your marathon?
One of my clients was crushing weights but watching her track times tank - until we made ONE simple schedule change.
The result? She PR'd every single track session during her marathon build. (And no, we didn't cut her lifting - we just got smarter about timing!) 🏃♀️🎯
Here’s what we got:
🔬 The science of muscle damage (in English!)
📅 The perfect weekly lifting schedule
⚡ How to stack hard sessions for maximum gains
💪 Recovery windows that actually work
🚨 $4,575 Giveaway EXTENDED! Last Chance!🚨
⏳ You asked, we listened! Augie and I are giving you 24 more hours to join the giveaway and grab your shot at the prize!
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Here’s what you could win:
🥇 Grand Prize ($3,500):
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How to Enter:
1️⃣ Share your referral link with friends 👇
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👀 Track your progress here: Your Referral Count
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🚨 Act Fast: Giveaway closes in 24 HOURS—don’t wait!
💡 Pro Tip: Share your referral link on Instagram (tag @rosnerperformance) or in your running group chats. Use the “Link” sticker for easy clicks!
Alright, enough of the non-sciencey stuff. Let’s dive into the secrets of the perfect lifting schedule for runners! 💪
The Science of Muscle Damage (And Why It Matters)
Warning: 99% of runners destroy their track workouts by lifting the day before.
The science: Heavy lifting and fast running both put massive forces through your legs, leading to eccentric muscle damage.
These powerful contractions happen when you lower a heavy squat or when your foot strikes the ground during intervals.
This creates micro-tears in your muscle fibers that are essential to make you stronger.
But here’s the kicker:
Your body needs 48-72 hours to repair this damage
During recovery, your muscles are as wiped out as you feel after teaching your grandma to text (so. much. patience!).
Trying to run fast on damaged muscles? Your workout quality can tank by up to 30%!
Here's how most runners sabotage themselves:
Monday: Heavy squats = muscle damage
Tuesday: Track workout = dead legs
The result? Your running turns into a disaster 🏃♀️😬.
Research proves it: Damaged muscles don’t hit your target paces. Miss those paces? Your training quality and progress take a nosedive.
It's like building a house with broken tools!
Ready to master your lifting schedule? Let’s dive in! 🚀🚀
The Perfect Weekly Schedule (That Won't Wreck Your Training)
Want to know the ultimate secret to lifting like an elite runner?
Hard days hard, easy days easy.
By stacking your hard sessions, you maximize recovery time and let your legs truly recharge.
Here's the magic formula:
Stack hard runs and lifting on the same day
Lift 2–3 times per week, max (more is overkill for runners)
Do your lift AFTER the hard run, with at least a 6-hour break
Can’t combine? Schedule your lift 2+ days before your next track or speed session
Keep 48 hours between tough sessions
Never lift heavy before speed work or long runs (your legs will thank you)
Let’s break it down:
Your perfect week mapped out clearer than my GPS on long run day (and we all know how that usually goes! 😅) #ScienceApproved
Why this works: Your body recovers from both lifting and hard running at the same time. Think of it as killing two birds with one recovery stone.
In fact, research shows stacking hard sessions can enhance recovery and maximize training benefits over time.
That’s a similar boost to what I get from post-run ice cream (and trust me, I've tested this extensively).
Practical Summary (The TL;DR for Science Nerds 🤓)
The Schedule:
Stack hard runs + lifting on the same day
Wait 6+ hours between running and lifting
Limit lifting to 2-3 sessions per week
Always lift AFTER hard runs, not before
Recovery Rules:
Give it 48 hours between tough sessions to let your muscles recover
Never lift heavy before speed work or long runs
If you can’t stack, wait 2+ days between lifting and quality running sessions
Recovery tips dropping faster than my pace at mile 20 of my last bonked marathon! (Turns out you need more than ice cream and claiming you're a 2:30 marathoner on Instagram to fuel 26.2 😅)
🚨How to Actually Carb Load for Your Marathon!
Did you miss my video about How to Actually Carb Load for Your Marathon? You can find it below!
I won’t lie. These videos take me a while to make. If you find it helpful, share it on your story or with a friend. It helps me a ton!
Are You a True Running Nerd? Prove it.. 🧐
Welcome to the prove you’re a nerd section. Each week, I ask a question about a common running science myth.
Answer correctly, and you’ll be entered into a weekly raffle to win a package of Jonah’s favorite supplements from Raw Nutrition.
Which shoe quality is most effective at offloading knee pain for runners? |
Last Week’s Results
Wow, you all are electrifying! ⚡️💪
You nailed it! The main purpose of electrolytes during a marathon isn't just about preventing cramps or boosting energy.
It's all about maintaining that crucial fluid balance - keeping the perfect ratio of water to salt in your blood. This balance is key to keeping your body running like a well-oiled machine for those 26.2 miles! 🏃♀️
Here’s how the votes landed:
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Prevent muscle cramps (12)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Maintain fluid balance (ratio of water to salt in your blood) (160)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Boost energy levels (2)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Reduce lactic acid buildup (3)
Nerdy Finds of the Week 📚🧑🔬
This section includes my favorite research, podcasts or books about running/lifting science.
Podcast: Everything You Need To Know About Recovery (NDURANZ)
🧪 Key Finding: Recovery requires a precise mix of nutrients - not just protein, but strategic carbohydrate timing matters significantly for performance.
🥛 Practical Strategy: Consume 1.0-1.2g/kg bodyweight of carbs within 30-60 minutes post-exercise, combining fructose (from fruit/honey) with glucose sources for optimal liver and muscle glycogen replenishment.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Most athletes focus solely on protein timing, but skipping carbs post-workout significantly impairs recovery - especially for those training multiple times per day.
🥤 Quick Implementation: Post-workout shake with milk (protein + glucose) + banana and honey (fructose) provides the perfect nutrient mix for maximizing recovery pathways.
🧊 Recovery Tools Reality Check: While compression gear and ice baths are popular, they should be used strategically rather than by default. Ice baths can actually blunt long-term adaptations if overused, making them better suited for in-season recovery than training periods.
😴 Sleep Quality Trumps Recovery Tools: The research shows that 7-9 hours of quality sleep has a greater impact on recovery than any supplement or recovery modality. Poor sleep negates the benefits of proper nutrition and recovery techniques.
🧠 Mental Recovery Integration: Athletes often overlook psychological recovery, but research shows that mental decompression time (away from training metrics and competition mindset) is crucial for preventing burnout and maintaining performance.
🏃♂️ Multi-Day Event Strategy: For athletes competing or training on consecutive days, prioritizing rapid glycogen restoration becomes even more critical - aim for a carb+protein snack within 30 minutes, followed by a complete meal within 2-3 hours.
Podcast: Human Performance Outliers Podcast - Brendan Egan, PhD - Exogenous Ketone Research
🔬 Novel Finding: Ketone supplements raise blood ketone levels without needing to cut carbs - a potential recovery boost.
⚡ Performance Reality: Mixed to little research on workout benefits, but shows it might help recovery.
🔄 Recovery Insight: May reduce muscle breakdown and increase EPO (red blood cells).
⚠️ Practical Use: Start with recovery periods, not pre-workout. Choose ketone esters over salts.
💡 Key Point: Best used as a recovery tool, especially for multi-day events or high training loads.
🎯 Strategy: Test during training recovery periods first and track how you feel.
Don’t forget: You + Science = AWESOMENESS 😎
Yours in science,
Jonah
P.S. - We have a crew of 11,000+ nerds here who are running FAST using science.
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