Workout Sequencing: When to Run Before, After, or Separate from Strength Training

When should I run during my workout?

The optimal timing for running within your workout depends primarily on your specific fitness goals, the intensity and duration of both your running and other training modalities, and your individual recovery capacity.

Understanding Your Primary Training Goal

The decision of when to incorporate running into your workout hinges significantly on what you aim to achieve. Different sequencing can prioritize different adaptations.

• Strength and Power Development: If your main objective is to maximize strength, power, or muscle hypertrophy, the sequencing of your running and resistance training becomes critical due to the potential for an "interference effect."
• Endurance Improvement: For individuals focused on improving cardiovascular endurance, running performance, or preparing for a race, prioritizing running may be more beneficial.
• General Fitness and Health: For overall fitness, cardiovascular health, and moderate weight management, the timing might be more flexible, allowing for personal preference and convenience.
• Weight Management: While both running and strength training contribute to calorie expenditure and metabolic health, their synergistic effects can be influenced by sequencing.

Option 1: Running Before Strength Training

Engaging in running prior to resistance exercise is a common approach, often used as a warm-up or to "get cardio out of the way."

• Pros:
  • Effective Warm-up: A light to moderate run can effectively elevate core body temperature, increase blood flow to muscles, and prepare the cardiovascular system for subsequent strength work.
  • Initial Calorie Burn: Starting with running ensures a significant calorie expenditure when energy levels are highest.
  • Mental Warm-up: Some individuals find that a run helps clear their mind and prepare them mentally for a demanding strength session.
• Cons:
  • Neuromuscular Fatigue: Running, especially at moderate to high intensities or for prolonged durations, can induce significant neuromuscular fatigue. This can compromise your ability to generate maximum force and power during subsequent strength exercises, potentially leading to reduced lifting volume, intensity, and form breakdown.
  • Glycogen Depletion: Longer runs can deplete muscle glycogen stores, which are crucial for high-intensity strength work. Performing resistance training with depleted glycogen can impair performance and recovery.
  • Increased Injury Risk (for heavy lifting): If fatigue compromises form during heavy resistance training, the risk of injury may increase.
  • Reduced Strength Adaptations: Research suggests that performing cardio before strength training can blunt acute strength performance and may, over time, attenuate strength and power gains.

Option 2: Running After Strength Training

This sequencing is often recommended for those prioritizing strength gains or seeking specific metabolic benefits.

• Pros:
  • Optimized Strength Performance: By performing strength training first, your muscles are fresh, glycogen stores are full, and your nervous system is primed for maximal force production. This allows for higher quality lifts, greater training volume, and potentially superior strength and hypertrophy adaptations.
  • "Empty Tank" Cardio: Running after strength training means you're performing cardio with partially depleted glycogen stores. This can encourage your body to rely more on fat for fuel, potentially enhancing fat oxidation (though the practical significance for body composition is debated).
  • Metabolic Benefits: The elevated metabolic rate from strength training can carry over into your running session, potentially increasing overall calorie expenditure.
  • Reduced Interference Effect: Studies generally show less detrimental interference on strength gains when cardio is performed after resistance training compared to before.
• Cons:
  • Running Performance Compromise: If your strength training session was intense and taxing, your running performance (speed, endurance) might be compromised due to muscle fatigue and central nervous system fatigue.
  • Reduced Enjoyment: Some individuals find it harder to push through a run when already fatigued from strength training.

Option 3: Separating Running and Strength Training

For optimal performance in both modalities, or for advanced athletes, separating training sessions is often the preferred strategy.

• Pros:
  • Maximized Performance in Both: By allowing adequate recovery time (typically 6-24 hours) between sessions, you can approach each workout fresh, enabling maximal effort and quality in both your running and strength training.
  • Reduced Interference Effect: This separation minimizes the acute physiological interference between the two training types, allowing for more specific adaptations from each.
  • Enhanced Recovery: Spreading out the training load can improve overall recovery and reduce the risk of overtraining.
• Cons:
  • Time Commitment: This approach often requires two separate trips to the gym or dedicated training blocks, which can be challenging for those with limited time.
  • Scheduling Complexity: It demands more meticulous planning and adherence to a consistent schedule.

Specific Considerations and Nuances

• Type of Running:
  • High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT places a significant demand on the anaerobic and neuromuscular systems. Performing intense HIIT before heavy strength training is generally not recommended due to the high fatigue it induces. If combining, separate sessions or perform strength first.
  • Low-Intensity Steady-State (LISS): A short, low-intensity run (e.g., 10-15 minutes) can serve as an excellent general warm-up before strength training without causing significant fatigue. Longer LISS runs are usually better placed after strength training or in separate sessions.
• Intensity and Volume: The greater the intensity and volume of either your run or your strength session, the more important the sequencing becomes. A light jog before a light strength session will have minimal impact, whereas a 10k run before a max-effort squat session would be highly detrimental.
• Individual Recovery Capacity: Your personal recovery rate, influenced by sleep, nutrition, stress, and training history, will dictate how well you tolerate different sequencing strategies.
• Sport-Specific Demands: If you're training for a sport that requires both strength and endurance (e.g., combat sports, team sports), your sequencing might mimic the demands of the sport, or prioritize the most critical physical quality.
• Time Constraints: Pragmatism often dictates training schedules. If you only have one hour, a combination might be necessary, and you'll need to prioritize your main goal.

Practical Recommendations Based on Goals

• Goal: Maximize Strength/Power/Hypertrophy:
  • Ideal: Separate running and strength training by at least 6 hours (preferably 24 hours).
  • Alternative (if combined): Perform strength training before running. Keep running moderate-to-low intensity and duration.
  • Warm-up: A very light, short (5-10 minute) run can precede strength training as a general warm-up.
• Goal: Maximize Endurance/Running Performance:
  • Ideal: Separate running and strength training. Prioritize your key running workouts (long runs, tempo, intervals) by performing them on separate days or at least 6-8 hours apart from strength training.
  • Alternative (if combined): Perform running before strength training if the run is your primary focus for that day. Be aware strength performance may be affected.
• Goal: General Fitness/Weight Loss:
  • Flexible: Either option can work. Running after strength training may offer a slight metabolic advantage by tapping into fat stores more readily.
  • Warm-up: A 5-10 minute light run is excellent as a general warm-up before any workout.
• Goal: Time Efficiency:
  • Consider a "hybrid" approach where you do a short, intense strength session followed by a moderate-intensity run, or vice-versa, depending on which modality you want to prioritize.

Conclusion

There is no universal "best" time to run during your workout. The most effective approach is highly individualized and should align with your primary training objectives. By understanding the physiological implications of different sequencing strategies, you can make informed decisions that optimize your performance, adaptations, and overall fitness journey. Always listen to your body, prioritize recovery, and be willing to experiment to find what works best for you.