We're a personal training company in Costa Mesa built specifically around runners — improving your running economy, cutting injury risk, and building the strength that research links to still being active decades from now.
Six things the research says about strength training and endurance running.
Endurance training pushes your body toward a catabolic hormonal state — elevated cortisol, muscle protein breaking down faster than it's rebuilt (Popovic et al., 2019). Resistance training is what tips that balance back the other way, triggering the anabolic (muscle-building) signaling that endurance work alone doesn't provide. Runners who only run are only doing half of what their body needs to sustain the sport long-term.
A 10-year study following masters athletes aged 40 to 85 found that those who kept strength training at least twice a week maintained or improved bone strength over the following decade — while those who dropped below that threshold saw measurable decline (Suominen et al., 2021). Peak endurance performance also declines far more slowly than most people assume, with steep drops usually not appearing until well past 60 (Tanaka & Seals, 2008).
A systematic review and meta-analysis found strength training measurably improved running economy in highly trained runners, and a more recent meta-analysis found heavy resistance training beat plyometric training for both running economy and time-trial performance (Balsalobre-Fernández et al., 2016; Eihara et al., 2022). This isn't about getting bigger — it's about your body using less energy to hold the same pace.
Skeletal muscle is the primary site in your body for clearing glucose from your bloodstream, and muscle mass declines 3–8% per decade after age 30 (Strasser & Pesta, 2013). That decline is linked to rising risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes over time. Resistance training directly counters this: it improves glucose transport into muscle and insulin sensitivity, protecting the metabolic health that running alone doesn't fully cover.
A 2024 review focused specifically on runners found that unsupervised strength programs didn't significantly reduce injury risk — but supervised ones did (Wu et al., 2024). Separately, a meta-analysis across 26,000+ athletes found strength training cut overuse injuries by close to half (Lauersen et al., 2014). The strength work matters, but having a coach guide the load and form is what makes it protective.
It sounds backwards, but it's well documented: endurance runners frequently show lower bone mineral density than athletes in power sports like jumping or sprinting — sometimes even lower than sedentary people (Scofield & Hecht, 2012). Steady-state running rarely produces the peak forces that actually stimulate bone growth. A study of collegiate distance runners found muscular strength and jump power were directly linked to better bone health markers — strength training fills a gap running alone leaves open.
Every program is designed around your running schedule — never competing with it. If your goal is running, our programming and strength training will support your running. Say the same thing for hiking, backpacking, pickleball, or baseball — the underlying strength and mobility work is what makes all of it feel better, for longer.
Strength work built around what the evidence actually shows moves the needle — not generic gym programming borrowed from bodybuilding.
Research on runners specifically found unsupervised programs didn't reduce injury risk — supervised ones did. That's the whole reason to work with a coach.
A 10-year study of masters athletes found consistent strength training was the deciding factor in who maintained strength decades later. We program for that timeline, not just this season.
Curious what a strength workout for runners actually includes? We break down the specific strength exercises for runners the research supports — squats, deadlifts, step-ups, and posterior chain work — in ourfull research breakdown.
We're strength & conditioning coaches, not running coaches — we build the strength foundation underneath your running, and we're glad to work alongside a running coach you already have. If you're medically cleared to exercise, let's talk.
Full citations for every claim on this page are in ourresearch article.
