Our Approach to Strength Training
Heavy lifting inside a marathon block doesn't work.
That doesn't mean strength disappears.
STRENGTH THAT PROTECTS THE BLOCK
When you're chasing a PR, the gym has one job: keep you healthy enough to run every session I write. Injury prevention and durability come first, so the work you're putting in on the roads doesn't get lost to a calf strain in week 9. In the offseason, with no race to protect, we shift. That's when strength gets heavier and becomes the focus.
TWO GOALS, TWO PROGRAMS
Race Ready is built around your race. Strength supports the running: durability during the block, then more strength in the offseason. The Full Build is for runners who want to change their body too. On top of the durability work, you get lifting programmed for body composition, always scheduled away from your quality running days so it never costs you a key session.
EVERY SESSION STARTS WITH GPP
10–15 minutes of runner-specific work before anything else: single-leg strength, core stability, and the tendons and small muscles that take the most stress on the roads. It's where small niggles get fixed before they become injuries.
JUST TWO HARD SETS
There's a psychological advantage to simplicity. Simple works. Your main lift comes down to two hard sets with full intention and a number to beat from last week. Telling yourself you only have to do it twice removes the mental resistance. You go all in, and that's where the adaptation lives. Beat your numbers.
Build the trend.
Move on.
WHY IT MATTERS ON RACE DAY
Everyone's been there: calves seizing, hips quitting, form collapsing in the last 10K. It's rarely your fitness that fails. It's your durability. Every leg circuit and core session is race-day insurance. The runners who finish strong in the back half aren't just fitter. They're more durable, and that's built in the gym long before the gun goes off.