76: Why Women Runners Over 40 Can’t Skip Strength Training: How to Lift Without Slowing Down Your Miles

In this episode of MilesFromHerView, host Kat, an experienced ultra-marathon runner and strength trainer, discusses the crucial role of strength training for women runners, particularly those in their forties. The episode covers the integration of running and strength training, debunking myths about weight lifting and its effects on running performance. Kat explains the importance of periodization in strength training, detailing phases from hypertrophy to power and plyometrics, and provides practical advice on how to create a balanced training routine that enhances performance, prevents injuries, and promotes long-term running resilience. The episode also addresses common mistakes, such as lifting heavy during peak running volume and not progressing weights, and offers solutions to avoid them.

00:00 Introduction: Running vs. Strength Training Dilemma

00:35 Welcome to MilesFromHerView

01:23 The Importance of Strength Training for Runners

03:07 Challenges for Women Runners in Their Forties

06:42 Phases of Strength Training

19:48 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

24:38 Addressing Specific Concerns

27:26 Creating Your Action Plan

30:29 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

33:29 Conclusion and Call to Action

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Transcript

Kat: 0:02

If you're a runner, you may be feeling this pool of do I strength train or do I run, which one is the priority? Or you may feel that lifting heavy will slow you down, make you bulky or leave your legs too tired for running the miles you want to log. But the truth is, especially if you are in your forties and beyond. You can't run your best without strength. Running and lifting aren't competing. They're partners, and today I'm gonna show you why the combining them will change the way you feel, move and perform. Welcome to MilesFromHerView, the podcast powered by KatFit Strength, where busy women like you find practical solutions to fuel your fitness journey with authenticity and resilience. I'm Kat, your host, a mom of two active boys, a business owner, and an ultra marathon runner and a strength trainer in her forties with nearly two decades of experience. I'm here to help you cut through the noise of fads, hacks, and quick fixes. This is a space where we celebrate womanhood and motherhood. All while building strength and resilience and reconnecting with you from a place of self-compassion and worthiness. Whether you're lacing up your running shoes to go out for a run, driving your kids to practice or squeezing in a moment for yourself, I'm right here in the trenches with you. Let's dive in. Welcome back to MilesFromherView. I'm Kat, and if you've been a long time listener, you know I'm a runner and I'm excited to talk about this topic. And if you are new here, welcome. This topic is all about running and strength training. And how they can go together. And I wanna preface it is you don't have to be tackling a hundred mile races but it's really about anyone who wants to rent or who wants to get back into running as a way to get some great cardio. And how does that pair with strength training? I have been an athlete. My whole life from competitive sports, primarily track and field till now in my forties, tackling the ultra marathon distances. And what I have learned is that what you did in your twenties and thirties just doesn't work anymore. Regardless if that was. Running or doing different workouts and you can't just run more miles and expect your body to hold up. You need a strategic approach and one that builds resilience, prevents injuries, and keeps you running strong for decades because it is possible. So what we are specifically diving into today is why strength training becomes a non-negotiable for women runners in their forties. How to periodize your strength training to match your running phases. Why plyometric training is critical for women and how to do it safely, and the exact progression from building muscle to explosive power. So by the end of this episode, you will have a complete roadmap for integrating strength training into your running program no matter what distance you train for. So let's dive in. Let's talk about what's happening in your body that makes doing training an absolute essential at this age. So as a woman runner in your forties, you're dealing with a unique set of challenges that younger runners just don't simply face. Estrogen declines, and it affects runners specifically. Tendons and ligaments, the connective tissue, it changes and it becomes less resilient. Making you prone to injuries like Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis IT band syndrome to name a few. Bone density decreases faster. So running alone will not protect you from osteoporosis. In fact, excessive running without strength training can accelerate bone loss. Muscle recovery slows down. You can't bounce back from hard efforts like you used to. And what took 24 hours to recover now takes. About 48 to 72 hours collagen production drops. That affects your body's ability to repair and maintain healthy tendons, ligaments, and fascia and inflammation increases, making overuse injuries more likely, and recovery more challenging. So here's the critical truth. Running alone will not preserve your muscle mass, bone density, or metabolic health. In fact, excessive running without adequate strength training can accelerate muscle loss and increase injury risk. Studies consistently show that runners who strength train, reduce injury risk up to 50%. Particularly overused injuries like runner's, knee IT, band syndrome, shin splints. Strength training improves running economy by two to 8%. You'll run faster at the same effort level, and strength training increases bone mineral density, protecting against stress, fractures, and osteoporosis. Strength training enhances power output, which is critical for hill climbing, finishing kicks and maintaining pace when fatigue. Strength training also maintains muscle mass, which protects your metabolism and overall health. But here's the biggest thing that I find runners miss, it's not just about lifting weights. It's about how and when you lift that make the difference. So puritization of strength training, and this is. Where I see a lot of things get lost in translation as to why some runners choose not to strength train and why runners may not actually see benefits from their strength training is most runners, and this is generalizations from what I have seen in my. Wanderings and through life is that they do the same strength training routine year round and never progressing,. And it's like doing the same running workout every single week and wondering why you're not improving. Yeah, in the beginning you might see some improvement, especially if you're a beginning runner at a new distance. You might start to see that, but then again, you're going to stall. So periodization means systematically varying your training to match your goals and your race calendar. And for runners, your strength training should flow through distinct phases that complement not compete with your run training. So you have the base strength, power, race, specific and maintenance. Each phase is going to build on the previous one, and each phase serves as a specific purpose in making you better and more injury resistant runner. So let's break down the phases here. So phase one is about hypertrophy and like building that phase. This happens in the off season or early base building. It's roughly around eight to 12 weeks and your running volume is moderate. It's mostly easy miles. So think about this. This is like the phase after your a race in the season where. You're trying to figure out what's next. You're recovered from that a race and you're looking to start to get back into training. So this is that building the base phase. What this phase does is you are building the foundational muscle that you'll convert to strength and power later. So you're literally growing muscle tissue, increasing muscle fiber size, and creating the raw material your body's gonna use in a later face. All about the foundation and for women in forties, this is so critical because you're fighting against natural muscle loss sarcopenia, and this is your chance to build or rebuild that muscle mass that you need. So the training protocol here is rep ranges between eight to 12 reps per set, around three to four sets per exercise, and the load is about 65 to 75% of your max. So it's a moderate weight and you're being challenged by the last two to three reps. The tempo is controlled, so kind of thinking like two to three seconds down, one second up, and your rest is around 60 seconds to 90 seconds in between set. Here, your frequency is higher. You're probably gonna be strength training around three to four times per week. The exercise focus in this area is gonna be compound movements, squats, deadlifts, lunges, step ups, bilateral unilateral work. So mix of double leg and single leg exercises, full range of motion, building that mobility and strength through the complete ranges, and a push pull balance. So don't neglect the upper body. You need core, you need upper body strength for running posture. So the key points here is. This is not the time to worry about getting too sore for your runs. You're in base building. You should feel muscle fatigue and soreness initially, but it's going to adapt within the next two to three weeks. This is where eating adequate protein is going to really, really help support muscle growth and sleep. You really wanna double down on sleeping seven to nine hours because that's where muscle repair happens. So what comes after this phase? Phase two, is maximum strength phase. This is the mid to late base building where roughly around six to eight weeks where you're still building that base of the running volume, but you're building toward peak and incorporating some temp runs and intervals. What this phase does is it. Allows you to take the muscle you've built and teach it to produce more force. This phase improves that neuromuscular efficiency, so your brain's ability to recruit muscle fibers powerfully and efficiently. So for runners, this translates to better hill climbing power, improved running economy, and the ability to maintain pace. When you are fatigued, so the training protocols here are, your up ranges are going to be reduced. It's gonna be four to six reps per set, and the sets are between four to five sets per exercise. And your load is going to be much heavier, so closer to 75 to 85% of your max. And it's gonna feel heavy. You want it to feel challenging by rep four or five. Tempo is controlled, eccentric, and explosive. Concentric. And your rest is going to be higher because you need full recovery'cause you're pushing a heavy pushing or pulling a heavier load, and the frequency is going to be between two to three times per week. The exercise focus here is heavy compound lifts, back squats, trap bar deadlifts, front squats, single leg exercises, single leg dead lifts, split squats with heavier loads and posterior chain emphasis. So your glutes, hamstrings are your running powerhouse core is anti-rotation. So we're building up that stability for maintaining form under fatigue. So, key points to notice here. This is your heaviest Lifting periodization all year, and you have to embrace it. Form is critical. Never, ever, ever sacrifice technique for heavier weight. Your running volume is increasing, so you wanna be strategic with the timing of your lift. So lift after easy runs or on rest days. I caution on rest days if your body can handle it. If you need a complete rest day, there are ways to pair it. This goes back to being very runner specific and you may need to reduce from three to two times per week if running volume is very high. So. You can still get a good strength training week in with two times per week. So that third one may be negotiable. That's why it's two to three strength training sessions per week. Phase three is all about power and plyometric phase. So we are building up to becoming more explosive, to be a powerful runner, and this is really an early race specific training. So we're looking out from that a race as to when we really wanna have that. Race that all comes together. Our strength, our run training is all gearing towards that. So this is where peak mileage and speed work intensifies. And this is where you convert that strength that you've built into explosive power. You're teaching your muscles to produce force quickly, which is exactly what you need for running. So this phase is often skipped and We need this as endurance runners. You need plyometric training. Plyometric training also is very vital for women in their forties. Here's why. You want rate force development. RFD running requires your muscles to produce a force rapidly with each foot. Strike plyometrics train this specific quality. Without PIOs, you have strength. But not the ability to use the strength at speeds that running demand tendon health and elasticity. Is vital. So plyometrics are gonna improve tendon stiffness in a good way. It's gonna make your tendons more elastic and spring-like this, improves running economy and reduces that injury risk. Remember, estrogen decline affects tendon health, so you must train your tendons specifically bone density protection. Is huge plyometrics are going to provide this because it's a high impact loading necessary to maintain and build bone density. Running alone just does not provide enough varied high intensity loading injury prevention ply. Train your nervous system to absorb and redirect force. This is exactly what you need when your foot hits the ground at three times your body weight with each stride performance enhancement. So studies show that plyometric training improves running economy, sprint speed, and time to exhaustion. You'll have more pop in your stride and a stronger finishing kick. I like to incorporate it in throughout all the phases, but the phase that it is, I'm gonna say most intense and concentrated is in that final phase of your strength training. So rep ranges are going to be three to six reps, very low max effort. Three to five sets per exercise, and the load is body weight or light load. So we're thinking about like 10 to 20 pounds max. We're not piling on the weight here. It is lighter weight. Sometimes 15 to 20% of your body weight is another good metric that I. Tend to use with athletes and myself and tempo is all about explosive maximum speed. Getting that quick response off the ground and rest is higher because we want that full neural recovery. So it's about two to three minutes between sets and frequency with this is two to three times per week. Critical safety notes here with plyometrics is you always wanna warm up thoroughly before you do them. You also wanna land softly so that you absorb the force through the hip, knee, and ankle. You start low and progress slowly. We're not day one doing deep box jumps. This is not how we progress into it. Body weight, just light jumping, hopping off the ground, not big jumps, not getting great height and distances. It is just a quick little getting the feet off the ground. Do not do plys on hard running days. Pair them with like easy or rest days. And if you have pelvic floor concerns, work with a pelvic floor therapist and start with low impact PIOs and progress cautiously. So a couple key points about PIOs PIOs may feel very uncomfortable at first, and that's normal. You are teaching your nervous system when you're doing plyometrics, not just your muscles. Always prioritize landing over quality of heightened distance. So we want that soft landing. We should never be landing hard and feeling it in joints. We want a soft landing each time. And if you're experiencing pain and not fatigued, stop and reassess always, and you're running volume is high now. So two times per week is plenty. We don't need high doses of in order to get the response. Phase four, the final is the last three to four weeks leading up to the race, and this is really tapering and race specific intensity. Here we are going even smaller with rep ranges. We are going two to four reps per set, and looking at two to three sets per exercise. We are lightening up the load. We're just kind of peeling back that weight so that all of our movements in the exercises are becoming more explosive. The tempo is maximum explosiveness, and we're looking at full recovery in between sets and doing two lifts per week maximum. There's no need for more. We've already built that great base. The body's remembering, here's when we're setting ourself up for performance. So key points in this is, like I said, the work is done. You're just maintaining what you've built and you should feel fresh and bouncy and not fatigued. Yes, there are the taper crazies, so we have to trust that taper less is more right now, and this is where we're really prioritizing that sleep and nutrition over training volume. And then it goes right back into after the A race, we're into maintenance phase now sometimes. You are still in race season. Maybe you have two A races or maybe you have a B race that you really wanna perform well because it's a check-in race for your, a race in your season. And this is where an in-season maintenance phase is going to happen. So it's. During the racing season between racing blocks and that run volume is variable based on the racing schedule, and this is to help maintain strength and power that you've built without creating that excessive fatigue. So you're not trying to build, you're just trying to preserve here. So this training protocol is between six to eight reps per set. Two to three sets per exercise, and the load is between 70 to 75% of your maximum. The tempo is controlled and with occasional explosive sets, and the rest is around 60 to 90 seconds and, your frequency per week is two times per week. So the exercise focus here is foundational compound movement. So we're keeping it simple. We're really keeping that base there. Single leg work is helping maintain that balance and addressing those asymmetries. Plyo is done once a week, low volume, maintaining the neural patterns, and we're working core stability. So the key points in this area is this is quote unquote, like the cruise control phase. We're still putting in the work, we're keeping our body primed in there. We're staying consistent, but we're not overdoing it. If you're racing every two to three weeks, you may drop to one time per week. I don't recommend racing every two to three weeks, but. Some people have that strategy depending on what type of races they're gearing up for, always, always, always listen to your body. Some weeks you're gonna need more recovery. That was a lot there. I do recommend you come back and listening to, I went through a lot with the overview of how to periodize your strength training to match your race schedule. Let's go over some common mistakes and just how to avoid them. Mistake number one that I see doing the same strength training routine year round. The problem here is your body adapts quickly and without periodization, you're going to plateau and you're gonna miss performance. Benefits of structured training. The way to fix this is following a progressive plan, so hypertrophy, strength, power, race, specific, each phase builds on the previous one. Mistake number two, skipping plyo metrics. The problem is you have strength, but you can't access it at the speed running demands you're leaving just performance on the table. So the fix here is to include four to six weeks of dedicated plyometric. Training does not mean we lose all of the other strength training, but it's four to six weeks of plyometric training incorporated into strength training. You are gonna start conservatively. And progress gradually. The phase is especially critical for women dealing with tendon and bone density concerns. Key takeaway. Start conservatively. We're not starting from jumping off of a box that is, you know, 18 inches high or two feet high. We're working on building from the ground up. We're working on getting the ankles to be more explosive to the knees, to the full body. Here. We want to start small. Small is impactful. Mistake number three, lifting heavy during peak running volume. The problem here is you're trying to build maximum strength while also running 50 plus miles per week, and the result is incomplete recovery, increased risk of injury, and poor performance in both. So the way to fix this is schedule your maximum strength phase during moderate run. Volume. That's your base building. This is when your run volume peaks, you transition to power and maintenance phases. Mistake number four, and I see this one all the time, treating strength as extra credit. The problem is if you only lift when you have time or energy. After running this is what causes inconsistency and prevents adaptation and progression. The fixes schedule, strength sessions as a non-negotiable, as key run workouts. Put them on your calendar first, especially during hypertrophy and strength phases. Mistake number five. I see. Not progressing your weights. The problem with this one is using the same dumbbells week after week will not create adaptation. You need to progress your training. It's not always about lifting heavier. Like I said, there are other ways to vary it with exercises so. Yes, I'm gonna negate myself here a little bit. With Progressive strength training. You can change a couple variables with that, but if you are lifting the same weight year round, we need some progression there. We need to build that strength by adding more load. So track your workouts. If you can complete all sets and reps with good form, that's why we need to increase it by five to 10%. If you aren't able to complete it with good form, then there are other ways we can tweak it so that it feels heavier. There are some lifts, and this is getting into more specific here, that increasing the weight. May be harder or uncomfortable depending on different grip holds, and that's where we go to manipulating the actual lift to other like tempos and other ways to help you progress there. Mistake number six, pairing hard strength and hard running on the same day. The problem is heavy squats followed by interval training leaves you unable to perform either at a high quality, you wanna do hard with the easy, so a heavier lifting day will be on your easier strength day. Now during the power phase, when you have explosive work components, we wanna pair that with speed work. So that's where we're pushing the bar, pulling the bar. We're doing plyometrics on that interval speed work because it's tapping into the same energy systems. So if you're easy day is on Monday, and you can go heavier on that date, that's what we wanna do. What I would also say is if you don't like feeling tired legs on your run. Get your run in first and do your strength train second, or if you have the ability with your schedule run in the morning or lift in the morning and run or lift in the evening so that there is time for your body to recover throughout the day and you can put in a quality workout on both. I hope you guys are still with me. You can always message the podcast if you have questions. Like I said, there is so much I'm throwing at you because it is a big topic, but it can be simplified. So specific concerns that I've heard throughout the years. Plyometrics, I'm scared to do them because they will hurt my knees or pelvic floor. So the truth is done correctly. Plyometrics strengthen these areas and the key is proper progression. So we wanna start with very low impact movements. Pogo hops, skater hops, and we want perfect landing mechanics, soft, controlled, absorbing through the full kinetic chain. Very, very low volume. Exhale on landing helps manage that intraabdominal pressure. After we've mastered those basics, that's when we can start to progress. And if you have active pelvic floor dysfunction, that's when you wanna work with a pelvic floor PT to help modify it appropriately. I'm already running 40 to 50 miles per week. How can I add strength training? Well, you need to add it. It's huge. So wanna drop to two strength training sessions per week? Keep the sessions shorter. We don't wanna be in the gym for hours and hours. That is gonna fatigue you. Not everybody has hours and hours of training, especially when you are training for an endurance event, especially like ultra marathons. You need to be running for a long time. So we want our strength training to be effective and shorter. So you shouldn't be doing strength training routines that are gonna take you up to an hour and you wanna focus on compound movements, schedule strength training on easy days, and prioritize that sleep and recovery. Will you gain weight from building muscle? The truth is, you could, but it's going to be more lean mass and, you're more apt to lose fat so your body composition is going to improve dramatically, even if the scale doesn't change much. So focus on how your clothes fit. How you feel during your runs, your performance, your pace, your power on hills, your finishing kick and injury frequency, that should definitely decrease. And so the scale just does not tell the whole story. Muscle is metabolically active tissue that makes you better and a healthier runner. What if I'm training for an ultra. Does this still apply? Oh, a thousand percent. And in fact, it is so critical ultra distance running requires muscle endurance. So that's what's built in the hypertrophy phase. Strength to maintain form one fatigue. That's built in the strength phase power for climbing and handling technical terrain that's built in the power phase and resilience absorb impact for hours on end that is built. Through PIOs. So the periodization stays the same. You just align it with your ultra running calendar. So how do you put it all together? Let's get this action plan here. So ask yourself, when is my goal race? What phase am I training in? Are you building base, peak mileage, taper off season, and how many weeks until race day? Then you're gonna match your strength phase to your running phase. So here's a quick reference, 12 plus weeks to race. Start with hypertrophy. Eight to 12 weeks to race. Maximum strength, four to eight ways to a race powered. Apply a metric and one to four weeks to a race, race specific. And then after the race and season's over maintenance phase. What I would recommend is if you were looking this and you're like, oh, I'm one to four weeks from my race, I'm gonna jump into race specific. You can be tread lightly. If you're under 12 weeks to a race or under eight weeks, I should say, to a race, and you've never incorporated strength training, I would wait until a maintenance phase or an off season period to incorporate strength training that allows you to have more of a seamless introduction. Then introducing something very, very close to your race day. Set up your weekly schedule. So map out your key running workouts, where your long runs are, your speed interval sessions, your tempo runs, and then add in strength training. So really hard strength training days should be paired on your easy days or rest days. Again, I caution with the rest days because a complete rest day feels really, really good. Oftentimes rest days tend to be after hard or not hard, but very long run effort days, and you need that complete rest day. So I just caution that there never, ever stack two hard sessions in one day. So except when you are in that power phase and PIOs compliment that speed work out, and minimum two strength training sessions per week. Ideally it would be three. But again, it goes back to the phase that you're in. Track your progress. This is huge. You don't know how consistent you are or where you're at if you're getting stronger. If you're not tracking it, put it in your training log record the exercises performed, or the weight used, the sets and reps completed, and how you felt energy soreness and form quality every four weeks. Reassess. Are you progressing the weights and reps? Is your running performance improving? Are you recovering adequately? Do you have any nagging pains or injuries? Finally commit to 12 weeks. Give yourself a full training cycle to see results. Most runners give up after three to four weeks because they're sore. They don't see immediate results. But adaptation takes times, especially in your forties. What you should notice by week 12 is reduced muscle soreness after workouts, improved running economy. Same pieces feel easier, better power on hills, decreased aches and pains, improved body composition and stronger finishing kick. Here's what I want you to understand. We are almost done, and I know this is a lot of science, and it can be really boring, but this is the stuff I nerd out on. This is why I do what I do. Most runners in their forties, especially women are not doing this. I mean, a lot of men are not doing this either, but. Most women are running super high mileage and maybe throwing some random body circuits and wondering why they keep injured or why their performances are starting to plateau. You have the roadmap. This is something that elite masters runners use. This is the same periodization model that keeps competitive runners racing strong in their fifties and sixties and beyond, so you are not too old, you're not too busy. You're not sacrificing your running by lifting weights at all. You're building a body that can run strong for decades. So runners who thrive in their forties and fifties and beyond are the ones who understand that strength training isn't separate from running. It's integral to running longevity and performance. So here are your action steps this week. Identify your current training phase and match it to the appropriate strength phase. Schedule two to three strength sessions on your calendar. They're non-negotiable appointments. Choose four to five compound movements appropriate for your phase and complete your first workout and track it. Commit to eight to 12 weeks of consistent periodization. Now I'm gonna put a little asterisk with everything that I said. If your a race is coming up within the next eight weeks. I would even argue 12 weeks, but eight weeks. Do not start any of this. Get to the post A race and in your maintenance when you're building back up, that's where you wanna put it in. If you want customized training plan that periodize your strength. Workout perfectly with your running goals, accounting for your race schedule, your body, your specific needs. I would love to work with you and see how I can help you because this is what I do. I design specific workouts for women, women who are looking to get into running, running women who are runners, who wanna get stronger and faster and more resilient without the guesswork. I've had clients train anything from five Ks to a hundred Ks, and they're doing it with strength training that compliments and not competes with their running. Contact. ww.KatFit or reply to this podcast and I'd love to speak with you. Finally, I'm gonna leave you with this. You are built to move powerfully. You are built to be resilient, and you are absolutely built to run strong at any age. At this episode gives you clarity. Share it with a fellow runner who needs this information. Tag me on Instagram at KatFit Strength. Strength training wins. I wanna celebrate you, and until next time, keep running, keep lifting, keep building the strongest, most resilient version of yourself. Thank you for tuning in to MilesFromHerView, powered by KatFit Strength. If this podcast inspires you, don't keep it for yourself. Hit follow or subscribe to stay updated on the new episodes, and leave us a review to help more women and moms discover this space. Your feedback fuels this podcast and I'd love to hear what's working for you or what topics you want to dive into Next. You can connect with me on Instagram at KatFit or share this episode. Road with a friend who is ready to embrace her strength. Remember, fitness isn't about perfection. It's about showing up for yourself and finding strength in every step of your journey. Until next time, keep moving forward one mile at a time.