How Many Days a Week Should You Run and Lift?

For most people combining running and strength training, the sweet spot is four to five sessions a week, typically two to three runs and two strength sessions, with at least one or two full rest days. This gives enough stimulus to improve at both without overloading your recovery.

That is the headline answer. The right number for you depends on your experience, your goal and your recovery. This guide breaks down the ideal split by experience level, how to balance the two disciplines, why rest is non negotiable, and how to adjust the numbers to your life.

THE ANSWER / AT A GLANCE

Run and lift frequency, in numbers

The simple answer: Aim for 4 to 5 sessions a week, split between running and strength, with rest days deliberately placed between the hardest efforts. Quality and consistency beat cramming in more sessions.

BY EXPERIENCE / THE SPLIT

How many days by experience level?

BALANCE / BY GOAL

How should you balance running and lifting?

The balance depends on your priority. If running is your main goal, do more runs and use strength as support. If strength is your priority, do more lifting and use running to maintain cardio fitness. If you want all round fitness, keep them roughly equal.

REST / NON NEGOTIABLE

Why rest days are non negotiable

When you train two disciplines, recovery matters more, not less. Both running and lifting stress the body, and that combined load is what you must recover from. Without at least one or two full rest days a week, you accumulate fatigue, your sessions get worse, and your injury risk climbs. You do not get fitter from training, you get fitter from recovering from it.

The rest rule: More sessions is not automatically better. Five quality sessions you recover from beats seven you do not. Build rest into the week deliberately, especially when combining running and lifting.

ADJUST / TO YOUR LIFE

How to adjust the numbers to your life

The frequencies above are a guide, not a rule. A busy week might mean three sessions, not five, and that is fine. Consistency over months matters far more than hitting a perfect number in any single week. The best frequency is the one you can sustain without burning out or getting injured.

How Edge sets your frequency for you

Edge takes the guesswork out of how many days to run and lift. When you set up your plan, you tell Edge how many sessions a week feel realistic, and it builds a balanced split of running and strength around that number, with rest placed correctly. If a week gets busy, Edge AI adjusts the plan in seconds rather than letting you fall off entirely.

That means your frequency always matches your life, not an idealised template. For more on the bigger picture, see our complete guide to hybrid training and our guide on how to start running and strength training together. Over 11,500 UK users now train with Edge, and every day gets easier.