If you've been told that runners should only do high reps with light weights to avoid "getting bulky" or "slowing down," it's time to rethink that advice.

This myth has been circulating in the running community for years. Unfortunately, it's holding a lot of runners back from getting stronger, faster, and more resilient. The truth? Heavy strength training is not only safe for runners, but it's also essential.

The importance of including strength training in a running plan is now well-known.

Strength training can help support our running bodies by improving our running economy. This is essentially how much oxygen we use while we run. This is directly related to how difficult the effort will feel. The better the running economy, the more at ease we will feel during our runs.

The other benefit of strength training is enhancing running performance. Improved performance can be seen as faster running speeds or shorter times to complete a run. Score!

However, the burning question that remains is: How am I supposed to fit all of this into my training schedule?