Training guides
Practical guides for running, strength, and building a training week that actually fits your life. No listicles, no filler, and the answer in the first paragraph.
Running + strength
The two together, and where each session goes.
- Strength training for female runnersTwo strength sessions a week, placed away from your hardest run, is enough for most female runners. Lower body away from the long run, upper body as the flexible day. Build the week below.
- Running and strength training in one planCombine them by keeping hard days apart, running before you lift on the same day, and putting heavy leg work as far from your hard run as possible. FitBoost plans both in one week so you do not have to sequence it yourself.
- 3 runs + 2 strength daysRun easy Tuesday, hard Thursday, long Sunday; lift lower body Monday and upper body Friday. Wednesday and Saturday rest. That is the default, the variants below cover a Saturday long run, a blocked midweek day and a weekday-only week.
- A running and strength plan you can actually followThree runs and two strength days is the schedule that works for most people: long run at the weekend, quality run midweek, lower body away from both, upper body as the flexible day.
- Running and strength for a week that is already fullOn three days: one easy run, one longer run, one full-body strength session. On four: add a second strength day. Cut the hard run before you cut strength.
- Running, strength training and Pilates in one weekTreat Pilates as the flexible session, like upper-body work: it can sit next to a hard run. What it cannot do is replace strength training for a runner: it does not load the tissue heavily enough.
Training questions
The specific conflicts people actually search for.
- Running after leg dayYes, an easy run the day after leg day is fine and can even help. A hard run or a long run is not. Wait 24 hours for easy running and 48 for anything hard.
- Should you run before or after lifting?Run first, and keep it easy. Lifting first leaves you running on fatigued legs with degraded form, which is where injuries come from.
- Can I run and lift on the same day?Yes, as long as one of the two is easy. Run first, keep that run easy, and leave six hours if you can split them across the day.
- How many days should a runner strength train?Two days a week. Three if your running volume is moderate and you recover well; one if your week is full. More strength does not make a better runner.
Choosing an app
Comparisons, and what to check before you commit a training block.
- Best free running and strength training appsFitBoost is the free one: running and strength in one weekly plan, no subscription and no account. Runna, Edge and Hypla plan both too, as subscriptions. Fitbod and most strength apps do not schedule running at all.
- Runna alternativesRunna is a subscription at $19.99/month or $119.99/year, requires an account, and includes strength alongside running. FitBoost plans running and strength too, is free with no subscription, and needs no account, but has no coaching, no race-day pace strategy depth and is iPhone only.
- Fitbod alternativesFitbod is strength only and requires an account. If you also run, an app that plans both is a better fit; FitBoost does that free, with no account, on iPhone only.
- How to choose a free workout appAsk six things: is there an account, a subscription, a trial countdown, ads, a paywall on the good half, and does it work offline. FitBoost answers no, no, no, no, no and yes.
About FitBoost
What it does, what it costs and what it does not do.
- What is FitBoost?FitBoost is a free iPhone app that plans running and strength training together into one adaptive weekly schedule. No account, no subscription, no ads.
- Running + strength training appFitBoost plans running and strength in a single week ( hard sessions spaced apart, heavy legs away from your key run ) and it is free, with no subscription and no account.
- A workout app you can use without an accountYes, FitBoost works with no account at all. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to verify, no password to remember.
- A workout app with no subscriptionYes, FitBoost has no subscription and no in-app purchases. The whole app is free to use.
- Home workouts that need no equipmentYes, FitBoost builds full sessions with no equipment. Bodyweight only is a first-class option, not a stripped-down version.
- A workout app that works with no connectionYes, saved workouts and the timer work offline, because your plan is generated on the device rather than fetched from a server.
- A workout plan that fits the time you actually haveTell FitBoost how long you have and how many days a week you can train. It builds a full week inside those limits, 20 or 30 minutes, three days, is a real plan, not a reduced one.
- A daily workout generator built around your goalsFitBoost generates a new session each day from your goal, level, available time and equipment, and adapts it to what you complete.
Free tools
Nothing to sign up for. Change the inputs and watch the plan change.
Or let the app hold it
FitBoost plans your running and strength into one week and adapts it to what you actually complete. Free, no account.