“Contrary to what’s been preached in the past, lifting and running complement each other quite well,” says Jay Dicharry, P.T., director of the REP lab in Bend, OR. In fact, lifting on the same day as running can improve your running results. But that requires a lot of time. So try to schedule your workouts so they don’t clash. “Peak soreness from weightlifting happens about 24 to 48 hours following your strength session,” notes Dicharry. To balance both, keep hard runs 48 hours apart from hard gym sessions so you can give it your all during the run, he adds. If you still want to run the day or two after your leg day, keep it light—doing an easy run can actually promote active recovery.

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