If you’ve been told that cardio will kill your gains or wreck your hormones, I want you to take a deep breath. The fitness world loves a pendulum swing, and right now there is a lot of fear-mongering around cardio that is simply not backed by science. Most women are undertraining, not overtraining. The hurdle isn’t doing too much, but finding a way to consistently fit both lifting and running into a busy life.

I’m breaking down the two biggest myths keeping women from combining lifting and running, walking you through a 3-step checklist to find your starting point, and sharing 4 different weekly program structures so you can finally stop overthinking it and just go.

Myth #1: Cardio Will Kill Your Gains

This one is simply not true. You can lift significantly less volume than you think and still build and maintain a good amount of muscle. The problem isn’t that cardio is eating your gains, but that most people are spending too much time going through the motions rather than training with real intent.

What intent looks like:

-Lift hard and heavy (relative to YOUR fitness level)
-Focus on quality and effort, not just checking exercises off a list
-Do less overall volume (fewer exercises, most likely fewer reps)
-Don’t just go through the motions

I’ve had so many women come to my program from other online fitness apps and tell me it’s a breath of fresh air because we have fewer exercises and they can finally lift heavier and actually feel like they’re building muscle. If you’re more worried about fitting all your exercises in than you are about the effort you’re putting into each one, you’re missing the plot.

Myth #2: Cardio Will Wreck Your Hormones

Here’s a direct quote from Alyssa Olenick (DocLyss on IG):

“The ‘cardio is killing your hormones’ narrative is wildly oversimplified.

Here’s the actual science:
Cortisol rises during exercise. That’s supposed to happen. It helps your body mobilize energy, adapt to stress, and recover. A temporary spike from a hard workout is not the same as chronically elevated cortisol from underfueling and under-recovering for months.

The problem was never running.
The problem was: 

→ Chronic underfueled HIIT 6x a week with no recovery 

→ Every session being max effort
→ Not eating enough to support your training 

→ No balance between hard and easy 

→ Not building muscle or supporting your cardio in the gym


Training for a race with a structured plan and adequate nutrition? That’s not destroying your hormones. That’s called being an athlete. And shocker… women can be athletes.

The majority of women need to address sleep, food intake, and proper training BEFORE worrying about cycle syncing. Poor energy availability is a bigger concern than what phase you do HIIT in.

Women are often undertrained, not overtrained. Underloaded. Underfed. And now we’re adding FEAR of exercise on top of it?


You can run long distances AND have healthy hormones. You can train hard AND recover properly. You can train through your cycle AND listen to your body.


The answer isn’t to stop training hard. It’s to train SMART.”

Your 3-Step Starting Point Checklist

Before choosing one of the 4 program structures below, work through this checklist so you have a clear picture of where you’re starting from.

Step 1: How many days per week can you actually commit to exercise?
Not how many days you “intend” to work out, but how many days can you show up week after week as a non-negotiable.

Step 2: What is your current fitness level and capacity?
Someone who has been training consistently for years has a much higher capacity than someone who is newer to structured training. You don’t want to be in a constant state of soreness – that keeps your body stuck in recovery mode rather than reaching the adaptation phase where real improvements happen. Train, recover, adapt. That’s the cycle that makes you stronger and faster over time.

Step 3: Define your goal.
Are you training for a 5K? A half marathon? Do you just want to start running for the health benefits or the joy of it? Your goal will shape how you approach your weekly structure. All of these may call for slightly different approaches.

The 4 Weekly Program Structures

Each of the four options below is built around preserving your strength training while adding running in a way that makes sense for your week. I’ll reference my two app programs – FOUNDATIONS (3-day full body) and SPLIT (4-day body part split) – as examples, but you can plug in whatever strength program you’re currently following.

Program Option 1: 3 Days of Lifting + 3 Days of Running

Best for: Those following a full body strength program who want to run 3x / week

Monday, Wednesday, Friday – full body strength (FOUNDATIONS)
Tuesday – speed run (tempo or intervals, legs are fresh)
Thursday – Zone 2 easy run (builds aerobic base without taxing you too hard)
Saturday or Sunday – long run (use the extra weekend margin for this)

This structure hits all three foundations of running progression: speed, aerobic base, and volume. The weekend long run gives you time to recover before Monday’s lift, though you can push it to Sunday if your legs need an extra day.

Program Option 2: 3 Days of Lifting + 2 Days of Running

Best for: Those coming from casual running who want a recovery-friendly starting point

Monday, Wednesday, Friday – full body strength (FOUNDATIONS)
Tuesday – speed run (tempo or intervals)
Thursday – full rest day
Saturday or Sunday – long run

This is the most recovery-friendly of the four options. You’re still covering two of the key foundations of running – Tuesday focuses on speed and the weekend is for volume – but you’re giving your body more room to breathe with Thursday off. A great starting point if you’re newer or returning from a break.

Program Option 3: 4 Days of Lifting + 2 Days of Running

Best for: Those following a body part split who still want to run consistently

Monday – glutes and hamstrings
Tuesday – upper body push and core
Wednesday – speed run (tempo, intervals)
Thursday – hybrid legs
Friday – upper body pull and core
Saturday or Sunday – long run

Wednesday’s speed day sits nicely between upper body days so your legs have some recovery from Monday before running hard. The long run on the weekend gives you the most recovery time heading back into the next week.

Program Option 4: 3 Days of Lifting + 2 Days of Running (Modified SPLIT Program)

Best for: Those who want a body part split but only have 3 lifting days to give.

Monday – glutes and hamstrings
Tuesday – upper body push + pull (merged, progressive overload blocks of the SPLIT Program only)
Wednesday – speed run
Thursday – hybrid legs
Friday – rest day
Saturday or Sunday – long run

For Tuesday’s merged upper body day, focus only on the progressive overload blocks from each workout (the first 3 exercises after your warm-up). Skip the back half of each workout. This keeps the quality of each movement high while fitting everything into a manageable week.

The Bottom Line

Your body can handle significantly more – especially when you build volume gradually and consistently over time. The concern about overtraining, cardio killing your gains, or running wrecking your hormones is you overthinking it.

The large majority of women are undertraining. The bigger challenge is showing up week after week and fitting the work in around your life – kids, careers, and everything else pulling at your time and energy…NOT training too much.

Pick the program structure that fits your week best. Show up consistently. Watch your body build capacity over time.

Less overthinking. More daily deposits.