Strength training gets thrown around as a cure-all for runners: fix your injury, run faster, never break down. Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with Natalie LaMendola, DPT, a running-specific physical therapist and Running Explained coach, to separate what strength training actually does for runners from what the internet claims it does.

We cover the exact framework Natalie uses with runners (squat, hinge, push, pull, carry), how to know if your program is even working, the real reasons runners skip strength work, and what changes once you hit master's age. We also get into why strength training is not a quick fix for an injury, no matter what your Instagram feed says.

In this episode

• What actually counts as strength training (and what doesn't)

• Why strength training improves running economy and tissue durability

• The squat, hinge, push, pull, carry framework for building a session

• How many heavy compound lifts, single leg exercises, and plyometrics you actually need

• The weekly benchmarks that tell you your program is working

• The real barriers keeping runners out of the weight room, and how to work around them

• Strength training for master's runners: consistency, calf work, and tendon health

• Do men and women need different strength programs? (Mostly no, with one hormonal exception)

• Why strength training won't fix an active injury, and what it actually does instead

About our guest Natalie is a running-specific Doctor of Physical Therapy and certified run coach based in Kansas City. When she's not working with runners in the clinic, you can find her chasing her own goals on the run alongside her husband, twin toddlers, and hound dog. Her passion lies in helping runners of all abilities achieve their goals and get back to the miles they love.

Find Natalie: lamendolapt.com or on Instagram @runwithnat_dpt

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The 60g-an-hour carb ceiling isn't real, it was just the limit of one transporter. Sports dietitians Emma Harvie and Jaclyn Sklaver, CNS, LDN, join Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to explain the glucose plus fructose fueling strategy pushing runners past 90 to 120 grams of carbs an hour, why underfueling wrecks your hormones (yours included, men), and how to build a fueling plan months before race day instead of the week of.

Topics covered

• The real science behind the 90 to 120g/hour carb range

• Glucose vs. fructose absorption pathways, explained simply

• Gut training for race day fueling

• Low energy availability and the "low T diet"

• Hormones, iron, and fat intake in endurance athletes

• Refueling after long runs even without an appetite

Guests: Jaclyn Sklaver, CNS, LDN (Athletes Nutrition / Athleats) and Emma Harvie (board certified nutrition specialist).

Jaclyn Sklaver, MS, CNS, LDN, is a board-certified integrative sports nutritionist and founder of Athleats Nutrition, where she works with active gym-goers, competitive athletes, and everyday clients seeking sustainable performance and body composition results. Drawing on a functional medicine approach, Jaclyn goes beyond calories and macros to address the root causes behind plateaus, fatigue, and stalled progress, from gut health and hormone balance to inflammation and recovery. Her personalized nutrition programming has supported some of the world's top athletes, including professionals in the NBA and NFL, alongside a wide range of committed gym-goers looking to train harder, recover faster, and feel better in their bodies. With over a decade of clinical experience, Jaclyn pioneered the private-practice model in sports dietetics and continues to bridge performance nutrition with whole-body, functional care.

Emma Harvie, MS, CNS, LN, is a Licensed Nutritionist and Board Certified Nutrition Specialist specializing in functional medicine and sports performance nutrition. She brings a lifelong history of athletics to her clinical work, including as a former professional bodybuilder and current avid CrossFit athlete. Born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, Emma has run Grandma's Half Marathon every year since she was 15 years old, now an 18 time finisher and one of her favorite hometown traditions. Drawing on her firsthand understanding of what the body demands under training and competition, she works with clients using a practical, realistic, and root cause approach, building highly personalized nutrition strategies that recognize the unique needs and lifestyle of each individual patient. Emma has had the privilege of working with NBA players, celebrities, and elite, collegiate, and Olympic athletes to reach their health and performance goals. She loves helping clients overcome barriers to health to achieve meaningful, sustainable, and lifelong improvements in well-being.

Hosted by Coach Nick and Coach Amanda for Running Explained.

CONNECT WITH RUNNING EXPLAINED

● Website: runningexplained.com

● Instagram: @running.explained @amanda.katzz

Runners are great at ignoring pain. That is exactly the problem. In this episode, physical therapist Dr. Lisbeth Hoyt joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda to break down bone health, the injury continuum, and how to actually catch a bone stress injury before it becomes a 12-week stress fracture.We get into why women are not small men, how hormonal shifts across your life (adolescence, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause) change your risk, and why the least exciting habits (strength, fuel, sleep) are the ones that keep you running. If you have ever pushed through a nagging shin or told your doctor you "jog occasionally," this one is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

● Why bone is a living, dynamic tissue, and how running builds it stronger

● The number one warning sign that shows up BEFORE the aches and pains

● How to tell a normal bad run from an early bone stress injury

● Why running-specific PT matters, and how to advocate for yourself

● The life stages when women need to train and fuel differently

● The three "boring" basics that prevent most injuries: strength, nutrition, sleep

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Welcome and introductions

00:26 Meet Dr. Lisbeth Hoyt, PT (and the fitness enthusiast title)

04:18 Today's topic: starting with bone health

05:09 Bone as living tissue: how it breaks down and rebuilds

07:00 Why male-centric research fails female runners

07:56 Nutrition habits that build bone early in life

11:52 The injury continuum: early warning signs runners dismiss

15:07 Why runners swing between panic and pushing through

17:51 Running-specific PT vs. generic PT, and advocating for yourself

21:56 Why we keep you running instead of shutting you down

25:07 The comprehensive intake: sleep, stress, nutrition, life load

30:32 The biggest red flags: sleep and nutrition

32:34 Life stages that demand more intention around bone health

37:00 Perimenopause, misdiagnosis, and the research gap

39:48 Training through pregnancy and the postpartum rush back

42:00 Why postpartum needs strength, pelvic floor PT, and honest expectations

45:10 The three things to start today: strength, nutrition, sleep

49:27 Rapid-fire questions with Dr. Hoyt

52:30 Where to find Dr. Hoyt and work with her

CONNECT WITH DR. LISBETH HOYT

Lisbeth is a running specialized physical therapist at Custom Performance, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, RRCA-certified running coach, and certified mat Pilates instructor. She's been working exclusively in the running world at Custom Performance for the past 10 years. Lisbeth has been a lifelong athlete who found her way to distance running following the end of organized team sports (aka college graduation).As a physical therapist Lisbeth believes running should be fun and part of a balanced, active lifestyle, and meets each client where they are in their running journey. Her goal is to help runners build the strength, movement skills, and confidence they need to keep doing what they love.Lisbeth is a 4 time marathoner, many times half marathoner and a mom of 2 toddlers which requires more energy than any race she's run before.

● Custom Performance, Midtown Manhattan (41st and Madison)

● Email: lisbeth@nycustompt.com | Front desk: info@nycustompt.com

● Free phone consults available

● Instagram: @lisbethh.jennings

CONNECT WITH RUNNING EXPLAINED

● Website: runningexplained.com

● Instagram: @runningexplained @amanda.katzz

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