Is there any way to be very strong but also good at distance running?

I know a guy who is 6'1 and 160 and also a 3:44 1500 guy. What is your height and weight right now?

This is actually a very common thing, especially among college athletes. A regular weight training regiment helps to build overall fitness and strength of the body, this prevents injury and shortens recovery time.

With a stronger body you can handle a higher workload as well, the only thing I would stress is more reps and less weight. You want strong muscles, not big muscles. I rarely do anything below 10 reps for any workout.

Go for it, and good luck!

5'8" and ~145 to 150 pounds. I have actually never timed a 1500 m but last year I could run 52 and 2:06 for 400/800. I'm willing to lose weight, as that seems to be something that one needs to do to be faster at longer distances, but I guess I don't really want to lose strength, at least not appreciably. I guess it's a bit of an unrealistic expectation, maybe =P

weight training + running??? wrote:Putting aside having incredible genetics, is it possible to be very strong and also be good at racing at distances around 1500 metres?

.

Given this statement only...yes. If you believe then it's possible. Period.

Lifting weights creates more muscles. The more muscles you have the higher your metabolism is when at rest.

You may not lose weight, but everyone who trains right lowers their body fat percentage by alot.

Op

What do you consider to be strong? And what do you consider to be fast at 1500? Don't be vague. Give us some lifts in pounds and a 1500m time in minutes and seconds.

OK, I will not be vague. I am 5'8'' 145 pounds. I would like squat (a real squat) twice my body weight and bench press 200 pounds. I ideal goals for running would be 2:00/4:15 over 800/1500 metres.

Current stats:

- 245 full squat, 190 bench press

- 2:06 800 m (last year)

- unknown 1500 m, very doubtful I could run sub 4:40 since I just started doing distance runs

Also, for those weights, I don't just mean a single rep, I mean a full set (for reasonable definitions of "full set") at those weights.

Why are you so vague? Define what a "full set" is. And it looks like you're already at your bench press goal (10 lbs could just be a matter of warming up properly).

OK, if I can do 3 sets of 8 reps with only a short rest between, that would be a full set.

I'm only being vague because I don't think it's the numbers that matter. What I'm really asking is will my strength training and running training interfere with each other significantly, assuming I want to improve both. I don't care about being a weightlifting superstar or a track star. But I would like to continue to pursue my athletics limits in both areas at the same time.

Everybody on this message board runs sub 16 5k and benches 300.

Why are you placing a limit on your athletic capabilities???

The short answer is yes. You can easily get much faster than you currently are and also much stronger. When I was a serious runner, I ran 1:58 and 3:56 with a bench press of 225 max. That was several years ago when I weighed 145 ish. I now weigh 180 and bench 340. I am much slower, but could still manage 2:10/4:20 I am guessing. How old are you?

I was a distance runner who people always confused with a football player as I was naturally big and wide framed.

5 11' 170

1:58 800

52.3 400

2:34 1000m

4:06 1500

4:26 mile

26:30 8k

205 x 3 Bench

300 Squat x 10

The stronger I got I probably was getting slower too. Focus on core.

weight training + running??? wrote:

Obviously I don't want to bulk up, since that would definitely slow me down a lot. But from knowing some of my fellow athletes it seems possible to be strong without being bulky.

The amount of muscle you put on when weight training is mostly a function of genetics. Ectomorphs will not gain much muscle mass even though they improve strength. Mesomorphs and endomorphs will put on more muscle mass as they gain strength.

Also, a reasonable weight routine will not make you huge. Just stay away from the protein shakes and high volume weight training sessions. One hour, three times a week is plenty to allow you to gain strength without getting huge.

You don't need to worry about getting too big. Most people who lift and do not do any cardio still have a tough time putting on muscle. There are thousands of books and website devoted to that problem. I currently still run about 30 miles a week. My racing weight in college was 150 at 6'1". Now I am 210 and can still wear the same pants I wore when I was 150. I've been lifting consistently for about 4 years now. That's four years of lifting 4x a week with minimal cardio to put on 60 pounds. That is a tremendous amount of time and effort to put in to achieve that. Do light weight high rep stuff. You'll see an imediate improvement in your physique but the gains will trail off and you won't notice huge jumps in weight or size.

With your lifts, I would recommend doing heavy sets of about 1-5 reps for 3-5 sets. This triggers a testosterone response, especially with the squats, that will promote muscle growth and strength gains. The hormonal response will probably help your runs as well, especially considering your races are closer to sprints.

If anything, you will compromise strength by running, but you will not compromise your running by lifting.

CrossFit my friend!

www.crossfit.com

You will need to tweak the programing and modify but it is very possible to be a skinny beast!

Carrying around excess muscle is not a good thing, but reasonable muscle and size is not a death knell to a distance runner, and there have been plenty of examples of guys who have had success while "strong" by distance runner standards.