I'm adding lifting to my schedule this winter and was wondering when to lift... after workouts? morning after workouts? When's the best time?
I've heard after you've been lifting a few weeks it starts to not tire you out so much. Is that true? I know guys that can go in and lift hard and heavy and then go run a workout a few hours later. Is that advisable?
1. Yes, if you've never lifted much before then you'll be sore for a few weeks after each workout then you won't be so sore anymore.
2. Lift like a distance runner, not a football player.
1 set, 12-20 reps, one exercise for each much group.
Leg Press
Bench Press
Lat Pulldown
Shoulder Press w/bar
Then progress to this...
Power Clean, 10 reps
Push up, hands on bench, feet on ball
Dumbbell Row
Shoulder Press w/dumbbells
It's not difficult to get strong when you start from zero.
Alan
Alan, you seem to be very knowledgable about many things related to running, so I have to ask...
How much can I expect to gain from lifting? I'm in HS and run the 4x400, 800, 1600, and 3200. My PR's are 52, 1:56, 4:12, and 9:07. My training has been distance based, but I'm hoping the strength training will help my speed.
I'm hoping the lifting will help lower my times by the following:
400 - 1 second
800 - 2 seconds
1600 - 4 seconds
3200 - 8 seconds
Is that reasonable? I know I'll improve more than that, but I'm just talking about progression due to the weights.
Thanks!
I really don't think that weight lifting helps in most situations. Unless you are a very unfit athlete unable to do 25 real pushups getting in the weight room probably will actually slow you down.
You use your legs in running and adding extra weight only adds to the amount you have to accelerate.
core strengthening and non-hypertrophic leg strengthening can really help though.
Novice Lifter,
Just make sure you start slowly and add more sets, reps and weight gradually to minimize any chance of injury. Weights help some people more than others-- the weaker you are initially, the more you will benefit. But if you focus on weight routines that mimic your running form, you may reap some rewards. Good luck!
xcskier wrote:
I really don't think that weight lifting helps...
core strengthening and non-hypertrophic leg strengthening can really help though.
Well said.
i totally disagree with the above poster. Im a highschool senior who was moderatly serious about track until my junior year where i got into the weight room all winter on top of my usual running. I did our lifting coaches daily workout for the football Widouts/tailbacks which focused on mostly speed and power. I gained about 7lbs but the speed and strength increases in my running were phenomenal. My prs dropped significantly in 200-800.
Im doing a new type of workout this year better oriented for running. Its designed for almost zero mass gain but maximizes strength and power which equal speed its called the ross workout.
thats a good website to get you started
one thing i did in hs was run an easy mile, do a weight circut, run another mile - this time harder, do a weight circut, run a 3rd mile faster - at around 5k race pace, one more weight circut, mile cool down. this workout was typically done a couple times at the beginning of xc and a couple times durring track, with the miles more uptempo durring track season. it was a tough workout and really pushed you on the 3rd mile and the last weight circut.
weights can help tremendously if you do them right. you need to be carefull when you first start out and make sure you use proper form. lifting is a great compliment to running, especially the events you run. it should be secondary to your running, but not neglected. after a month or so you should start seeing improvment in strength and stamina. hope it goes well.
Focus on running first and lifting later. Don't expect a huge performance gain by strength training. Your gain will be in strength, which will reduce injury risk and possibly increase flexibility. To reduce soreness start small, 1 day a week, one set of 12-20. then move up to 2 days a week during the off-season months, then one day a week during the in-season months. Start off with a "test day", find a weight you can lift a maximum of 4-6 times, then calculate your one rep max, from this you can then calculate your 12 rep max. Start with 1 set of 12 reps and simply increase the reps, not the weight, until you reach 20 reps or more. Test again, start at 12 again, repeat... As a distance runner your focus should be on muscular endurance, this is different than cardiovascular endurance.
Provided that you are only lifting 1 or 2 days a week and doing single sets of exercises for each muscle group there is no way you will gain unwanted mass.
Leg Press progress to Single Leg Press to Power Clean
Bench Press progress to Dumbell Press or Pushup on bench/ball
Lat Pulldown progress to Dumbell Row
Bar Shoulder Press progress to Dumbell Shoulder Press
Alan
Novice lifter wrote:
Should lifting sessions be treated like workouts?
Lifting sessions should be treated like forest fires.
Leave them to the professionals or you might get burned. And for Heaven's sake, try not to start one yourself.
I CANNOT afford an injury this winter, so I am planning on taking things VERY slow. The plan right now is to start with 2 sessions a week, 2 sets per lift, make sure every muscle group in body is worked. My buildup will look like this, holding at each level for 2 weeks, except for recovery weeks.
10 x 30% 1RM
15 x 30% 1RM
20 x 30% 1RM
15 x 30% 1RM
15 x 40% 1RM
12 x 50% 1RM
8 x 60% 1RM
After that I'll probably do mixed training, doing a combination of high reps low weight and lower reps, higher weight. I remember testing for 1RM back in 9th grade (I'm a senior), so I figured I'd use that or maybe a bit heavier as my current 1RM.
I constructed this after reading lots of articles, the lifting chapters in "Run Strong," and one of Tudor Bompa's books about strenght training.
Runningart2004 wrote:
As a distance runner your focus should be on muscular endurance, this is different than cardiovascular endurance.
Alan
What exactly is muscular endurance compared to cardiovascular endurance?