Our new Track coach wants ALL Track Runners to "lift in the weight room." My current distance coach has always had the distance runners do ab work and body weight circuits, but this year we are told we have to actually "lift" with free weights and record all sets/reps and go for weekly personal records in the number of sets and reps we do at set weights. We also need to max out every two weeks. We also will now have two meets each week! Thoughts on this typr of lifting?
I wish I was on your team. As long as you still get the miles in, it's a good thing.
All we did back in the day was precisely what you described: circuits with dips, pushups, situps. Free weights were used for gym class with the sets/repos you were describing. We did both and we had a couple of guys run well (in high school) - sub-9:10 3200, sub-1:55 800, etc.
I'd say this is good with the exception of the max out thing, which is stupid.
Just be smart with how you lift. Ask for lower weight in exchange for more reps. i am sure your new coach will be up for that.
Candada wrote:
I'd say this is good with the exception of the max out thing, which is stupid.
Just be smart with how you lift. Ask for lower weight in exchange for more reps. i am sure your new coach will be up for that.
Actually most of the lifts are 2-5 sets of 5 reps or less.
I left my booklet explaining the plan at home, but I believe 5x5, and 5,3,1 are common in this program.
Mirror Mirrow on the Wall wrote:
Actually most of the lifts are 2-5 sets of 5 reps or less.
I left my booklet explaining the plan at home, but I believe 5x5, and 5,3,1 are common in this program.
Well, sounds like you're f***ed.
Candada wrote:
Mirror Mirrow on the Wall wrote:Actually most of the lifts are 2-5 sets of 5 reps or less.
I left my booklet explaining the plan at home, but I believe 5x5, and 5,3,1 are common in this program.
Well, sounds like you're f***ed.
+1
you're effed, bro.
Mirror Mirrow on the Wall wrote:
Actually most of the lifts are 2-5 sets of 5 reps or less.
I left my booklet explaining the plan at home, but I believe 5x5, and 5,3,1 are common in this program.
Just pick a weight you can do 25 reps with. Pretend to struggle on each set.
This sounds like that old Bigger, Faster, Stronger program. When I was in high school, our XC team nicknamed it Big F*ckin' Stupid. DO NOT DO THIS PROGRAM if you are a distance runner. The main purpose of it is to add muscle mass, not muscle tone. You do not want that as a distance runner.
Thanks Guys!
Also found out we can't do pushups - WE MUST do Bench Press. Is that really better? Here's the thing we are a small school and have three benches and 30 kids running distance. So the day we do 5x5 that is 150 bench press routines - changing the weights and spotting seems like a waste of time. I'm thinking if we could each do our lifts including weight changes, spotter chenages, etc it may take 75 minutes to get through the lifting - and I know I can do other things/lifts during that time but in CC we often ran 6-8 miles and did our core work and push ups/pull ups/dips in less time than that!
I think you are a troll.
If not, you need to get a spine and talk to the principal about this f***wad.
Candada wrote:
I think you are a troll.
If not, you need to get a spine and talk to the principal about this f***wad.
No trolling here. So any suggestions to a better "lifting plan"? I think the Head Coach may allow some other form of lifting but he seems pretty set on us use the weights in the weight room. Not just doing pull ups and dips in there.
If I were you I'd just mull around the weight room occasionally sitting at a machine or doing a pullup or two. Then log a very small amount of weight at the beginning of the season and eventually getting up to the amount of weight you can actually do now so it seems like you improved.
He sounds like a football coach. A lot of HS football lifting programs I've seen use that kind of pyramid scheme with reps and weight. Obviously, it is not what a distance runner needs, and could be argued that it may be detrimental to certain runners.
Our head track coach was the head football coach. He wanted us all to do something like this too. We and our coach explained to him that it is counterproductive for distance runners to lift in such a way as to build muscle (of course none of us had the genetics to put on much muscle but we didn't get into that). Anyway, some kind of strength training program can be very good for you and your team mates. I think you recognize that, so use this to explain to the head coach what is more appropriate for distance runners. Your distance coach should be leading this charge, though.
My kids are doing this:
Monday:
pullups
pushups
KBS
KB snatch
Wednesday:
Squat (light weight for 3x10 for 6 weeks, then cycles for strength with 5 reps and power with 3 reps and heavy weight)
RDL
pullups
Friday:
pushups
pullups
shoulder press
Thibs wrote:
My kids are doing this:
Monday:
pullups
pushups
KBS
KB snatch
Wednesday:
Squat (light weight for 3x10 for 6 weeks, then cycles for strength with 5 reps and power with 3 reps and heavy weight)
RDL
pullups
Friday:
pushups
pullups
shoulder press
Sorry, but what is KBS and KB snatch?
I'm guessing RDL is Roman Dead Lift?? How much weight? # of set and reps? How much weight on shoulder press and why shoulder press?
What exercises will you be doing? You aren't going to gain any weight doing such low reps. Bodybuilders do 8-12 reps per set. Olympic weightlifters, who need to be as strong and light as possible, do sets with the number of reps you will be doing. As long as you're doing just deadlifts, clean and jerks, or squats (though deadlifts are preferable to squats) in combination with bench press you should be fine.
I believe KB = kettlebell
Mirror Mirrow on the Wall wrote:
No trolling here. So any suggestions to a better "lifting plan"? I think the Head Coach may allow some other form of lifting but he seems pretty set on us use the weights in the weight room. Not just doing pull ups and dips in there.
Yes, I already suggested it. High reps and lower weight. No maxing out.
As the season progresses, work on more reps not increased weight.
local man wrote:
What exercises will you be doing? You aren't going to gain any weight doing such low reps. Bodybuilders do 8-12 reps per set. Olympic weightlifters, who need to be as strong and light as possible, do sets with the number of reps you will be doing. As long as you're doing just deadlifts, clean and jerks, or squats (though deadlifts are preferable to squats) in combination with bench press you should be fine.
He's right. Don't hurt yourself and enjoy the strength gains. Keep doing your core work and the weightlifting won't get in the way of your running.