How do you run a lot and still lift heavy?

What do you know about lifting weights? Do you really not see any benefit from it in regards to your running? Most college programs will make their runners lift/core 2 times a week. Why? Because there is a hormonal benefit and core strength is important when it come to form/injury prevention. What weight lifting routine gives the biggest hormonal release? Doing compound exercises with high weight low rep. You can still get benefits from doing 8-12 reps.

What is up with runners and their aversion to lifting weights? Its like the cool thing to just run and look like a twig. X_fit is a troll but he does have a point about some things. Steady state running needs other (more intense) workouts incorporated into the routine. From experience, lifting weights is energizing and running high mileage just simply wears me out. When I incorporate lifting into my routine, I generally feel better and sleep better. I used to believe in being as skinny as possible and lifting was pointless. After I finished running in college I started lifting more and the benefits were great. Now there are some many benefits (quality of life) that comes with cutting down the miles and lifting more but most people on these boards do not want to hear it or understand, so I will stop there.

kjlhluli wrote:

What weight lifting routine gives the biggest hormonal release? Doing compound exercises with high weight low rep.

Can you explain this? Do you subscribe to the singles theory JR was talking about, the 5x5 someone else mentioned, or ____?

Weight lifting is like running in that there is not one formula that fits all. Research, experiment and see what works for you.

I have heard the 5X5 program works well with compound lifts and I have never heard people talk about doing singles the way JR was describing.

Basic concepts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_hypertrophy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol#Factors_generally_increasing_cortisol_levels

I know these are wikipedia links but can lead to more research. Endurance athletes do lots of running so there is going to be an increase in cortisol levels. Why not incorporate weight lifting to get a beneficial hormonal release?

If looking for strength, I think doing 4-6 reps at 85-90% of 1RM would be reasonable. As for the number of sets I would start low, 2-3, and work up as you get more experience. As an earlier poster said, there might be some benefit to starting with lower weight, like 65-75% 1RM, to learn the proper form and develop some muscle memory. Otherwise, a lot of people I see do the movements wrong and so they are just wasting their time in gym. Watch videos online to see how people are doing the movements and try them at home with light weight to practice. I was in contact recently with an old school powerlifter that went to the olympics. He told me to cycle my weights. This concept is similar to what a previous poster said, to periodize your training. The body gets used to certain workouts and weight, so change up the movements and makes sure your pushing yourself. So lift light, medium and then all out doing low reps with heavy weight.

I am sure there are some people that know about lifting than I do on these boards so someone call me out if what i am saying is complete bull. This is what I have learned, which is not much, over the past year. I have also been running while doing heavy lifting. THIS IS MY RECOMMENDATION-if going to run and lift in the same day, do one in the morning and one at night, separating the workouts lead to me being more fresh and less exhausted.

you want to look like twigs to be a fast distance runner.

Barakus Obama wrote:

I've done it .........

I've never done 1 rep several set like you, so I can't say anything about the effectiveness about that.

Make up your mind.

Barakus Obama wrote:

The point is, when you start lifting weights its more important to teach proper form than to be strong. Unless you are in a hurry what you suggest is not a good idea.

So if you're walking from Los Angeles to New York, it's better to head west, to learn the right direction?

Lift heavy low rep wrote:

OP here.

After more research, I've decided to forego weight training, and just run. I'm going with specificity is king method.

I don't see how any strength I'll add will help with running and hinder my running as I won't be able to run more mileage. To add running specific strength, I'll do hills. For speed, I'll do sprints.

That's a very good plan. I agree.

Weights are way overrated for running. Most people use them the wrong ways and do way too much of them, which hurts their running. It's much better to not touch them at all.

Then why do some elite runners and some of the top college programs lift weights?

So you want to be weak in your upper body so you can run faster? I really do not think that is the way to get faster. I am not talking about putting on 15 pounds of muscle, I am talking about becoming stronger in your upper body so you have a more balanced body. No point in trying to talk you out of this but 10 years down the road when you have low T, man titties and get get it up then come back to this thread.

Training intensively for tensile strength keeps you firm.

Going the body building route of training extensively with reps will eventually make you flabby. Your choice.

HAHA....tensile strength

I lift and also run. I don't know what it's like to run 60mpw, but I lift 6-7 times out of the week. I dedicate 3 specific days to benefit my running. I have a leg day, a back day, and a nice easy bodyweight + core day. Leg day I believe should consist of exercises like weighted squats, leg presses, hamstring curls, and leg extensions. I always do everything for about 3-4 sets each. If you want you could also work on your calves.

Here is how you could approach your squats (let's assume your max weight for 5 reps is 225 lbs) :

10 x 135 lbs (warm-up)

5 x 180 lbs

5 x 185 lbs

5 x 195 lbs

* I always go as low as I can, or get your thighs parallel to the ground sort've forming a box *

Leg Presses, I always warm-up with just one plate (45lb plates) on each side. Then each set I add another set of plates up there until about 3-4 plates. I always do these in sets of 10 to really work the quads.

Hamstring Curls I believe are very important. Everyone's strength on these is different so use weight you are comfortable with but enough that you could last 3-4 sets with 5 reps each.

Leg Extensions are easy and simple. Again use comfortable weight. When doing these make sure to extend your legs as straight as possible. Do the reps slower than you normally would.

I believe deadlifts should have their own day, and that is Back Day. This way you can work hard on them without having to sacrifice the effort on squats or vice versa. Make sure to do everything with extremely proper form that works your back! Always do warm-up weight first then dive into the heavy stuff. I like to keep deadlifts at about 3-4 reps for 3 sets.. a 3x3 isn't a bad deal. There are a ton of exercises that work your back.

Finally core day is nice and simple.

My core day has these exercises in it:

Sit-ups

Push-ups

Pull-ups

Planking

Squats (No bar or weight, just body weight)

Jump Squats (same as above ^)

Compound Stretches

Calf Raises

Hip Exercises

* When doing body weight squats try to get your butt to touch the floor

These days are generally never back to back for me. Idk If it's any help, but I am only in high school and this works for me, and even worked during track season.

On J.R.'s suggestion of doing single reps...

There are some exercises you could perhaps do right with a light weight. Curls, bench press, maybe squats as more of a mobility exercise. But there are others where it's just not a realistic exercise until you get up to 70% or more of your maximum.

A power clean with too light a weight is a joke. You cannot train the right patterns until it's heavy enough to require an explosive effort, and you can get away with all kinds of sins. Likewise, with deadlifts, you just won't start to feel it in the hams nor will you need to really tense up your core until it gets heavy.

When deadlifting, most people in the lifting world will always put the bar down, stand up, reset then do the next rep. If someone says they did 2 sets of 5 deads, they mean 2 sets of 5 singles with a 1-2 second rest in between. Otherwise, you are simply not practicing a lift from the floor, which is the goal. Also, the bad stuff happens to your back on the way down or when trying to 'touch and go'. Barry Ross has his kids lift outdoors and drop the barbell on every rep.

For two years now I have been following Pavel Tsatsouline and Dan John's "rule of ten" - no more than ten heavy reps in a session. No lactic acid, no muscular endurance - you do that stuff enough when out running. You forget all about rep schemes and think about lifting a heavy weight well. Doesn't matter a lot if you do 1 rep, 2 rep or 5 reps; you stop before you are tired, and channel the energy into lifting well and lifting more.