I was wondering how much muscle I can put on without hurting performance. I am currently a 5 7 junior that weighs 125 and I was thinking about putting on some muscle over the summer. I run 4:15, 9:18 and 15:12 5k and would like to add muscle without slowing down. Does anyone have a good idea for how I should go about doing this/ how much weight I can add.
you probably won't gain much weight lol
Adding 15+lbs helped my 400/800, kept mile the same, 5000 was 30 seconds slower.
wrewrewrw wrote:
you probably won't gain much weight lol
Correct.
You're a junior. You have 1 more year to lower your times and then try to get a sports scholarship.
Don't put on extra muscle weight in your upper body if you're around 17 years old. You can wait until your 20's, and you'll have lots of time for a beach body then. You would probably then get better responses in a different forum like a bodybuilding one.
I got stacked when I was 17 and have spent the next 3 years trying to lose it, just do some light SnC but aim for strength/stability not mass.
Relative strength is better for distance runners. That is , make no unnatural effort to gain weight/get bigger, just get stronger more athletic. You can do some research online about how to do this if it interests you.
Also, many coaches over the years have said hard hill sprints is all the strength training you need, others might say that plus core routines. Even some great sprint programs have not emphasized weight lifting. Personally, I am in favor of it , for relative strength gains only though and not anything that, after and initial adjustment period , cuts into running volume and workouts.
Summer is a good time to start, then you could go to strength maintenance only next running season.
Well, do mostly lower body stuff in the weight room. Explosive exercises instead of brute strength exercises. So do things like:
-1/4 squats (Barbell squat 1/4 of the way down, and EXPLODE up as fast as possible)
-Single leg jump squats (Look them up on YouTube. You hold a dumbell in each hand, put one leg on the bench, squat down with the other leg, and jump up with it. Then alternate after 8 reps)
-Weighted broad jumps holding a 25lb plate on your chest as you do the jumps)