Recovery Week - crosstraining?

KathleenMurry

The past 8 weeks I've been training hard and increasing either the intensity or mileage of every run. This week I want to take some time to let my body recover. I plan to run half my regular mileage and skip my speed and tempo workouts. I still want to burn some calories every day though. Would i still get recovery benefits if I threw in 30 minutes of cycling 3 times this week? I'm guessing lower body weight training is out of the question. I want to be able to come back strong next week but also don't want to put on a couple pounds (I starve unless I get exercise calories).

Am I doomed to just walking and short easy runs?

smiffy645

What about a high cadence session on the crosstrainer. 30 minutes low resistance keep your arms on the bars that don't move and stick at around 170 steps per minute. Nice low impact work out and gets you used to high cadence.

daj150

Cross training is one of the most important things you can do in addition to your regular training plan. It plays a vital role in recovery rate. Swimming is always a great one for runners. Also, don't ever fear lower body strength training. Running alone typically isn't enough to keep your leg muscles as strong as you want them to be. The stronger your legs are can help with speed, recovery, and injury prevention. Granted, you don't want to start weight training right before a race...or any workout that you aren't used to...but it's good to start getting used to throwing in other workouts in addition to your running. Your body will thank you.

KathleenMurry

I do a lot of strength training and bike once a week.... the question is - is it ok to crosstrain on a recovery week? I have to cut my mileage in half this week but I'm wondering if I can still get the recovery benefits if I just bike a lot to keep my calorie burns high this week.

Since the week is half over, this is what I've done so far - Sunday, walking. Monday, 10 mile bike ride and upper body weight training. Tuesday, 5 miles easy run. Today 3.2 miles easy run (got tattooed today, couldnt get sweaty). My plan tomorrow is to bike 10 miles again and do upper body strength. Then just two 5-7 mile easy runs Friday and Saturday.

txguard61

I have always done upper body heavy weights to help keep my body fat in check. I just started slowly doing lunges and leg presses. Supposedly, i will get used to this.....i will be glad when that happens. But i do water jogs and elliptical on my light weeks for the most part

daj150

I do a lot of strength training and bike once a week.... the question is - is it ok to crosstrain on a recovery week? I have to cut my mileage in half this week but I'm wondering if I can still get the recovery benefits if I just bike a lot to keep my calorie burns high this week.

Since the week is half over, this is what I've done so far - Sunday, walking. Monday, 10 mile bike ride and upper body weight training. Tuesday, 5 miles easy run. Today 3.2 miles easy run (got tattooed today, couldnt get sweaty). My plan tomorrow is to bike 10 miles again and do upper body strength. Then just two 5-7 mile easy runs Friday and Saturday.

Sorry, my long-winded answer was yes, it's okay to cross train on recovery week. I was recommending you stick to low impact like swimming because you get a lot out of it without stressing your legs. And then I rambled about non-recovery week stuff. Oops.