winter strength training?

engineman312

hey, just wondering what kind of training do you guys do over the winter? do you reduce cardio to 1-2 times a week, and concentrate more on building muscle? do you turn that around when the spring starts, and focus more on cardio, and just 1-2 strength days?

engineman312

bump

jjjohnson31

I think this is a great question in general regarding winter training.

I live in Alaska, so running outside in the winter can be sporadic depending upon what the Bering Sea brings for weather. I typically only weight train the upper body muscles and use running/biking as a lower body workout (not saying this is a good idea, but it is what I have done).

This winter I am going to try and incorporate squats into my lifting routine. I am interested to see the effects of squats on running.

I am pretty scared of having my running drop off too much during the winter because I know how long it will take me to get my running back if I slack too much.

Swimming is about the only thing I will try to improve on during the winter; I will swap my summer bike time for pool time. I am a terrible swimmer, so I hope to get into much better swim shape throughout the winter to carry over into spring summer when I can get back on the bike.

iplayoutside19

I try and lift three times a week. Power Clean-Squat-Bench-Dumb Bell Rows-Dips. On the other days I run or swim.

I think squats have really improved my running. My knees recover faster, and are less sore. When started there was some impact on the running, but after two weeks my body adjusted where I don't notice having lifted during a run as close as 8 hours before.

Once the weather warms up I have a hard time going to the weight room....it's inside.

jjjohnson31

I think squats have really improved my running. My knees recover faster, and are less sore. When started there was some impact on the running, but after two weeks my body adjusted where I don't notice having lifted during a run as close as 8 hours before.

This is very good to read regarding your squats and running experience...extra motivation!

engineman312

i also noticed my running improved when i started doing squats, lunges, and dead lifts.

i think over the course of the winter i'm going to focus on doing strength training 3-4 times a week, and doing just two cardio work outs a week.

i'm going to switch to a olympic length training schedule in the beginning of march, so i'll be doing cardio about 5 days a week, and might just do 2 strength days.

bstamps12

I use P90X legs & back for my lower body strength training and it really helps me. It has given me so much more power behind my runs & rides. I also use P90X for upper body strength training, although I tend to combine it so that I get a full upper body workout in one day instead of spread over 3 days as the program is set up. I TRY to strength train 2x per week, but sometimes only 1 time per week. It's about to get really cold here, so that'll force me into strength training instead of so many outdoor cardio workouts.

crux

I do two days a week, but heavy lifting, well heavy for me! working only on increasing max strength not specifically hypertrophy.

Squats have been positive for my running as well, but... It took me a damn long time to combine both successfully. Now I'm fit enough to recover in 24 hours and so I can bike/run/swim and lift in the same week but until recently lifting just made recovery harder.

I lift because I'm approaching 40 and I solidly believe that at my age and older it's good for injury prevention, protecting me from muscle loss and helping with body recomposition.

Good read for triathletes on if you should strength train

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2011/07/m-y-last-blog-included-lot-of-words.html

stefanieswanger

I currently have a coach and for the past two years she has had me strength training twice a week through both the on and off season. Obviously the intensity and weight varies according to my goals and race season. I can't speak enough to the importance in strength training in a triathletes training routine. It has helped me immensely in the bike and in the run.

My off season routine is :
Strength twice a week
1 long bike
1 long run
Swimming twice a week
2 other days of cardio (bike/run or other various cardio)
1 rest day

It is what works for me and my particular goals. However, I know for some people this is overboard and for others it is a light schedule.

jacksonpt

I'm focused on trying to get my body fat % down so I have a better strength:weight ratio. Cardio is still a big part of my program, but not the only part.

My diet has seen a bigger change than my workouts have.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

I'm sort of like you - I tend to focus more on strength training than on cardio in the winter, simply because I don't like stationary cardio machines like the treadmill, spin bike, stairmaster, etc. Alot of my winter cardio revolves around swimming - I usually go for a 45 minute swim 2-3 times a week and run/spin 1-2 times a week. Spring/summer is when I really amp up my cardio.

As far as strength training & lifting goes: I do a BodyPump class twice a week, which is a full body lifting program that works every muscle group in 60 minutes (focuses on lower weight and extremely high rep). I try to heavy lift at least once a week, but I do get very busy with school.