Half marathon and lifting

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sjohnny
sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Next week I start training for my first half-marathon. I've been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for the past couple of months as well as running three days per week - and have definitely not been getting 100% out of both but I didn't want to give up either. I'm planning to cut my lifting down to two days per week so I can put more focus on running. My current thought is to do upper body stuff on Monday (long run will be on Sunday) and lower body stuff on Thursday. I am looking for thoughts on this as well as what kind of set/rep range to shoot for to maintain my LBM but put as little hinderance as possible on my running.

I've only been running since November and currently average 15 to 20 miles per week but am slowly building that up.
I've only been lifting since March.

Thanks!
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Replies

  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
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    I would recommend doing your A and B stronglifts workouts on those days. If you have no fat to lose then just eat maintenance or slightly above. Maintenance taking into account whatever changes you make to your training.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I was thinking about that but I don't want to do squats the day after a long run. And just doing bench and rows didn't seem like enough. Maybe bench and rows and some other upper body lift?

    I still have some fat to lose so I was planning to go into a very slight deficit at the beginning and adjust as I get closer to the race.
  • brandyk77
    brandyk77 Posts: 605 Member
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    I always lift the afternoon/evening after my long run.

    I have found that it helps me recover and stay healthy. Now, I'm not doing strong lifts or whatever...I am just doing compound exercises (upper and lower body) to extreme failure with a trainer.
  • veronica_0920
    veronica_0920 Posts: 25 Member
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    Hello... and congratulations on training for you first half!! I too am training for a half in October and I regularly lift too. My long runs are on Sundays and just as you mentioned I usually try to legs/glutes either Weds or Thurs too. That way your not sore for your long run and/or spent for lifting :-) I have always followed Hal Higdon's guide on training and it has worked well for me... he also includes days to lift.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    Hello... and congratulations on training for you first half!! I too am training for a half in October and I regularly lift too. My long runs are on Sundays and just as you mentioned I usually try to legs/glutes either Weds or Thurs too. That way your not sore for your long run and/or spent for lifting :-) I have always followed Hal Higdon's guide on training and it has worked well for me... he also includes days to lift.

    I'm sort of following his - hence the lifting on Mondays and Thursdays - but it's being modified a little. A friend who has run a lot of marathons and halfs is helping me train so we adapted the program to fit my schedule and what I'm currently running.

    Good luck on your upcoming half also!
  • shellisugar
    shellisugar Posts: 120 Member
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    I don't have advice, but I most definitely had to cut back on my lifting in order to prep for all of my running events. I run my first half on October 7. Good luck to you! (edited to add: I also take dance lessons, so I was burning myself out!)
  • JenniferMarq
    JenniferMarq Posts: 3 Member
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    I've struggled to find the right balance with weight training and marathon training for the past several years! For runners, training your core is just as essential as the lower body. I run 70-80 miles/week and find 2 days of weight training to be a great balance for making improvements and not hindering my runs. I've transferred over to mostly plyometrics/crossfit/circuit training style workouts instead of doing heavy reps with rests in between. I find this type of workout kills 3 birds with one stone - it increases you cardio endurance, increases your muscle endurance, and it also makes you stronger overall. It will absolutely help with running a half. With that being said, its a great workout for performance, endurance and athleticism, but not a great workout if you are looking to "get big"!
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I'm not trying to "get big" at this point in my life. I wouldn't mind having a little more LBM but I was big when I was younger but could barely run across the street for free beer and 2 for 1 cigarettes. I'm just trying to be in all around good shape now.

    I was planning on adding more core stuff and some of the plyo/circuit stuff but wasn't sure if I should up the reps and lower the weights a little on my regular lifting. I can't give up the barbell - I have grown to love it too much.

    "performance, endurance and athleticism" - that's where I want to be.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I don't have advice, but I most definitely had to cut back on my lifting in order to prep for all of my running events. I run my first half on October 7. Good luck to you! (edited to add: I also take dance lessons, so I was burning myself out!)

    Good luck on yours too!

    I'm trying to avoid the burning out. Even right now I'm not fully recovering between my running and lifting so I know I need to cut the lifting down a little bit.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    kill it
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
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    run run run
  • flowgal
    flowgal Posts: 4
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    I find I can't do any lifting while training for my half marathons. It just wears me down and really affects my performance, so for right now I have decided to skip it entirely. I would like to eventually start adding some strength training back in, but not until I get closer to my final goal weight, and get through this season's running events.

    Good luck on your first half...they become addictive!!
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I find I can't do any lifting while training for my half marathons. It just wears me down and really affects my performance, so for right now I have decided to skip it entirely. I would like to eventually start adding some strength training back in, but not until I get closer to my final goal weight, and get through this season's running events.

    Good luck on your first half...they become addictive!!

    I'm hoping I enjoy the first one - because I already signed up for a second. The running became addictive really fast so I'm pretty sure I'm going to love halfs.
  • artbkward
    artbkward Posts: 238 Member
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    I like the races themselves, it's the training that gets me sometimes. :smile:

    I'm doing my third half in October. I usually cut the lifting down while training, I don't lift legs heavy at all but will try to do plyo or cycling on a cross training day. I'll do one day of upper body and try to do one day of yoga in there too.
  • cubizzle
    cubizzle Posts: 900 Member
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    I find I can't do any lifting while training for my half marathons. It just wears me down and really affects my performance, so for right now I have decided to skip it entirely. I would like to eventually start adding some strength training back in, but not until I get closer to my final goal weight, and get through this season's running events.

    Good luck on your first half...they become addictive!!

    ^this is me too

    Saturday I'm running a half (quit counting after 7) and I don't lift much at all if at all during training. I lost 35 lbs during this training cycle as I had gained quite a bit while not running for 2 years. I started out trying to do both lifting and running, but I noticed my running wasn't really improving all that much so I gave up the lifting. I've dropped my times SIGNIFICANTLY since giving up the lifting and focusing 100% on running.

    This approach is what I want though because I'm focused on beating a time on event day, not just finishing and improving overall fitness.
  • warrenvalley
    warrenvalley Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm training for my second half in October. I didn't do any weight training for my first one last November and I felt it. This time I'm trying to do weights or cross-train on Mondays and Wednesdays (Sundays are long runs).

    I will say I'm avoiding any lower body workout outside of running. I have a much more agressive training plan this time and I'm afraid of burning out the legs. Weights on Mondays work and currently I'm golfing on Wednesdays. But as the weather changes Plyo sounds like a good plan for that day.

    I'm using P90X DVDs for my cross train workouts.

    Good luck on your half!
  • RuthieCass
    RuthieCass Posts: 247 Member
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    Next week I start training for my first half-marathon. I've been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for the past couple of months as well as running three days per week - and have definitely not been getting 100% out of both but I didn't want to give up either. I'm planning to cut my lifting down to two days per week so I can put more focus on running. My current thought is to do upper body stuff on Monday (long run will be on Sunday) and lower body stuff on Thursday. I am looking for thoughts on this as well as what kind of set/rep range to shoot for to maintain my LBM but put as little hinderance as possible on my running.

    I've only been running since November and currently average 15 to 20 miles per week but am slowly building that up.
    I've only been lifting since March.

    Thanks!

    I think the stronglifts program is fine for maintaining LBM during your training, as long as you are challenging yourself (adding weight weight when it becomes easy). As a runner, you might want to add some more exercises that focus on strengthening the core, though. Plank & plank variations are my favorite (others like bicycles, leg lifts, crunches, etc). I don't think you need anything fancier. One thing that might help is moving a weight training day to Saturday and then taking Monday, after your long run, off (assuming your schedule allows for it). I know that I've sometimes been pretty tired the day after that long run, so my body benefited more from a day off right after instead of more exercise.

    Check out the last response in this thread for an example of a strengthening routine for runners: http://www.lylemcdonald.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9063
    I'd probably switch out the crunches for something else, but that's up to personal preference, I guess. Good luck!
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    I was thinking about that but I don't want to do squats the day after a long run.
    I would say don't be afraid to squat after a long run day. You not be able to do quite as much as you otherwise would, but that's okay I think if body composition is your goal rather than absolutely maximizing your lifting performance. In my opinion it's better than the reverse - trying to have a long run or tempo run the day after a heavy squat session. And given there are only so many days in the week, that's often what it comes down to for me.

    I've been doing CrossFit twice a week while training for runs, and the truth is yes it interferes sometimes. But like you, I want to keep it up because of what it's doing for my body composition, so I'm willing to take a small hit on the running performance for the huge bump up in lean body mass : fat ratio. I'm not going to win races anyway so I don't care too much if I'm 10 seconds slower per mile than if I'd focused only on running.

    I've found that a good compromise is to do 2 days of full body strength training. More than that and I have no days left to get the important runs in. Less than that, and it's like starting over every time with the strength training.

    I have been doing CrossFit Tuesday/Thursday; long run on the weekend; medium/long/or speed-oriented runs Monday and Wednesday; easy runs Tuesday and Thursday, sometimes an easy run on the other weekend day. I will say trying to have it all at once, even with both sports taking some compromises for the other's sake, is challenging. I'm finding it really important to sleep enough and eat well.
  • iluvprettyshoes
    iluvprettyshoes Posts: 605 Member
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    I'm also training for a half in Dec. and running 4 days a week, lifting 2 days a week. I'm following the training program provided by my running club which doesn't include any lifting, that' something I'm adding in on my own. It is hard running when my legs already feel like jelly. I'm thinking of switching to doing more upper body weights and less on the lower body until the half is over.
  • flowgal
    flowgal Posts: 4
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    I find I can't do any lifting while training for my half marathons. It just wears me down and really affects my performance, so for right now I have decided to skip it entirely. I would like to eventually start adding some strength training back in, but not until I get closer to my final goal weight, and get through this season's running events.

    Good luck on your first half...they become addictive!!

    I'm hoping I enjoy the first one - because I already signed up for a second. The running became addictive really fast so I'm pretty sure I'm going to love halfs.

    LOL, that happened to me too...signed up for my second before I even ran my first...and then signed up for a third! I truly enjoy races! :) This season I am signed up for a 10-miler, then 2 halfs, a marathon relay, then a marathon, followed by 2 more halfs and a half relay. Yep, I've gone race crazy!! Going to be a busy season, but it keeps me motivated to keep running.

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