Weights & Half Marathon Training

Hi, I'm in a similar boat actually. I love lifting and decided to train for a half in April. I'm doing a 3 days lifting plan with 3 days of running. My lifts are 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Sunday-chest, monday -run, tues-back, wed-run, thurs-leg, friday-rest, saturday-run. It's been a couple weeks and so far it's working out. I'm not expecting to make much progress on my lifts, just to continue working/training my muscles while adding running. I'm not going for a specific time on my half marathon either. If you're only looking to run two days and lift two days, I'm guessing that an upper/lower split routine would be best for you. Higher reps on the weights and not to failure. Rest the day after your leg day and after your long run day.

Squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts should assist with your runs. Good luck! Feel free to friend me if you like

Bump

Lots of variables here, so ultimately you'll have to try some things and decide for yourself.

Personally, when my cardio training is ramped up, I have to cut back on lower body lifting as I just don't recover fast enough from either heavy lifting OR hard runs/rides.

2 days running and 2 days lifting should be a great starting point. Throw in some active recovery on your off days to stay ahead of things and I'd think you'd be good to go.

There is no problem in using a two-day split and you can absolutely continue to improve strength with it as long as you work hard and eat right. A two-day split is going to be best when training for a marathon because your goal is really the marathon or 1/2 marathon and the strength is now secondary or just a means of supporting marathon performance. If you follow StrongLifts then your week just becomes A, B then A, B, A, B. Or... you can do something like...

Day 1
a. Squat @ 5 sets of 5 or 5 sets of 3 @ 80% - 85% of your Training Max and progress the weight 10lbs every 3 to 4 weeks
**Do Resistance Band Pull-Aparts between sets, shoot for 50 reps
b. Bench @ Same as above
c. DB or BB Rows OR Lat Pulldowns or Pull-ups 3 to 5 sets of 8-12 reps
d. Light Core Work: This isn't for 6-pack abs but rather for overall neuro-muscular control, stability, and injury prevention. *By "light" I mean 1 to 2 exercises for 1 to 3 sets. The "Superman" exercise is similar to a plank in that it is a static hold and is great for runners because it helps to improve running posture, this should be at least one of your 2 exercises. Shoot for a 30-sec hold and increase from there.

Day 2: Depending on if you like to Deadlift or not, you don't HAVE to DL despite what 90% of MFP will tell you.
a. DL @ 5 x 3 (only 3 reps) @ 80% - 85% of your TM *same progression*
**Do Resistance Band Pull-Aparts between sets, shoot for 50 reps
b. Shoulder Press @ 5x5 or 5 x 3 @ 80% - 85% of TM
c. DB or BB Rows OR Lat Pulldowns or Pull-ups 3 to 5 sets of 8-12 reps
d. Light Core work

This is just an example but keep your training simple. I like the concept of the Training Max that Zatsiorski and Wendler introduce because it's a way to manage your training, so start with 90% to 85% of your 1-rep max to start with. Your TM has little to do with your absolute strength, so don't worry about starting a little light. I can tell you that my Squat 1-rep best is 55lbs greater than my TM and my Press 1-rep best is about 40lbs - 45lbs greater than my TM, so you can see how there is little correlation between the two.

603reader wrote: »

I'm following Hal Higdon's intermediate half program (http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51132/Half-Marathon-Intermediate-Training-Program)

I lift Mondays & Thursdays. I'm running ICF 5x5 and I'm just going slower on increasing the lower body weights so I can complete my runs. It's been working out pretty well, though not making much progress on my squats is kind of depressing lol

That reminds me of something I forgot. You dont need to taper your training at first but definitely a few weeks out you'll want to reduce the load and about 2 weeks out I'd say to hell with strength training other than mobility work.