Runner looking to add strength training

A simple full body strength programme like Stronglifts 5x5 would be a good place to start. There are two workouts, A and B, so this would be fine for a 2-day per week lifting schedule.

Tuesday Thursday should work as your lifting days

av8roc wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. I have my first half marathon in May and I've been running about 30mi a week but I wanted to add strength training to my routine. I started p90x3 last week. I feel good and my runs thus far have shown improvement. I'm just concerned that my running program will be too much doing 6 days a week of p90x3 at the same time.

I just ran a half marathon this past Sunday. The only real change I made was to stop doing any leg work the last few weeks because it was affecting my runs, which were all over 7 miles by then. My legs were just tired and it made my runs difficult. It probably wouldn't have really affected my performance come race day, and might even have helped, but it made it mentally tough for me to get out there and put in the miles after work three days each week when my legs were already tired before I'd gone a half mile.

I haven't done P90X, so I don't know the routines, but the only concern I would have is if it's got high impact movements (jumping, bouncing, etc.). You want to do something low-impact on the days between running so your joints have a chance to recover. You don't want an overuse injury to completely derail your training program. Otherwise, trust me, your body will let you know if you're doing too much. The trick is to realize it before you end up with an injury.

SueInAz is hitting the nail on the head. There are a lot of good reasons to lift: strength, injury prevention (probably), keeping things fresh and fun, definitely better muscle definition. But it does impact your running. You are much slower the day after a day lifting and working your legs. And so that run is harder. If you feel like doing it at all. Then, if you have to schedule your runs away from the lifting, you can end up missing running days. It gets a bit tricky.

Jackpot!

I have been looking for ages for a 2 day a week, full body running strength training work out. I've seen several MFP friends logging this 5X5, but I've never thought to ask about it. Now, looking at it via the links here, I think I've found it. Gonna try this starting tomorrow, my days planned are Mon & Thur. Would I do A on Mon, then B on Thu?

If you're not wedded to the idea of using weights to build strength, I would recommend calisthenics as a good way to go. I like startbodyweight.com programme, and imagine it would fit in quite well a couple of days a week between your running

SueInAz wrote: »

av8roc wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. I have my first half marathon in May and I've been running about 30mi a week but I wanted to add strength training to my routine. I started p90x3 last week. I feel good and my runs thus far have shown improvement. I'm just concerned that my running program will be too much doing 6 days a week of p90x3 at the same time.

I just ran a half marathon this past Sunday. The only real change I made was to stop doing any leg work the last few weeks because it was affecting my runs, which were all over 7 miles by then. My legs were just tired and it made my runs difficult. It probably wouldn't have really affected my performance come race day, and might even have helped, but it made it mentally tough for me to get out there and put in the miles after work three days each week when my legs were already tired before I'd gone a half mile.

I haven't done P90X, so I don't know the routines, but the only concern I would have is if it's got high impact movements (jumping, bouncing, etc.). You want to do something low-impact on the days between running so your joints have a chance to recover. You don't want an overuse injury to completely derail your training program. Otherwise, trust me, your body will let you know if you're doing too much. The trick is to realize it before you end up with an injury.

You sound like you have your training together. You're already doing a ton of conditioning with your running, P90 is truly a conditioning program. I tried to read more about "x3" version and from what I can tell it's still largely conditioning oriented. True strength-training is different and that would be your best bet for improving running performance. Two days of strength training for a runner that is considered "in-season" is truly enough and you're right, you do need to taper as your event is closer. You may consider stopping lower body training altogether two-weeks out from your event.

noexcusesjustresults2014 wrote: »

I am fairly new to strength training as well (using a slightly modified version of Stronglifts). I run a lot of miles and sometimes feel like I need to schedule my deadlift days before an easier run. 20+ mile runs or speedwork are not easy for me after certain strength sessions!

Deadlifts are harder to recover from. Honestly, you could replace the DL's for Squats and do something like 5x3 instead. The goal is to build strength for running, not build the deadlift. You don't need to increase your DL to improve youre running; unless that's something you want.

cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »

noexcusesjustresults2014 wrote: »

I am fairly new to strength training as well (using a slightly modified version of Stronglifts). I run a lot of miles and sometimes feel like I need to schedule my deadlift days before an easier run. 20+ mile runs or speedwork are not easy for me after certain strength sessions!

A lot of the advice on "when to schedule strength training" I've seen says to put it in the afternoon (if you're a morning runner) of one of your hard runs, to allow for optimal recovery before your next real workout.

That is not to say it is fun going from mile repeats to one-legged squats.

Thanks! This is what I try to do but depending on the day I don't always have enough sunlight in the morning to complete my run before class. Maybe running in the dark before sunrise would be better than lifting right after a hard run in the afternoon.

Sometimes because of my mileage (300 miles in Nov and Dec) I end up having to run doubles (morning and afternoon) in addition to lifting. This probably wont be the case much for the next few months as currently my running has decreased quite a bit in favor of cross country skiing.

In regard to the deadlift comment above, do you mean I could omit it completely (or replace it with something else more running specific)? The stronglifts 5x5 program already includes squats in each workout.

Thanks!