Lifting twice a week- Best bang for your buck?

I lift 2x per week and do a body weight routine for my 3rd day. If you're lifting 2x per week I would recommend full body. I'm sure there are 2x week programs out there, but I don't know what they are...my trainer helps me with my programming.

Look up Starting Strength, Stronglifts, http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/. Starting Strength is a good read regardless of the specific plan you choose - he goes into a lot of detail on form.

I think the Stronglifts/Starting Strength-type program is good advice. Those programs are easy and they are fun. And they produce notable results, rather quickly.

However, I have to say, having done this kind of weight training: It will make your running harder, and probably much slower, on the days after you lift. If you are doing the lifting properly, that is -- lifting what is heavy for you, lifting to fatigue.
That is going to mean there will be four days a week when you either do not run or do not run well.
That is great, if you are sure that is what you want. But be aware, that is what you are going to get.

Running coaches and other experts make much of cross-training and weight lifting these days. "Gotta have a strong core," is a mantra. But, I think if you look closely, what those coaches call "weight training" or "cross-training" is not as rigorous with the heavy weights as the routines of most weight lifters.
Alberto Salazar is a good example. He has become a prominent advocate of gym training. He says: 'You must lift.' But I have seen videos of him training runners. They are doing all kinds of weird balance ball, medicine ball and cable kinds of things. They are not hefting heavy barbells.
If they squat, it is not very heavy. At least not by a weight lifter's standards.

I have seen videos of Usain Bolt weight training also. Now, he is a big guy. He's world class. Weight lifting grows and trains your fast twitch fibers. So, if anybody would be lifting heavy, if it actually greatly benefited running, it might be him. But, one short clip of him on the leg press excepted, the weights he is shown lifting are not impressive. When I have seen him squat and the weight he uses appears to be less than 200 pounds, which should not be much for someone with his build. (Granted, he is tall and long, which is not an advantage for lifting.)

If you look up "cross-training for runners" on the Runners World website, I suspect you are going to find sit-ups and dumbbell lunges, not barbell deadlifts and weighted dips.

I think there is a reason for this. I think it may be kind of a misunderstanding when people talk about runners should lift.

I am a strong supporter of the idea that you mix things up to keep things fresh and avoid overuse injuries. And, the benefits of one activity transfer to another.
But if you want to run well, you gotta run. And, heavy weightlifting does not leave you the resources for serious running training.
I like to mix it up with hills and stairs and sprints some days, because it is good form training and low mileage.
I am not against lifting. I like to do it. But it is REALLY hard, if not impossible, to do two things well enough to get better at the same time.

Might I make a suggestion too? If you really do want to do some serious, heavy weightlifting/cross-training, check out Crossfit. You will have the same problem of heavy lifting that will interfere with your running sometimes. But it really does tend to incorporate more functional movement that might translate to running and other activities more than the limited routines you find in the gym. Plus, Crossfit workouts tend to have activities with a cardio component, at which you will excel. And, Crossfit mixes things up. One time you do box jumps and power cleans and jump rope. The next time you run 400s and do squats and pull-ups.
There are even entire Crossfit WODs that give you a good strength workout but are entirely body weight.
The only real downside to Crossfit, if you decide you like it, is that Crossfit is expensive.

I have left normal weight lifts and moved to a single workout with a 35lb kettle bell. Instead of working individual muscle groups you work the whole body.

http://www.furman.edu/sites/first/Documents/16_oct2324.pdf

brdnw wrote: »

2 times a week feels far too infrequent to me. you'd have to do full body and need more than an hour and more than 2 days in between to rest if you're doing full body. But there is no way you can address legs/shoulders/back/chest/abs/biceps/triceps in 1 hour.

:huh: It's really easy to hit all of those - as a beginner or early intermediate lifter - going full body. Squat, bench, row one session, followed by squat, ohp, deadlift the next (or vice versa, or switch the bench and ohp) an you can be in and out in ~45 minutes.

lporter229 wrote: »

My main goal is to gain overall strength and flexibility, particular to prevent future running injuries.

If you haven't done so already, i suggest getting your running form assessed by a sports physical therapist - preferably outside, after you've done a long run or strength training, so you're fatigued (amplifies form issues).

If you haven't tried PiYo and want to add to body weight routines...its the slow, difficult strength training of Pilates, the flexibility of Yoga, and then speeds them both up to a cardio pace so that you have to be strong, flexible, and nimble to hold form and not fall on your face.

brdnw wrote: »

2 times a week feels far too infrequent to me. you'd have to do full body and need more than an hour and more than 2 days in between to rest if you're doing full body. But there is no way you can address legs/shoulders/back/chest/abs/biceps/triceps in 1 hour.

Full body workouts with compound moves hit all those areas/muscles.
Yes it can be done in under an hour.
One day recovery in between is fine.