Get ripped but like to run

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crascon
crascon Posts: 6 Member
edited February 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello I’m 36 and was 215 when I started today I weigh 168 I want to be 155 and ripped recently I started the 5x5 StrongLifts but it says not to do cardio and running is how I lost my weight along with counting calories anyone got a workout routine where I can get strong and still do cardio? Thanks for any advice!

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  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,614 Member
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    Yep. I did 5x5 and then ran on the other days. I still lift and run, but haven't been running as much lately. I might gradually ramp up a bit. Basically, I lift M/W or M/W/TH and then run T/Sun or T/Th/Sun...something like that.
  • crascon
    crascon Posts: 6 Member
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    Thank you!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,398 MFP Moderator
    edited February 2018
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    The bigger concern would be with recovery. SL is going to put a lot of your lifts at 70-85% of 1RM which combination with running could reduce your ability to adequately recover.
  • shareebarnett2017
    shareebarnett2017 Posts: 32 Member
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    How are you finding the strong lift 5x5? much progress?
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Stronglifts is a great program for a beginner/intermediate lifter. But it is very intense and requires solid recovery. I would hit the stronglifts hard and listen to your body as far as running/cardio.
  • shareebarnett2017
    shareebarnett2017 Posts: 32 Member
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    AllanMisner wrote: »
    Stronglifts is a great program for a beginner/intermediate lifter. But it is very intense and requires solid recovery. I would hit the stronglifts hard and listen to your body as far as running/cardio.

    Thats good to know! im starting this tonight and doing Tues, Thurs and Sat... It actually says on the website can you can incorporate cardio but its not really recommended in the first few weeks as it can hinder your recovery! Im excited to try this program.
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    crascon wrote: »
    Hello I’m 36 and was 215 when I started today I weigh 168 I want to be 155 and ripped recently I started the 5x5 StrongLifts but it says not to do cardio and running is how I lost my weight along with counting calories anyone got a workout routine where I can get strong and still do cardio? Thanks for any advice!

    I would say it depends on how much you're running as to whether you can fit both in. Until the start of the year I was combining heavy lifting (started with 5x5, moved on to 5/3/1 and had just started juggernaut) with running 3x a week (plus exercise classes and PT sessions) and was making good gains (for me). But I'm now training for a marathon and was struggling with squatting weights that I usually found easy, so something had to give and for now it was the heavy lifting, at least for lower body. Still lifting but much lighter (50% 1rpm) for lower body while continuing juggernaut for upper body.
  • Inspirationalwaterjug
    Inspirationalwaterjug Posts: 384 Member
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    Throw some complex or density workouts in for your cardio. Boom best of both worlds.
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    crascon wrote: »
    Hello I’m 36 and was 215 when I started today I weigh 168 I want to be 155 and ripped recently I started the 5x5 StrongLifts but it says not to do cardio and running is how I lost my weight along with counting calories anyone got a workout routine where I can get strong and still do cardio? Thanks for any advice!

    That's pretty much what I do and it's working fine. But after a while you won't see much increase in strength if you are on a calorie deficit. They recommend no cardio because Stronglifts is a strength program, not a weight loss program. It will mainly help you retain the muscle you have if you are on a calorie deficit.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    Sure. If you do your stronglifts and methodically increase your weights, you can run and get ripped.
    Couple of things to watch, however.
    If you get stronger, you may add muscle, maybe a fair amount of muscle. This is not uncommon, especially for someone completely new to lifting. You may find, therefore, that your goal of 155 pounds is harder to reach.
    Second, I have done 5x5 and run, and what I found was that the lifting effected my running quite a bit. I don't know that the running effected my lifting. I did not notice that. But I did notice that the days after deadlifting, in particular, my pace on my runs was very slow. And I could not go faster.
  • JerryWaybright
    JerryWaybright Posts: 5 Member
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    You can strength train and run, but you have to realize that they will play against each other somewhat. In short, the running/cardio will eat into your resources that would otherwise go towards recovering from the 5x5 workouts. This means that you may not be getting as strong as you would be if you didn't run. But, you can still do it. Just don't go crazy with it. My recommendation would be to consider dropping the last two sets and make your 5x5 program into a 3x5 (three sets of 5 reps) program. Less volume = less fatigue to recover from = more resources left to run more. You could even back off on frequency, like maybe do the strength training twice a week instead of three times, and use the extra day for running. It can be done. Best wishes to you!
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
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    I run and weight lift (mix of CrossFit and conventional weight lifting) and have done for years. I have seen a steady increase in my numbers and I have increased my pace so I find the two quite compatible so long as you give enough rest, eat enough and don't over exert yourself and end up injured. I couldn't just do weight lifting, i need the running release.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,841 Member
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    Couple things to make sure you do for better recovery and building is to make sure you are getting good sleep each night, keep nutrition up, and drink lots of water. More recovery time would be better, but there is a lot of variation on what is optimal. You'll know if you start feeling fatigued or too sore you need to cycle differently.

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