How to train with multiple goals?

jacksonpt · January 2012

So training for a specific goal is fairly easy. Training for multiple goals that are similar in nature is fairly easy.

But how do you train when you've got goals that are very different from each other? Do you train for one goal for a while, then target the other goal for a while and go in cycles? Or do you keep your routine varied to train for all goals with the acknowledgement that progress towards each individual goal will be slower coming?

I'm currently 170lbs with a body fat of around 13.5%. I want to get to 165lbs and 10% BF. This requires a loss of ~6lbs BF and a gain of 3lbs muscle (give or take). That's pretty much just for vanity/pride reasons.

I've got a couple of half marathons this summer, an olympic and half ironman triathlon, as well as a number of smaller endurance events (these I'm not so worried about).

There is a big part of me that wishes I could train more specifically for one goal in order to see more direct progress. The problem is that in doing so, I get farther from my other goal. i.e. I can focus almost exclusively on weights to get my lean body weight up. Or I can focus on cardio to get myself ready for the races.

Doing both at the same time is obviously the right answer, but I have a hard time getting my head into it. Especially when I don't genuinely enjoy lifting, where as I love the cardio stuff.

SheehyCFC · January 2012

I absolutely see your conundrum. To me, it makes more sense to train for the races (while intermittently lifting as part of training!), as they are a "set-date" goal. In other words, those events require training and are in the near future. Your attempt to gain the muscle has no set date and in my experience and knowledge, putting on that amount of muscle will take time and a serious investment in the gym.

would rather meet one goal (races) then focus more on the second (lean body mass); instead of risking less-than-desirous results for the first in sake of the second (when you don't know how long that will really take).

I don't know if this helps... but I hope so

savlyon · January 2012

This has been my struggle recently as well...with similar goals..lose the last little bit of weight while toning, and training for certain events.
I guess it is kind of like looking at all of your goals in general, you have financial, career, personal goals, etc along with your fitness goals. You don't ignore your finances or career just because you want to get fit. Sometimes you might need to decide which one is the priority and focus on that one, while still putting in regular time on the other goals as well. Fortunately, in fitness all of these correlate. Of course weight training, lessening body fat and increasing muscle mass, will improve your performance and speed. I would look at the toning as a longer term goal to continuously work at while you are training for the races. The races are what keep you motivated anyway.

Ok, thanks for answering that struggle for me! Ha!

ArroganceInStep · January 2012

If you have a plan laid out ahead of time, I find it's best to simply focus on what's on my plate at that exact moment and not think of the other stuff. If I lift MWF, Monday at lunch time when I go to the gym I'm thinking about absolutely nothing but hitting my targets and not stalling, on paying attention to form and rest time, getting enough water, etc. On Tuesday when I'm doing cardio all I'm thinking about is pushing myself through that interval to make it to the rest period, or not being quite so terrible on the treadmill and going a little bit faster. When I'm not working out I focus on getting enough water, monitoring how I'm feeling based on what I've eaten, tracking my calories, etc.

For me, clearing my mind of all the other junk (work, personal, even other nutrition/fitness stuff) is the therapeutic part of exercise that I come back for. It helps me keep from getting overwhelmed, and I find it keeps me focused on the task in front of me.

Might help you too, good luck either way!

olee67 · January 2012

You do have to cycle your training... Look at how boxers and MMA fighters train... They are in fact trying to gain or lose weight for each fight... Let me try and chart this if I can.

Training Begins- objective: Muscle/strength gain
Midpoint- x amount of weight gained to goal weight. Muscle and body fat increased
Training shift- objective: cut fat/maintain muscle tone and strength
Finish- objective: increase stamina and maintain strength
Training Begins: objective- replace muscle/strength lost

Basically, to gain muscle, you have to eat and train for it. This mean increasing your protein intake, increasing your weight training (using pyramid or split training low rep high weight), and decreasing your cardiovascular. This will also cause you to gain a little bit of body fat as well. After you've gained x amount of weight, you flip the switch and increase your cardio and decrease your weight training (using circuit training, low weight high rep continuous).

This is also sort of how body builders train for their competitions/ shows like Mr. Universe.

Sort of just a rough outline. If it makes sense, hit me up if you have any other questions.

jacksonpt · February 2012

For me, clearing my mind of all the other junk (work, personal, even other nutrition/fitness stuff) is the therapeutic part of exercise that I come back for. It helps me keep from getting overwhelmed, and I find it keeps me focused on the task in front of me.

Definitely.

jacksonpt · February 2012

You do have to cycle your training... Look at how boxers and MMA fighters train... They are in fact trying to gain or lose weight for each fight... Let me try and chart this if I can.

Training Begins- objective: Muscle/strength gain
Midpoint- x amount of weight gained to goal weight. Muscle and body fat increased
Training shift- objective: cut fat/maintain muscle tone and strength
Finish- objective: increase stamina and maintain strength
Training Begins: objective- replace muscle/strength lost

Basically, to gain muscle, you have to eat and train for it. This mean increasing your protein intake, increasing your weight training (using pyramid or split training low rep high weight), and decreasing your cardiovascular. This will also cause you to gain a little bit of body fat as well. After you've gained x amount of weight, you flip the switch and increase your cardio and decrease your weight training (using circuit training, low weight high rep continuous).

This is also sort of how body builders train for their competitions/ shows like Mr. Universe.

Sort of just a rough outline. If it makes sense, hit me up if you have any other questions.

Yea... that all makes sense. I just don't like it, lol.

Maybe I should pick 1 goal and focus solely on that, and let the rest of the chips fall as they may.

CoachDMarz · February 2012

Two a days? When I was boxing competitively and trying to keep my wind up, but trying to put on some more muscle as well it was some type of cardo (whether its road work, hitting the bag or sparring) in the mornings. Then I'd go about my day, eat enough calories to fuel and help my body recorver and try to take a nap (even if it was only 15-20 minutes long, it usually helped me). Then at night I'd lift. Not sure if you can train the same way for a run/tri but its worth a shot. You're dead tired at the end of the day, but that was the best shape I had ever been in.

howeclectic · February 2012

As someone who has done a half ironman before. Let me give you advice.... train exclusively for the half Ironman. Personally, i train towards my hardest event and assume all others are simply "training or practice" for the main event. As runs go, a half marathon is not too huge a challenge- Especially compared to that half Ironman. Since you will have to finish up a half marathon after completing a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike ride you should be building up enough running mileage to run a semi decent half marathon. It will take many bricks and a lot of conditioning to complete that half ironman. assuming 30 mins for your swim, 3 hours for your bike, and an hour and a half for you run you can see that the biggest part of a half ironman is the bike. You will need to log at least 100 miles a week on your bike to get in the proper conditioning to do that 56 mile ride. This will get in the way of your half marathon times... yes.... but.. there are SOOO many half marathons to run... Ironman events are fewer and farther between and require a lot more dedication to accomplish. just my 2 cents....

UsedToBeHusky · February 2012

Wow! Being familiar with your posts on the threads, I know that you are fairly knowledgeable on the subject of nutrition and fitness. Seeing that you share similar struggles makes me feel better about my efforts. Even though, I have no advice to offer, thanks for posting this anyway.

howeclectic · February 2012

As for the cardio work vs weight training.... I recall a study that said as little as 30 mins of high intesity interval training is enough to keep cardiovascular conditioning stable for 2-3 months. Work the weights and increase the diet to aim for .5 - 1 pound a week of weight gain. Do that for 6-8 weeks while doing ~ 3 High intensity interval sets to keep cardio conditioning stable. Then, switch to a cutting phase. Decrease your weight training sessions and increase your cardio and aim for .5 - 1 pound a week of weight loss. Do this for 4-6 weeks. Depending on your race schedule... Bring your diet back up to maintenance level. You should have a decent base built up. Train hard for cardio until about 2-3 weeks before the event. At that point, start a taper, decrease the amount of your work out time (and maybe substitute some short high intensity interval training to keep cardio conditioning). There are a lot more details in the cardio training for an event obviously. Typically you want to have multi phased buildups that involve 3 weeks of increasing difficulty followed by an easy week repeated as to slowly increase your conditioning without over training. You will have to ultimately choose if you want to train for athletic performance or for "looks" though as they are somewhat different pursuits.

bahacca · February 2012

I'm no ironman competitor, but I have similar issues-trying to lose weight and build muscle and strength while needing to train for a 1/2 marathon(my first, so...) I have opted to focus on strength training right now so I do 2 days strength training and one day of HIIT each week(I only have 3 guaranteed days in the gym right now). I have only done about 10 minutes on the treadmill after each strength training day just to keep limber.
I'm doing this for 8 weeks. After the 8 weeks, I'll add in more running. Then I have a 19 week plan for the 1/2 I'm going to follow and I'll try my best to still keep at least 1 strength training day a week as well.
I'm opposite-I enjoy the weights more, but I have running a half on my bucket list, so this is my year! After that is done, I'll go back to focusing on my weight training.

How to train with multiple goals?

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