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Weight lifting for cross training (Read 178 times)

blake278


    I’m looking for some advice on how to add weight training into my running schedule. I’d like to keep it down to two days a week and would like to focus on full body. Everything I’ve done up to this point has been bodyweight pushups, squats, lunges, and planks, but I don’t feel like it’s doing the trick. Any advice on what exercises I should do to optimize my running as well as my full body strength . The only set of weight I have are dumbbells that go from 5lbs to 20lbs. Thanks for the help.

    mattw4jc


      You can do some of the same body weight exercises just holding the dumbbells - squats and lunges at least.

      And you can do a lot for your arms with those dumbbells - bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder press, rows, etc.

      There are also plenty of at home workouts for runners such as Runner's World IronStrength.

       

      If you want to get into bigger strength gains, you'll want to consider joining a gym or getting a barbell and plates. I found a program called StrongLifts 5x5 that helped me. It has a simple phone app to track things, but isn't necessary to use at all. It focuses on 5 exercises and encourages you to do 5 sets of 5 reps with heavier weights. The exercises are squat, deadlift, barbell row, overhead press and bench press.

       

      I still do those as the main "compound" exercises of my routine, but also do more things such as pullups, bicep curls, dips, triceps, lunges (front and side), and other stuff.

      wrmcmanus


        I do this circuit twice (I got it mostly from Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning):

         

        10x push up

        15x lat row (10-15 lb dumbbell, 1 side at a time)

        15x bench dips

        15x swan (back contractions)

        15x shoulder press (again, 10-15 lb dumbbell, alternate sides)

        15x glute bridge (1 side at a time)

        ~40x seated runner (sitting on medicine ball, 10 lb dumbbells, simulating optimal arm motion for running)

        15x chalice squat (15 lb dumbbell, focus is on good form, not on high weight/intensity)

         

        Currently I run 70-100+ miles per week and am training for the marathon, so obviously your strength training might be considerably different depending on your goals. Also, I occasionally swap exercises in and out if I find something that I think might be more effective. I also do separate core workouts 4-5x per week.

         

        In college I competed at 1500-10000m and my coach changed up our strength training just about every year, so I have had experience across the spectrum of intensities that a runner might pursue in strength training. For myself, I've found that a relatively low intensity circuit like this, which emphasizes desirable neuromuscular patterns without adding much extra fatigue, works best. Also, with a simple, relatively quick circuit it is easier to make this aspect of training habitual, meaning I'm more likely to carry it out consistently long-term, which is more effective than taking on a time consuming, intense, elaborate strength training system and burning out on it after a few weeks/months.

        blake278


          Thanks I was looking at a 5x5 workout. I was wondering how well it would work for a distance runner. I don’t have a bar yet and I won’t be able to get into a gym anytime soon. I feel like I can adapt my dumbells for now.

          strambo


            Keep doing what you are doing, but add pull ups.  Increase the difficulty of the variations you are doing until you are doing one leg squats, one arm push ups and one arm pull ups!  Oh, add a bridge or glute raise movement.  At that point you are covered full body 360.

              For what its worth, I added the Starting Strength novice program to my training schedule twice a week. Run 4 days, lift 2 days. Cut my Half Marathon PR by over 6 minutes. www.startingstrength.com

              blake278


                Thanks strambo I’ve been doing dumbbells for about a month and no matter how much weight Or how many reps I do I don’t feel I’m getting as much cardio on my strength training as I was with body weight.

                 

                And thanks empty sea I’ve notice a considerable difference since I added in strength training.

                  I did a routine similar to Stronglifts 5x5 twice per week while running 3 times per week.  Basically, I did the 5 main lifts (squat, bench, OHP, row, deadlift) 5x5, M/W or T/Th and then ran two other week nights and a longer run on Sunday.

                  ilanarama


                  Pace Prophet

                    Thanks strambo I’ve been doing dumbbells for about a month and no matter how much weight Or how many reps I do I don’t feel I’m getting as much cardio on my strength training as I was with body weight.

                     

                    And thanks empty sea I’ve notice a considerable difference since I added in strength training.

                     

                    But you're not supposed to be getting cardio on your strength training, are you?  They're different things.  Or am I confused?

                    jingchunyu


                      It is also helpful to Do farmer's walk

                       

                      http://www.stack.com/a/farmers-walks

                      Joann Y


                        It is also helpful to Do farmer's walk

                         

                        http://www.stack.com/a/farmers-walks

                         

                         

                        Gah! Is it my sudden interest in strength and conditioning that has made me aware of Dan John? Who is he?! I looked him up and have heard him on a number of podcasts now. I understand he's written some books and has had some success but I just don't understand why I keep hearing his name everywhere.

                        Marylander


                          Gah! Is it my sudden interest in strength and conditioning that has made me aware of Dan John? Who is he?! I looked him up and have heard him on a number of podcasts now. I understand he's written some books and has had some success but I just don't understand why I keep hearing his name everywhere.

                           

                          Maybe you're looking at strength and conditioning focused either on college athletics or track & field? Dan has been pretty prominent on that side of things, particularly with field events/throwing.

                          tom1961


                          Old , Ugly and slow

                            Dan john is on dave draper web site.  He has a forum there where you can ask him questions .

                            Very knowledgeable on lifting and seems like a nice man.

                            first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007

                             

                            2019  goals   1000  miles  , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes

                              Gah! Is it my sudden interest in strength and conditioning that has made me aware of Dan John? Who is he?! I looked him up and have heard him on a number of podcasts now. I understand he's written some books and has had some success but I just don't understand why I keep hearing his name everywhere.

                               

                              He's also been involved with Pavel (the kettlebell guy) and has probably gotten more exposure outside of track and field.

                               

                              Anyway, I've read a lot of Dan's articles and a couple of his books and found him to be a very knowledgable, no-bullshit type coach. Of the two of his books I've read, I'd recommend Easy Strength for someone wanting to learn about strength and get a good intro into how Dan and Pavel think about training.

                               

                              I don't run much anymore, but my experiments of 1 with mixing strength and running led me away from trying to mix a traditional "running program" with a full "strength program". That path leads to burnout pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of lifting heavy, but most strength programs are not designed to be run by someone who runs 5-7 times a week. Most bodies cannot recover enough to support it.

                               

                              I also think something like the Simple and Sinister program by Pavel is almost perfect for someone who runs a lot. It's only two exercises: the one handed swing and Turkish getup. It takes about 20 minutes a day and leaves plenty of gas in your tank to support your running.

                              When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

                                If you have the room, a TRX strap is a great way to do core and strength training utilizing your own body weight.  You can bolt it into the ceiling or use it over the top of a closed door.  I mix it up between dumbbells, the TRX, and a stability ball.  You can use dumbbells as a replacement for kettlebells for kettlebell swings.

                                 

                                If you look up The Run Experience on youtube, they have a fantastic library of strength training videos for runners, with and without weights.

                                Leslie
                                Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain
                                -------------

                                Trail Runner Nation

                                Sally McCrae-Choose Strong

                                Bare Performance

                                 

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