Active Community: Message List - Weight training and running.

Re: Weight training and running.

Jay Silvio — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:36:43 GMT

Here's a good article from Runner's World that describes some good core exercises:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263--11400-1-1-2,00.html

Here are some other ideas:

Spacing your hands at various distances while doing push-ups will work different muscle groups, as will elevating your feet.

You can do a modified version of dips using a stable chair.

There are some fairly cheap pull-up bars you can buy to hang in a doorway (or you can go to a local playground that has a bar set).

Happy running!

Jay

Re: Weight training and running.

blackstockc — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:03:18 GMT

Thanks!

But I wonder if you could suggest a few more natural resistance exercises for the upper body. I don't have the equipment for chin ups or dips at home and, while I do have access to a gym, it would be much more convenient to do my weight training at home.

Thanks again!

Re: Weight training and running.

Jay Silvio — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:54:36 GMT

Welcome to active.com!

I think it's great that you want to include strength training as part of your marathon preparation. Far too many distance runners neglect their upper body conditioning and that is a big mistake. Tired arms, shoulders, back, etc. lead to poor form at the end of longer races. The key is to participate in a routine that utilizes high repetitions of relatively low resistance. You want build endurance, not bulk. I like to do natural resistance exercises (ones that utilize your own body weight - push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, dips, etc.) because you can do them pretty much anywhere and anytime, but weights are fine if done properly. Here's what I do:

2 or 3x week - 3 sets pull-ups, 3 sets chin-ups, 3 sets dips, 3 sets leg raises

6x week - blocks of 3 sets push-ups, 3 sets crunches, and 3 sets bicycles done once in the morning and once in the afternoon/evening

I hope you find this useful. Let us know if you have any more questions.

Good luck and happy running!

Jay

Weight training and running.

blackstockc — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:22:25 GMT

Hi All, I'm new here, thank you for this excellent resource.

I hope that I am posting this in the right place, I could not find a forum for weight trianing.

I am looking for guidance for a weight training program. I am already in decent shape. I have been training for a marathon for the past 2 months, but my upper body has started to waste away and I'd like to stop that. Also, I would like to have noticable results within 2 months (though I want to continue the program for more than 2 months). I have access to a gymn 5 days out of the week. But I do enough running (25-30 miles a week and increasing) that I do not think that I will have the energy to weight train more than 2 or 3 times a week. Will this be enough? I have never seriously weight trained before so any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!