How many of you both run and strength train in a given week?
I’m currently doing strength training 3x a week, running 4x a week. Mondays are the only days where I have both scheduled. I’m curious for those of you that do both, what kind of strength training do you do, and do you run first or lift first?
I run and lift 5x days a week, an hour to an hour and a half of total workout time each day. I run first, generally around a half hour easy run or speed run depending on the day and how quickly in the morning I get out there. My lifting routine is a homebrew that probably is terrible so I won’t detail it, but I enjoy it. I’ve tried things like starting strength and other routines and they just don’t work for me. I’ll also generally do a long run on Sundays.
I’ll say, this really depends on the time you have and your goals. It’s getting cold out so I figure its a good time to up my calories and try to gain some strength. The past spring through summer is was way more focused on running doing a half marathon training plan, lifting maybe 3 times a week at most. I’ll probably switch back to something more like that when my pants start getting too tight, hopefully not until a few months into 2024 though.
I workout in the morning, I like to run first to kind of wake up, I find the lifting goes easier that way than the reverse. But I’ve heard plenty of people say to lift first so your at max stamina and not tired.
I’m also expecting my first kid this spring, so who knows what that’s going to do to my routine. I suspect my days of uninterrupted 1.5 hour workouts are numbered.
Congrats on the kid! I’ve also heard to lift first due to risk of injury. It makes sense to me - there’s a higher chance of acute injuries during heavy squats or deadlifts if I’m fatigued and get sloppy on form
I do 3x strength and 4x running. Everyday is a combo day except my last running day of course which is a long run day. Other 3 days are rest days or variety days as I call them. Variety days can be easy bike rides, swimming, walks, hikes, sports, whatever. Just anything to get me out.
To answer your question about strength I focus mainly on the big 3. One per day with 2 accessory workouts. Always lift first even if you are prioritizing running like me.
Oh wow you don’t feel fatigued during your runs after lifting? Even my easy run feels a bit tougher when I lift beforehand.
Any reasoning behind always lifting first?
I do feel a little fatigued but after awhile your body adapts and it doesn’t feel so bad. The reasoning I’ve read is that if you go from running to strength training your muscles will be much weaker compared to going from strength training to running. If you have the time or willpower, separating them by a few hours will help negate this
I run every day (every second day is only a short recovery jog), and work out 5 times per week: 2 x upper, 2 x core and 1 x legs. All focused on improving my running and reducing injury potential, so only calisthenics, no weight training. I don’t do workouts the day before and the day of my long run. It’s doable, once you find you routine and have separate deloading weeks for running and workouts.
I’m also trying to figure out how to not lift the day before my long runs. I usually do Saturday long runs, lift Friday and speed work Thursdays. I might try to lift light Thursdays and see how that goes
I typically do a 3.6 mile run or a walk and then do simple strength training such as push ups and sit ups daily. Nothing too crazy but it’s good (for me) to hit both my cardio and my muscles
I’m a LOT busier these days (kids) but I usually tried to balance runs with strength training as the runs were great for cardio but I also wanted to have a decent physique to go along with stamina.
I do 4x strength and 3x running. I split arms and legs rather than muscle groups and don’t run on leg days. I don’t strictly run before or after strength. Depends on routine. Usually I try fit the running in between.
Unless you’re pushing yourself crazy hard training your arms and back wont influence running much that day.
Would recommended everyone at least focuses on strenthening stabilising muscles in legs and hips + calves. Running isn’t super good at building strength, and when pushing hard can actually make stuff go backwards. All the stuff that keeps your knees and hips aligned is what saves you from injury so work in them.
Doing leg stuff bare foot can be useful in order to keep feet strong too. Although avoid doing that if lifting heavy shit haha.
I mix running and cycling 7 days a week, 30-45 min each day. I do strength 4-6 days a week, 15-30 min each day moving between upper body, lower body, core, body weight, etc. The strength schedule dictates what I do for cardio, for example I’ll typically target a run and legs the same day knowing the next 1-2 days I’ll need to bike to recover my legs.
I always do cardio first, no reason why, just started doing it that way and it’s been working for me so I’m not inclined to change it.
The only exception is I’ll try and do a boot camp style workout 1-2x a week for 45-60 minutes which mixes my strength and cardio.
