Q:You mentioned that you've been doing a lot of strength training and it's helped your running. Was wondering if you could elaborate or point me in the direction of some resources? Thanks!

honestlyashley

Yes! I completely attribute my half-marathon PR to the addition of strength training to my workout routine (since, if we’re being honest, I didn’t run more than 6 miles at a time during training).

I am a recovering cardio nut so I kick-started my strength training with a personal trainer who had me alternating between circuits of nonstop functional training and plyometrics (jumping onto a block, running up and down stairs with a weight vest on, etc) and serious weightlifting (i.e. clean & press, squats with the gigantic free weight bar with 100+ pounds of weight, legit bench press). Equally challenging, I liked the functional training because it doesn’t feel like I lift things up and put them down but loved impressing myself with how much weight I built up to.

You don’t need a personal trainer to strength train (but if you have the cash, a good one is worth it!) but my trainer was able to push me like I don’t push myself and that is the key.

No sissy 5-pound dumbbells or squats without weight (unless of course you’re nursing an injury, etc). If you’re a healthy young person, you need to (slowly) pile that weight on. You will not look like a bodybuilder; you will look toned and the rest of your physical activity will benefit - TRUST ME!

As far as resources go, now that I’m not working with the trainer anymore, I like Body Pump classes at the gym (again, I use all 10-pound plates - lifting 2.5 pounds really isn’t going to get me anywhere). If that option isn’t available to you, I would recommend putting together your own workouts, writing them down on paper and carrying that paper into the gym with you. Without it, it’s easy to forget the exercises or skip the ones you don’t want to do (or maybe that’s just me?). If it’s written down though, YOU WILL DO IT.

I aim for 4 days of strength training a week, focusing on legs, chest & arms, back & shoulders and abs. My workouts are cobbled together from various websites and work I’ve done with the trainer but I like:

I am not a fan of the circuit machines because they only target one isolated muscle group per machine, whereas using free weights allows you to use not only the targeted muscle group, but also your core, arms, and legs for stabilization.

Good luck and get lifting, girl!

(Obviously I am not a professional, just sharing what works for me!)

6 Notes/ Hide

  1. xoxb said: This is my goal this year - strength training with marathon training. It’s so easy to get focused on run run run and forget all about strength.
  2. remarkablelulu posted this

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