Weight Training and Running

As I may have stated in a previous post, I do along my running a vigorous weight training regimen. Keeping a healthy balance between the two programs and integrating them together has been a long, difficult process. You learn to be a bit selfish. What I mean by that is that reading and following another’s routine doesn’t usually work. You have to learn to listen to your own body’s cues and continuously negotiate with it for just a little bit more. Weight training for me is an opportunity to increase my efficiency with my running. I don’t worry about bulking up, well because I have never seen the problem with that. Also if I am running enough and performing enough cardio that problem will tend to itself. Strength training is not an efficient calorie burning routine that will cause you to lose weight. It is however a tool that I use to build and make my calorie burning sessions such as running even better. A couple of essentials that I always include for improving my running performance are Lunges, Squats, Lying Leg Curls, Leg Raises for my Hip Flexors and a wide range of exercises for my core and lower back. There are a millions of variations of these exercises and probably even a greater number of machines used to perform them.
The biggest trick, in my own opinion, is getting the timing right between your weight workouts and running workouts. It’s still difficult for me to balance to this day. Since I run every day, I have to allow myself proper recovery from both workouts. This is probably why, on an intensity level, I tend to favor a 4 to 1 ratio. In other words on rest days I work out only with a quarter of intensity I do on my hard days, sometimes only 1/5. Once you get into the rhythm of it you learn to recognize the cues from your body and feel the wave of intensity required on a daily basis to excel.