I was planning to run 6 miles today but ended up only doing 4 (at an 8:30 pace…woo!) because it’s in the friggin 80s today. I was hot and cranky. Afterwards, I completed the following circuit 3 times through, focusing on working my arms and shoulders.
Not going to lie – before I made this workout, I didn’t know what half of these exercises even were. If you’re in the same boat, here are some videos (also in my Exercise Guide): Hammer Curls, Tricep Extensions, Lateral Raises, Curls, Tricep Kickbacks, Deltoid Press.
A Balancing Act
In other news, I suck at keeping up a dedicated workout routine. During marathon training, I was mainly focusing on running. Now I want to put a lot more focus on weight lifting. However, I’m having some issues balancing both running and weight lifting.
Like I mentioned in my post about preventing injury during race training, it’s not the smartest to go hardcore exercising a certain area of your body every single day. When you do, it’s hard for your muscles to recover, increasing the likelihood of injury.
I’ve been having a problem with under-doing it though. I do random weight circuits throughout the week but try not work the same area two days in a row. A lot of the time though, I just add a circuit onto the end of a workout and am not that intense with it. Then the next day I feel like I shouldn’t work the same muscle areas again.
This causes me to not workout as hard as I think I could. I’ve decided I should stop adding those little circuits onto the end of workouts unless I mean business. Since I want to keep running at least 3 days a week, I’ve decided to come up with a schedule for when I’ll work certain muscle groups throughout the week. This way, I’ll be doing both running and weight lifting and not treating either as an afterthought.
For some reason writing down my workout plans (like I did with my marathon training) really helps me get motivated and stay on track. I created a plan for myself that separates cardio and weights, which I don’t know if I’ll like after awhile, but for now I think it’s the best way for me to be more intense with weight lifting. If anything, I might just add some easy runs on those weight lifting days that don’t involve much cardio (a lot of the bodyweight circuits I do incorporate cardio already).
Do you incorporate running and weight lifting on a regular basis? How do you mix the two?
Which do you prefer, weights or cardio?
Lately, I’ve been into weights. It probably has something to do with running 26.2 miles and needing a break from the running thing.
Can I just say the beginning of your post reminds me of Grumpy Old Men. And that salad looks absolutely amazing-vibrant colors! I’ve never seen avocados look that good. You got a dealer down South?
That’s the movie I was trying to think of! Thank you. And if by dealer you mean grocer, yes, yes we do. 🙂
It’s hard striking that balance. I usually try to get lifting in before practice but even then I usually end up forgetting or time gets the best of me. I would rather do cardio though so I definitely prioritize that way.
Makes sense! I like to do weights after cardio. That way I get it out of the way before I’m too tired and change my mind.
You will love how lifting more changes your body composition. Im only lifting twice a week right now as I’m training for my first race. On the days I lift I do a light cardio after the lift. A good rule of thumb is do whatever is most important on that day first. One day a week I do core before my run. Good luck!
That’s a great idea! I tend to start with cardio, but I’ll have to start mixing it up for what I want to emphasize.
I just found your blog and will be bookmarking it!
I’m training for my first 1/2 marathon. I am currently running about 2.5-3.5 miles (11min mile) and I take a Group Power (group weight lifting class..with instructor and music) 2x a week (Tue/Thurs) in the mornings at 5:15am. I’m trying to figure out how to jive that with the many training programs that I are out there for 1/2 marathons. I want to stick with my early class, as it’s only offered on those 2 days.
Thanks for any tips!!
Awesome! Sounds like you’ve got a lot of goodness going on. I tend to do less weight lifting when I train for races, so I have more time to build up my mileage. Guess I’m still figuring out the balancing act. It’s good to do at least a little bit of both though! Good luck with your training 🙂
Cardio and lifting lots of reps will help to you get toned. Sounds like you are on the right track and are doing awesome. Great job!
Great article..I’m going through.the same dilemma. I love doing both, but it seems impossible to add muscle while running 3-4 times a week, and lifting the same..sometimes I do 2 a days. I like the schedule you’ve posted and will definitely try something similar. Good luck and happy training.