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Running x Lifting


                                      

The main purpose of working out is to better one's physical health and this is my priority in exercising, however I very much enjoy pushing myself to the extreme. This means either lifting heavy or running far/fast most days of the week. I enjoy hitting new prs and this drives a different sort of motivation for me to exercise, but how exactly should I balance all of this to be most effective?

I have been asking myself this question for a long time now and have a hard time coming up with a solid answer. Coming from a cardio heavy background of track/cross country/soccer, I feel naturally inclined to pursue more of running, but in developing a passion for lifting weights in recent years it becomes difficult to figure out the marginal benefit of one versus the other. This is my weekly schedule right now:

Monday: 3-4 mile run

Tuesday: Upper body lift (light)

Wednesday: Lower body lift (heavy)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Upper body lift (heavy)

Saturday: Lower body lift (light)

Sunday: Rest

I've had to sit out from running/heavy lower body lifts for the past two and a half weeks because of an issue with my hip flexor but I'm back to normal workouts now.

I am not running nearly as often as I would like to but it's the only thing possible right now. Over the summer I was doing this same schedule but throwing in 3 runs per week instead of 1, but this resulted in me not getting a lot of strength gains from my weight training. My main priority was getting stronger in the gym (have only been lifting for 2 years, have been running since elementary school), so I flipped my training to the current schedule to maximize strength gains. I now am getting significantly stronger, but I'm making no progress in running. My run on Monday isn't focused on me getting faster, it's pretty much just so I don't get slower/lose cardio. 

As much as I want to get faster (distance running) and stronger at the same time, it is hard to find a balance that allows this. 

That's where I look to Nick Bare as an example (above).

Nick is an ultra-distance runner. He runs marathons, 100 mile races, you name it, yet he still is one of the strongest people I've ever seen that's not taking PEDs.

His input is that recovery and nutrition both need to be maximized in order to get both significantly faster and stronger. 

I am still trying to figure out how to do this without paying for expensive supplements or doing anything that's bad for my health, so everything is a work in progress.

My known/estimated PRs right now:

Bench: 225lb

Squat: 300-325lb

Hex Deadlift: 435-460lb

Mile: 5:30, used to be around 5:05


My goals: 

Bench: 275lb

Squat: 400lb

Hex Deadlift: 530lb

Mile: Under 5 minutes


We'll see if I get there.





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