hitechredneck Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Is anyone else using Couch to 5k? I am finishing up my first week and am wondering the best way to mix it with strength training. I'm doing the beginner's body weight workout Steve has up for overall strength workouts. Right now I'm doing these on the same day and it's beating the hell out of my legs. (Lugging this beer belly around is tough on an old man.) I was wondering if I should do these on separate days or if that would be bad since I wouldn't have a day of rest. Or is it kosher to do my interval cardio on days I don't do weights? Quote Link to comment
titsworth Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I'm on week 6 of C25k right now. I would suggest to not do legs and the C25k on the same day.I do C25K Mon, Wed, and Fri. I do strength Tue, Thu, Sat. and I rest Sunday. Most of the timeHowever, If I am feeling sore, I normally just walk or repeat a run from a week or two back in the program. This makes the 9 week program a 11 or 12 week program, but it gives me a chance to rest.I think once you get past the first few weeks of strength training and C25K, you'll be able to throw in more runs closer to your leg days without having to worry as much about being sore/weak. Quote Ranger - Rheno - Rising Hero Link to comment
Jess7286 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 When I train for my long runs, I tend to skip leg workouts for a bit. When I was training for my first 5K (I ran a 5K every single day for a week), I did VERY minimal leg workouts aside from running just so my legs would be somewhat rested. I would say it depends on what you want to train for. If you want to train for running, you might have to tone down the intensity of your strength training a bit. Running takes a lot out of you to begin with, but strength training is important to even out muscular imbalances (so is cross-training). Although I personally did not do C25K, I know that it doesn't get super difficult until week 4, so if you're doing the first 3 weeks of C25K, I would stick with a pretty even balance between running and lifting but after you start increasing your run distances, you'll have to taper the strength training a bit. You need rest days if you're going to improve on your running. Good luck and have fun! Oh, one tip for C25K. Focus on endurance before you focus on speed. Nobody cares how fast you run for 5 minutes. What matters is that you run for the entire five minutes. Quote Link to comment
Vader Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Is anyone else using Couch to 5k? I am finishing up my first week and am wondering the best way to mix it with strength training. I'm doing the beginner's body weight workout Steve has up for overall strength workouts. Right now I'm doing these on the same day and it's beating the hell out of my legs. (Lugging this beer belly around is tough on an old man.) I was wondering if I should do these on separate days or if that would be bad since I wouldn't have a day of rest. Or is it kosher to do my interval cardio on days I don't do weights?Right now, I'm doing C25K on M/W/F (W4D1 was today) and doing resistance-band upper- and core-body exercises on T/Th/Sa, with Sundays off, as I am in horrific shape (6'1 and now down to 276 pounds, from 289 on Apr 5th!) and still cannot take the strain of doing running AND dedicated lower-body exercises over the course of a week. I tried it once and almost couldn't complete my run the next day (and I think that's where my knee trouble started, which might have me walking the rest of this week and redoing W4 next week). If you're like me, and just getting back into exercise and are in poor condition, I would recommend doing light or no lower-body stuff until your legs are tough enough to take pushing your weight around.Basically, yeah, you DO need rest days - but they don't have to be TOTAL rest days, you just shouldn't work something you blasted hard the previous day. If you ran on Monday, you probably shouldn't do a lower-body workout on Tuesday - and if you intend to focus on completing C25K, you might need to ease back on lower body workouts over the course of that program. However, if you ran on Monday, doing an upper- and core-body workout on Tuesday should not be a problem, assuming you aren't working yourself into the ground (listen to what your body's telling you, and ease back a bit if you have to!). Quote Link to comment
Jess7286 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Oh, and definitely what Vader said. When I say taper your strength training, that's only relevant to leg workouts. Everything else is still a go Personally, I also tapered back on abs/lower back specific exercises as well because you actually use a lot of core when you run. It's really hard to run when your abs hurt like a mofo. You should still get some form of leg specific strength training in at least once a week though, so you can strengthen your muscles even more. OH! And remember to stretch before and after your run! Super important. Quote Link to comment
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