In a few weeks, I am planning to reduce my weight training days from 3 to 2 sessions per week, so I can increase my running to 5 days per week to train for Fall/Winter races and marathons.
When working out two days per week, is it best to do full body routines? Or can I split things up so that I only do each of the major exercises once per week?
If possible, I would like to keep squats and deadlifts in the same session and only once per week, because I am so sore and stiff after these that it can impact my running for 2 or even 3 days afterward. However, I also want to balance that with doing what's best for strength retention.
I think you can get away with either. I don't think a week is too long to go between workouts for the same groups, but I perfer less. There are tons of options here:
-Upper/Lower split
-2 x Fullbody
-Fullbody with upper/lower focus
Doing the third would allow for squats and deads one day, with lesser volume upper body work. Then the other day you focus on upper body and do some alternative lower body work: GHR, pullthroughs, lunges, stepups, maybe some plyometrics.
I think I would seriously consider lifting twice, running 4 times, and doing 1 mixed mode(crossfit) workout per week. Something where you are doing four or five 400s supersetted with some snatches or some pushups and pullups or some boxjumps and thrusters. See my log or Crossfit for some more examples. These workouts have an effect that you can't get by running or lifting alone, an effect that I think will benifit your distance running efforts.
I know you said you wanted to do squats and deads in the same w/o but this a routine I do once in a while when I feel I need a change to twice per week. Its a great w/o I think. http://www.davedraper.com/draper-full-body.html
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I've been doing weight training just twice a week kind of for the same reason, although I'm not preparing for competition. Since I like to stick with fundamental lifts, I do squats and deads each time BUT I do high rep/lower weight sets of one and low rep/higher weight sets of the other. The second day of the week, I just reverse the set/rep's. I don't know why but I seem to be able do better with the low rep DL's on the second day of the week. Maybe I generalized too much after just a couple weeks but I've stuck with it.
By the way, I checked out Buk's link above to CrossFit.... AWESOME!!!!!! Thanks, BUK!
I'd say full body each day, just make one a quad dom day and one a hip dom day; you'll still be hitting lots of those muscles twice. For that matter, you could make one a horizontal push/pull and the other a vertical push/pull. They'd still each be total body, but different emphases.
Thanks, guys -- this gives me plenty of options to try. I'll probably experiment with a few things, since I'll likely be on this 2 days per week plan from Aug to late February.
The Crossfit training is very interesting -- I'm sure it would be really beneficial, if I can work out the logistics.
This doesn't meet your squat/deadlift on the same day criterion, but this is a 2X split I put together to do while marathon training, I've been very pleased with it.
I stick to the basic routine regardless of the phase of marathon training I'm in, but I adjust the volume and intensity a bit. I find better gains working 2-3 sets just shy of failure when I'm under 35 mpw running. When I break the 35 mpw mark, I back off to 1 set (after 2-4 warm-up sets) to positive failure.
Thanks, GSP. After the past two weekends, I'm starting to wonder whether squats and deads on the same day are helping me out or not as far as lowering impact on running. I'm still sore 3-4 days after that workout, and that wasn't the case when I had them separated over two different workouts. Could be temporary, though, since I recently shifted from 4-5 reps per set to 6-8... maybe I am adapting.
Right now I am planning to run the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL in December and the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham in February (I ran that one this past February). I was thinking about Music City in Nashville but am not sure I want to extend my marathon "season" for two more months into April, plus there's the added expenses with an overnight stay, etc.
Lost_Dog, I always feel like I am cheating myself if I don't keep up the squats and the deadlifts, in some variation, each week. Those are my best exercises, so it's motivating for me to keep them both in my routines.
when trying to find that info for raymond3 I noticed someone asking about a 2x per week split for the "Waterbury Method".
Chad said that you could do it by putting an extra rest day in between workouts. Your basic full body workout 1 day on 2 days off...wouldn't work out to a consistant day of the week training, and might be 3x per week depending on how the days fell BUT it might be something to think about.
I'm starting to wonder whether squats and deads on the same day are helping me out or not as far as lowering impact on running..
For me, it's painful just to hear you talk about squats and deads on the same day. I know a few people that do it, but I've tried it and whichever exercise I try second fries me after 4-5 reps.
I am planning to run the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL in December and the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham in February
I'll probably be doing Huntsville this December myself. I haven't gotten that spark of motivation to start ramping my mileage back up yet, if it doesn't happen by early Sept., I'll likely run Knoxville in March instead.
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