Heyyyo! It has been a great day here in Minneapolis… or at least in my own little world. Gettin. Stuff. Done. There is something very fulfilling about taking a fat red Sharpie and crossing items off the To Do list.
What is not so fulfilling is writing a two-hour Tried It Tuesday post, and then never actually POSTING it. What a dork. It had THREE product reviews, and photos, and everything. I might not win a Pullitzer Prize here, but I worked hard on that. TWO HOURS!! Look for it possibly this weekend, since I don’t want to wait another week. 
Anyways, today is not Tuesday. It’s Wednesday. And according to the sched, that means you get a workout. But I’m going to flex my administrative muscle here and say that WORKOUT Wednesday can be anything wko related – not just a specific workout.
On this wonderful Workout Wednesday, we’re talkin’ weights. And I say YOU as in you, me, a discussion…. feedback, interaction! Wow I feel like a teacher….
[…who is currently eyeing me and probably wondering why I’m typing so fast for a such an exciting lecture. Note the color.]
Alright. WEIGHTS! Of the people who do lift weights (1 in 5, according to a recent study by the CDC1) it seems like there is one of two beliefs right now. You have the “I don’t want to bulk up” low weights/high reps people, and then the go big or go home (lift heavy) folks. But who is right? And what the heck… I’m a triathlete and a distance runner! Wouldn’t my time be better spent putting in extra time on the bike than in the weight room?
So what’ll it be folks? Do you want to be like “arnold swartsanager” or the guys on Worlds Strongest Man? (Looks like someone missed the basics of capitalization and proper nouns…) I can’t tell you what’s “right” or “wrong” … although you will find plenty of “facts” out there on the world wide web telling you so. What I can tell you my opinion. (Which I do feel is quite educated, btw. ) Lets take a look at these one at a time.
LOW WEIGHTS // HIGH REPS (LW//HR)
Low weights… high reps. 12 oz at a time!
(This was taken at 7:02 leaving my gym this morning. It wasn’t there an hour and a half before when I pulled up. Either someone was working off some guilt from last night, or they pulled the “it’s 5:00 somewhere” rule…)
The LW//HR style of strength training is typically held as the standard for endurance athletes, those looking for weight loss, pregnant women, and ladies to don’t want to “get bulky.” According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if your goal is “Muscular Endurance” then you should perform 15-20 reps of 1-3 sets.
HEAVY WEIGHTS // LOWER REPS (HW//LR)
(The guy in the middle is actually one of my buddies, from the Mr Minnesota 2010 competition!)
HR//LW is typically reserved for the goal of POWER. This is often employed in sports like throwing, jumping, and power-lifting. “Low reps” will vary depending on who you talk to, but could really be anything from your 1 rep max to 8, and “heavy weight” is obviously very unique to each individual. In the same ACSM publication, their guideline for those with the goal of “Muscle Power” is 3-5 reps, 1-5 sets.
MY FINAL WORDS
(Since I’ve managed to say all this without saying what I actually think yet.)
Ultimately, the strength training style you choose to use will be determined by your performance or fitness goals, and your previous experience. Not to mention how heavy you lifted on Monday and holy crap why are my arms still so sore? I include this last one because I see nothing wrong with doing a little of both.
Maybe you’re usually a heavy lifter, squatting 6 plates and always looking to stack on more. Maybe you had a max lift day on Monday, and you’re back on Wednesday but your arms are still toasted. Who’s to say you can’t change up your style and do some 3x15s? NO ONE is who. The way you approach strength training is a personal choice, and as long as it‘s working for you, then keep that chin up.
Which brings me to my true, one and only point. Is it working for you?
Time and time again I see people pushing around the same weight every. single. time. They’re not making any improvements, whether their goal is performance, weight loss, or just to “look good naked”. Or I’ll see people finish a weight circuit and go bounding out of the gym as springy as when they came in. I’m not saying you need to pummel yourself into the ground, but it should be hard. It should make you tired. You should feel fatigued. If you finish and you feel like you didn’t do anything… you probably didn’t. And it probably won’t “work”.
So no matter what your lifting style is… short and heavy or long and hard (ohhhh stop me. t. w. s…..), I say do what you do but make sure no matter what that what you do is work hard.
The end.
Almost… I’ve gotten many times the question “what do you do?” You, meaning me. Prior to working with my coach, I did what lots of runners do. Some core. Some pushups. I have always been a big advocate of using your body weight in strength training (squats, planks, lunges, wall sits, etc.) because you can do that anywhere. You don’t have a gym membership? You’re going on vacation? No problem. Now that I have knowledgeable guidance I’m able to utilize a lot of different equipment, drills, and techniques that I never even knew existed. And let me ask you… have I improved?
Cross Country invitational meet – Fall 2007
No meet. Just a face you can take to the bank. Fall 2010
Haha ok, maybe don’t answer that. I don’t take many “in action” shots… but maybe I will next time I’m hitting the squat rack.
What’s your method for strength training? Why do you do what you do? What are some of the crazy myths you’ve heard about weights?
If you stuck through all of that… send me your address because you deserve a box of cookies and a gold star. Thanks for stopping by and hangin’ out for a while! Have a lovely night,
-E
(*I will come back and edit this for the grammar mistakes I’m sure I made. But I have to make it to the store before they close!!)
you are bamf
i used to do a full body lifting routine twice a week. now i’m lucky if i *think* about lifting. it’s so easy to fall out of the habit! maybe i should aim to do 10 crunches, 10 pushup and 10 lunges after each run hahah. and then build up from there
and too funny about that beer in the trash picture!
Karyn´s last [type] ..I Love Fall
I have been loving weights over the last year. In 09′ I stopped weights in an effort to get lean before Grandma’s…all that did was end my lifting for the year (and didnt help me get lean!) This year I have lifted weights consistently 5 of 7 days a week since Feb., and I dont think itt’s had a negative impact? Next year for sure I will have to substitute S/B/R for lifting, but for now I LOVE the feeling leaving the gym after a good lifting session.
-Derek
also- does EJ do a morning spin? post TCM i’ll shoot up to SLP LTF for a Spin…
DRog´s last [type] ..Coconut water
I would rather lift than do cardio, I love how it makes me feel strong! I like to switch things up, sometimes I do full body sometimes a body part split but rarely do I leave the gym without lifting.
Loved this post. Filled with great information.
I don’t do any cross training at the moment, however, I hope to start after completing my first marathon.
You are so strong! I used to always do the same cardio/strength monday-friday every week. I have just found Yoga not too long ago and I’ve been doing some strength training based on the Body For Life style and I love it! I have noticed that I am a lot more toned and I haven’t been having my SI issues that I’ve dealt with for 7 years!
Thanks for all the great information! Can’t wait to read your Tuesday post
haha oops! Have a good night!
It was 5 o’clock somewhere… 5am in Mpls
.
I do two days of full body strength training in circuits using lighter weights and higher reps (12-15). I do try to identify one thing I can increase every week, even if it’s just the weight for one set of one exercise. And I change the exercises fairly often because otherwise I get bored, or, if I hate an exercise I’m tempted not to do it. If I know I only have to do it for a month then I can usually stick with it.
Chelsea´s last [type] ..Pacing
That last expression is amazing. “Imma pop my eye out I am flexing so hard!” Ha.
I started “lifting” in college XC and have continued “lifting” b/t two and three times a week since. It goes through fits and spurts, depending on my motivation and time. I know resistance training is important, but when it comes down to it, running gets priority. The other problem is…I build muscle really. really. slowly. The only reason I can see definition in my arms is because they are naturally shrimpy. So since I’m not arm-wrestling on a regular basis, I can’t see the fruits of my labors very often.
sarah´s last [type] ..Not m@&ing ‘skinny’
Haha girl, you never fail to make me laugh. I love your posts – full of good info and funny too
I agree with the mix it up route. For the most part I lift in the hypertrophy 8-10 range doing either full body or split routines. But I also like to do some more endurance/circuit type stuff too. Variety is the spice of life, right? The heavy stuff is definitely what I see most results from though, so thats what I focus on
The crazy myths I’ve heard of are mostly about’bulking up’. Oh and that drinking protein shakes makes you muscly! Oh if only it were that easy! I also cringe every time people say they want to ‘tone’. Build muscle and/or lose fat. End of. I wish people realised that lifting heavy ( combined with a good diet
)will make them lean and not avoid it like the plague…its great for the body and mind 
IMO.
Sorry for the novel comment. I hope your Thursday is going mighty well
I never lifted in high school, but I lifted 2x/wk in college and saw a lot of improvements from it. Anecdotally, my coach saw a tremendous decrease in stress fractures when his teams began lifting. On my college team, we tended to lift body weight for a leg circuit and use machines and free weights for arms, varying our routine so it stayed tough. My junior year, we had an assistant coach who did CrossFit and we began to incorporate some of those workouts into our routine, too. Now that I’m on my own (and dating an ex-powerlifter) I have continued to lift, incorporating core routines I find in RunnersWorld with lifts my boyfriend prescribes. We emphasize both low resistance/high reps and heavy weights/shorter reps. I think I’ve become a better runner since lifting, and I think it’s helped me take my running to the next level. I’m more of a strength-based athlete than speed-based, so working on developing my strength has helped me get ahead.
Jess´s last [type] ..The Track in the Dark
i need to get back into lifting
GC= lazzzzzzzzy!
I KNEW U’D COMMENT ON THE GUM POST!!! hahaha!!
I usu. get Orbit at Costco. What’s your fav flavor stride? and are you still all over trident layers?!
glidingcalm´s last [type] ..Appreciating Produce
I consider yoga my strength training…what are your thoughts on that?
weight lifting went out the door once Ironman training moved outdoors. But I do need to get it back into the routine! I was doing the same 12 move full body routine which can’t hurt but I think this year I want to more of a shorter 25 to 30 minute constantly mix it up type routine like 3 times a week.
You’d think I could handle anything after Ironman but a couple days of yoga and some core work and yowzers I was sore!!!
that pic of the beer case made me laugh! we would get some super strange in the trash at the bou too. perhaps it is the area?!
working where i have, i have discovered that every trainer has their own theory on what one should do to build muslce and get “results.” they are all different so i pretty much do what i want when it comes to weight lifting. lately it has been doing about 40min of full body weight work out 3 times a week and 3 days of longer cardio. works nicely for me!
kate´s last [type] ..Chevre and Fall Fruits Breakfast Bake
Ah I rarely lift…I own a couple hand weights and know (somewhat) how to use my body for weight lifting, but I don’t really like it all that much. Sometimes I like how I feel after it, but in general I’d rather spend my time running. Most of my weight lifting is motivated by the desire to have better defined arms/abs. Just speaking the truth…
Also, I totally thought that beer case was a case of Goldfish crackers and couldn’t figure out what so was weird about it!
Susan´s last [type] ..meeting sarah stanley
My method for strength training mostly involves spray tan and body oil…..at least I LOOK good.
Adam´s last [type] ..Progression Long Run – FAIL
Just recently discovered your blog – I actually saw you run in high school (I was coaching another team)!
My strength training’s been mostly hill running lately, as it’s specific to what I do, but I’m starting to add core stuff.
SteveQ´s last [type] ..Where I Think I Went Wrong
Good info, like always Erika!
I’m just starting to get into weight training, just 2 x a week but it’s a start! This post definitely motivated me to stick with it!
-Alyssa
Alyssa´s last [type] ..Taper Time & Bluff Climb
Hey busy girl….hope school and life and all that is going well!
Betsy´s last [type] ..The next generation of triathletes