{"id":1413,"date":"2024-01-31T18:37:59","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T18:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/completeathlete.uk\/?p=1413"},"modified":"2024-01-31T18:37:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T18:37:59","slug":"how-a-lifter-stumbled-into-running-and-how-you-can-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/completeathlete.uk\/how-a-lifter-stumbled-into-running-and-how-you-can-too\/","title":{"rendered":"How a lifter stumbled into running (and how you can too)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The first time I ran for more than 10 mins was the worst experience of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My world at that time centred around the endless pursuit of \u2018getting big\u2019, and so naturally, I was allergic to the idea of running\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That first time I went running with my mate Charlie (who is now bloody good at running \ud83d\udca8) took about 45 mins to run 5km, and naturally needed to end in the pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(n.b. my Wednesday Putney Running Club runs always finish in the pub \ud83d\ude02)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward to lockdown in March 2020 and we were only allowed out once a day, briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I still was obsessed with getting in my steps though, so running seemed like the only way\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started off running about 15 mins, then walking 10 mins, then running 15 mins again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gradually, I was able to run longer and require less walking rests until I managed 5km in one go about 2 weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was back during lockdown, so naturally, I had plenty of time on my hands to fit this new activity in and make sure I get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But of course, looking back, here are the big mistakes I made when starting out with running:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putting two programmes together overloaded what my body could handle in a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As much as it\u2019s glorified to \u2018work harder\u2019, what you should really be doing is working smarter so that you can work hard at what matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our body has a performance and a recovery capacity that can grow over time but today, you need to respect what that 100% capacity looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, whether you like it or not, your strength and endurance elements do<\/strong> interact with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that the order that you place everything in can be the performance difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of performance, having purpose for every single session matters even more when introducing running into the mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It means that you\u2019re not going out at a random pace – you\u2019re going out at a slow, easy pace to improve your aerobic base<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or you\u2019re going out for some fast intervals to improve lactate threshold and leg speed, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Training the hybrid way will give you millions of things that you can fill your weeks and workouts with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A very freeing feeling but it can be dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key is remembering that you only have 100% to play with, so you can only pick the elements of training that deliver best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing what this 100% figure is (how many times you train and how intense) varies for everyone but it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re going to make time to train hard, you will need to make time to recover hard too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that you need to be super clear on your training goals to understand what kind of exercises help achieve that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my case, I\u2019m training for a marathon while maintaining a high base of strength and muscle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice, this means cutting out excess miles, unnecessary exercises and sessions from your programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, I would place a lower emphasis on training my arms and sprinting ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you introduce running into a purely strength\/muscle building programme, you need to be at peace with the fact that you won\u2019t be able to get as \u2018big\u2019 as you could without running (not impossible, just impractical).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to get the best out of both worlds (like Hannah Montana would) is with clarity over your goals, simple programming and good intention to implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s walk through the steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What distinct goals are you working towards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A triathlon, bodybuilding\/marathon, strength\/5K, powerlifting\/half marathon, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to be training for a race\/competition, but it helps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sit and think with this – figuring this out will be your north star that dictates what falls into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s nothing that says a hybrid athlete MUST train x times a week, twice a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is completely personal to the athlete and their lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many times do you want to train each week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What times and days work best for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are the non-negotiable life things that dictate your availability?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work times, family and friends commitments, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the fewest amount of sessions you think you can commit to each week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The early consistency is what matters – you can always add more later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To achieve your goal you worked out in step 1, break down the elements that will help you achieve that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n e.g. to run a marathon and maintain strength, you would make sure you at least have a long run, speed work, tempo work, squat, bench and deadlift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Write down absolutely every exercise \/ session type you think contributes to that goal, prioritise the most important and map them onto your pre-determined sessions in step 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t know what kind of exercises \/ sessions you need to be doing, drop me a message and I\u2019ll do my best to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonus points<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When organising my weeks and individual workouts, I follow a simple system that prioritises the highest skilled, highest intensity work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because the benefits we get from that kind of work are only realised when our muscles and mind are firing fresh. [ref to study]<\/p>\n\n\n\n This tends to be the heavy explosive lifting and sprints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, the slow easy endurance runs can be performed with fatigued legs because the benefit we get from it is almost completely from your cardiovascular system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re completely brand new to running or any cardio, you need to accept that it\u2019s going to start small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the same way you adapt to higher weights and reps – every session and week is an incremental improvement at the edge of your capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of starting on bodyweight exercises and machines, you would start by doing run-walk-run intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you feel like you need an extra dose of motivation and accountability, signing up to a race is a great way to get your arse in gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not mandatory if all you want to do is improve your cardiovascular fitness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But on the days where you really cba to workout – you know you kind of have to do the work regardless of how you feel<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting started with running from a lifting background is hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I hope I showed you that it doesn\u2019t need to be complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And soon you\u2019ll go from brick wall to Nick Bare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being super clear on your goals, applying some simple programming principles, focussing on what delivers results for your goals and patient progression is all it takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you found this useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you did, share this with a mate or on socials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you\u2019re a lifter wanting more help with getting into running, email me directly:<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe big mistakes I made<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Cut out the crap and focus on what delivers results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to introduce running for the lifter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What must be performed fresh vs what can be performed fatigued<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Priority<\/th> Intensity<\/th> Skill<\/th> Workout<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 1<\/td> High intensity<\/td> High skill<\/td> Run drills<\/td><\/tr> 2<\/td> High intensity<\/td> Low skill<\/td> 10 x 60s intervals @ 5k pace<\/td><\/tr> 3<\/td> Low intensity<\/td> Low skill<\/td> Shoulders & arms workout<\/td><\/tr> 4<\/td> Low intensity<\/td> Low skill<\/td> 20 mins cool down run<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n How you can start running<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Race-specific targets help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n