My “I’m Not Training for Anything” Training Plan

Once I started participating in races, I found it hard to keep up with a routine once the race was over. The beauty of having a training plan was that it took the work out of having to decide on the distance I was going to run or the body part I was going to strength train. This led me to take a freestyle approach to training which, to be quite frank, was causing me to lose strength, stamina, and speed. I had to go to the drawing board and figure out a plan, because this couldn’t go on much longer.

The must-haves for my “not training-training plan” were:

-a short (5k), mid (7.5k), and long (10k) run

-an upper body day (at least once a week)

-a lower body day (at least once a week)

-within the upper body and lower body days, I wanted to use compound exercises to cut down on time and be more efficient

-also within the upper body day, I wanted to hit each muscle group at least twice

-with the leg day, I figured hitting each muscle group once was sufficient since I was running three days a week

Here‘s what a typical week would like. Keep in mind; I don’t have a set day that I use for rest days, so that day could very well change from week to week:

Day 1: 5k Run – goal: sub 11:00/mi

Day 2: Upper Body – 5 min warm up on cardio machine of my choice

– Pec Fly

– Tricep Extension

– Lat Pulldown

– Bicep Curls

– 5 min cool down on cardio machine of my choice

Day 3: 7.5k Run – same goal as 5k run

Day 4: Lower Body – 5 min warm up on cardio machine of my choice

– Close-Stance Leg Press

– Seated Calf Press

– Body-Weight Squats

Day 5: 10k Run – same goal as 5/7.5k

There’s a few things I should note here. I use the gym that’s attached to my condo, so the equipment is definitely lacking. Secondly, I rotate through the schedule so day 1 might not be a 5k run by the second cycle. I like having one day for strength training and one day for running, so the day after day 5 is the next strength training session I have lined up. Thirdly, I stick to a 10-15 rep, 3 set structure for strength training; with a rest time of 30 seconds between sets. Lastly, if I max out on an exercise, (meaning I hit 15 reps for all three sets), I’ll move up the weight by 10lbs.

What I love about this schedule is that it’s something that I can stick to easily with some goals in mind.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy