Running With Weights
When you combine running and weight training, you get the best of both worlds. Running with weights helps to develop the fast twitch muscle fibers in your body that contribute to strength and size. Running, on the other hand, contributes to the development of slow twitch muscle fibers that contribute to your stamina and endurance.
A fitness program that combines running and lifting weights allows you to work on both your strength and stamina, thereby leading to more rounded overall physical development.
The most frequent question that is asked by people is whether they should be running and lifting on the same day. Well, the answer differs based on what you are trying to achieve.
If you are looking to increase your general overall fitness, it is recommended that you perform running and weight training on different days. This will allow you to perform both activities to your full potential without overtaxing your body. Based on what your requirements are you could opt for one of the following splits:
- Weight training once or twice a week, running on the other days, and one day of stretching or rest. This sort of a training split will help you to experience massive gains in cardiovascular fitness and also ensure that the muscles that aren't involved in running get enough of a workout
- Running and lifting weights on alternate days of the week, including a day of rest/stretching. This sort of an approach will give more balanced results between muscle size and strength and cardiovascular fitness
- Running twice a week and weight training on other days, including a day of rest/stretches. This program is for those who are looking to gain in size and strength. The running is simply used to ensure that the fat gain, which is a natural byproduct of any endeavor to gain size, is minimized
As you can see, all these programs emphasize running and weight training on separate days. However, there is one exception to this rule. If you are looking to maximize fat burn in the shortest possible span of time, you should consider running and lifting on the same day. This is because it has been seen that performing cardio after weight training sends your body's fat burning ability into overdrive. However, do keep in mind that such an exercise program will be very taxing and you may not be able to sustain it for very long.
Read more articles from the Running Category.
Find Pose