Starting Strength & running/cycling

[David Lee]

As a fellow 43-year-old, I can tell you that it will work for you. The first time I did SS, I got about 7 months out of it. After getting lazy the last couple of months of 2009, I'm re-starting. Getting strong is much more fun that running.

My advice would be to do only SS for the first month or two, and then add 15 min's of met-con once a week, then twice a week. This is what Rip has suggested many times on this forum, and it works.

Be prepared to eat.

[greenlantern]

I am not very far into the program at all (I am no young buck at 35 and am not in a rush to add 30 lbs of muscle overnight), but I am serious about challenging my body into getting stronger. In just a few weeks I have realized that I had to reset my expectations about cardio. No more 6 mile runs. No 50 mile bike rides. No two-mile swims, followed by a 6 mile run and a 50 mile bike ride.

[timt]

Like a lot of the guys said here, do SS for a few months then start up running. This will give your body time to adapt to the program (you won't feel as sore the next day any more). I would then do the running on either tues/thurs and on sat (so you got sun where your fully resting ready for a new week). Increasing your fitness level and overall conditioning will help your weightlifting (you'll be able to last longer, you won't be as tired after a set, your workout won't drag out, you'll need less rest time between sets) and is a great idea once your body has adapted to the original stress of starting a program like SS.

[nooob]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm going to give it a whirl for a few months as described and think about the other stuff afterwards.