Member
Lifting for a Female Cross Country Runner
Rip,
I have a female friend who wants to get stronger for her sport, where strength is apparently at least somewhat beneficial. She goes to a major university which has her lifting on a program that I don't think is terribly productive.
She is lifting on a 4 day plan with legs 1-2 week, including squats, ad/abduction machines, quad extension, leg press, and any other type of machine. Everything is done in 3 sets of 10. They also do bench, rows, and arms in various exercises.
Now, I've been advocating strength training programs that you and Starr etc. teach, so it's essentially a battle of her team's idea of a good program, and your knowledge of the best way to get strong. I know you're not an expert on the specialized needs of the sport, but she simply needs to get strong. Since it is currently season, the in season training must be done with races every weekend.
Here is what I have proposed:
A.
Squat 3 x 5
Deadlift 1 x 5
Press 3 x 5
(pullups?)
B.
Squat 3 x 5
Press 3 x 5
Row 3 x 5 ( Obviously Powercleans would be desirable, but that might have to come later)
(hypers?)
Perhaps this could be done 2-3 days per week.
I included deadlifts (which she had not been doing) because I read on these boards that a stronger back will help sprint times. Seems good enough.
She is a fairly strong girl who has done weight training in high school. At average height, 125lbs with a bench at 85lbs x 5 and squat 135 x 10+
if you could comment on this I'd sure appreciate it.
would running SS be your answer?
TMPHBITEU
Your proposal is a good simple program for an athlete playing another sport in need of a strength base. It is infinitely superior to the ridiculous waste of time she is doing now. The smartest people are sometimes not found in colleges and universities.
Member
awesome. I was hoping I was headed in the right direction. Now just to convince the sports nutritionist that her weight is not 10lbs too heavy! argh!Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
Member
Quite an interesting and certainly valid comment about Universities and Colleges. I have a flatmate studying Sports Science, and I took a little look at the books she's bought for the course (which cost over a hundred pounds, ridiculous I know), and the exercises they condoned were laughable. All isolation exercises (leg extensions etc) and don't even get me started on nutrition. She says she eats around only 1000 calories a day during season.
Seems the mentality of even the supposed 'most learned' establishments is pointless isolation exercises, long distance cardio, and ludicrously low calorie intake. Our halls of residences gym is just packed full of usless machines, treadmills, crosstrainers, leg extenders, etc, but fortunately the campus gym has some decent equipment, although only like 1 power pack and few benches that nobody seems to use.
Member
faster times?
stronger
looking at the weight training you have your friend do, i'm curious to see if her interval times drop, as you cant judge times on a cross country course because of the different style courese. to me, the weight training your going to give her with the normal running she is doing seems a bit much. her legs are probably trashed from races on the weekend, weekday intrvals, and if she is still doing a long run. post her progress if you dont mind.
hope she improves, but to me its too much . the running is enough. eaze into new weight training after the cross country season, and that should help her before track season starts. just my opinion.
best of luck ..
steve
TMPHBITEU
Stephen seems to think that long slow distance constitutes enough stress that adding even a minimal amount of non-LSD stress would be counterproductive. I disagree, and I'd like to know upon what logic or experience you base this recommendation. If running is enough and a little bit of full-ROM resistance training will induce overtraining, I'd say that her nutritional situation is completely inadequate. It probably is, and if so you might be right.
Member
I'm studying Sports Science at Ursinus College and we do okay here. I saw a class on strength training going over low bar squats, front squats, Zercher squats, box squats, etc. Our gym has four squat racks, four bumpers, at least four benches, and the bare minimum of machines. All of those first three things are constantly in use.
There is still some hope, man.
Member
it baffles me why people think a bicep curl is more beneficial than a squat, but they might know something I do not.
otherwise she would be training 4 times a week, so if what you say is correct then she'll benefit by dropping her work load, and if what Rip says is is, she'll get stronger on the proposal I gave.
this is if she does it. It took me about 2 weeks to rid my self of the body part split mentality
TMPHBITEU
Where is Ursinas College?
Posting Permissions
