Possible to maintain size and strength while training for marathon/triathlon?

The Cowboy

Hi there,

Currently i am weightlifting regularly 4 days a week. I started 6 weeks ago.
My goals are to build size and strength. My programme is available for critique in another thread.(Any tips appreciated)
I aim to continue with these goals until March or April, at which point i would like to train for a marathon or triathlon.
I would not like however to lose the gains i aim to make in strength and muscle size(obv fat will fall off) while training for such an event. Is it possible to maintain your composition and strength while training for such an event?
Obviously continuing to lift weights regularly is necessary as is consuming enough calories to offset the loss from running/swimming/cycling.
But is it as simple as that?
For example, lifting weights on Mon, Weds, Fri, and running etc on Tues, Thurs, Sun. Plus keeping your protein and calorie intake high.
Any ideas as to how you would go about it?(Just for interest at present mind, wont be doing it until Spring)

Thanks.

Corksham

Hi when training for the london marathon I went from 13.5 to 10.5 stone over a 5 month period. I was running 4 nights a week and there was no way on earth I could have lifted serious weights the other nights as they were for recovery, marathon training was relentless and difficult for me personally, others may find it easier.
I cant comment on triathlons as I havent trained for one but from my experience I wouldnt be able to maintain the same muscle as the weight (muscle and fat) just falls off with all the long runs. I ate well (lots of brown rice, chicken ,fuit, veg...) without worrying about the number of calories as such, and cut back on the booze but still lost a pile of weight.
Best of luck in your training.

Money Shot

From my experience, training for two very different reasons is not a good idea. It will result in your heavy weight training affecting your long distance running/cycling, and your long distance running/cycling affecting your weight lifting.
Personally, I concentrate on one thing at a time. You don't see many marathon runners built like body builders and you don't see many body builders running marathon's. I know you are technically neither, but I think training hard on two levels for two conflicting results will result in failure or poor performance on both fronts.
For example , if I was training for the wicklow 200, I would concentrate on that for a couple of months, then go back and start my weights from scratch and build it up again. I find it hard on my body to lift heavy all year round anyway - so welcome the break to do different training.

Most importantly - you have to listen to your body, and give it rest when it needs it.

estariol

Well I dropped serious amounts of muscle mass when I trained for triathlons this year, body shape hasn't changed too drastically but have lost more body fat than I knew I had.
My previous training had been for tae kwon do, so mainly strenght endurance and flexability, I have always had good strength to mass ratio, but dropped from 100 non stop push ups to straining to do 40....this is my barometer for how the training affected me, so for the winter season I'm going to focus on the tkd again and I think stick to the sprint distance rather than the olympic distance....hopefully this will have less of an extreme shift!

Patto

In my limited experience I would say it is possible to lift big weights and maintain a decent level of aerobic fitness.

I know at least 2 people who can bench press 100Kg and run 10k in 40 odd minutes. It took both years of hard work to get there though. Its hard to make excuses when you know people who are stronger and fitter than you.

Its hard to train for both at the same time tho. You are fighting a battle on two fronts as such.

Its seems to be more effictive to work hard on one and maintain the other in turn.

I ran the Ballycotton 10 race earlier this year in 75min at 14 stone. I'm above 15 stone now and a good bit stronger. I'm probably going to run the B10 again in March. I'm aiming to run the same or better time without loosing any strength. I will need to drop back down to at least 14.5 stone tho.

NoQuarter

10k is miles different from a marathon though (pun intended!:rolleyes:)
while id say its easily possible to be running 10k's and keepin size i wouldnt say the same for a marathon, personally i was weight training for a few months, put on quite good size, then ran a marathon with minimal training for it and still lost a lot of that size!

BossArky

My stats from the past two years training for triathlons in the summer and weights at other times.

Tri training -> down to 67kg
Weight training -> up to 75kg

I get pretty skinny with all the cardio. Need to eat more steaks.

hunnymonster

king-stew wrote: »

10k is miles different from a marathon though (pun intended!:rolleyes:)

Ballycotton is a 10 mile (not 10 km) race but your point still stands. There is something that happens when you go over about (exact point differs between individuals) 2 - 3 hours of intensive exercise.

I've done the maths before but in very rough terms my understanding is:* You use glycogen et al. to fuel you when swiming/biking/running. You can store a certain amount, you can ingest/digest a certain amount per unit time. You will use more than you can replace if you are working at any reasonable intensity. If you run out the energy to move has to come from somewhere else. This is most likely a mixture of fat and muscle. You can maximise the% of fat used which minimises the amount of muscle destroyed but over a prolonged period there is no way to prevent some of the energy being supplied through muscle breakdown.

Patto

hunnymonster wrote: »

Ballycotton is a 10 mile (not 10 km)

Quite right, I didn't say otherwise. And I sure hope so, 10K in 75 minutes is little faster than a brisk walk:o

I find when you are doing a lot of running. Even above 20 miles a week you are in a pepetual state of being somewhat to severly glycogen depleted. Often when you go for a run you are already depleted. It is difficult not to waste away when you start running this type of milage if you don't mind your carbs.

Dragan

hunnymonster wrote: »

You can store a certain amount

Generally speaking its about 100grams of glyrcogen in the liver, about 220 to 400 grams in the muscle, depending on the size of the trainee.

Thinking about it logically, in a long distance endurance event thats not going to get you very far. :eek:

Transform

Depends really on how well you want to do.
Did new york marathon last year in 3hrs 11mins at 12st 8lbs and can do a 10km now in about 42mins (with no specific training) at 14st.

There is no way in hell you will maintain size and strength if training for a marathon or triathalon IF you want good times if not then yes its absolutely possible through supplementation not steaks.

BossArky

Transform wrote: »

There is no way in hell you will maintain size and strength if training for a marathon or triathalon IF you want good times if not then yes its absolutely possible through supplementation not steaks.

I was half joking there with the steaks.

Patto

Dragan wrote: »

Generally speaking its about 100grams of glyrcogen in the liver, about 220 to 400 grams in the muscle, depending on the size of the trainee.

Thinking about it logically, in a long distance endurance event thats not going to get you very far. :eek:

What about carb loading? You don't hear much about it these days. What is carb loading, does it work? Does it supersize those figures above?

slemons

well as the lads have said you can maintain size, but you'll be a crap marathon runner.
why anyone would want to run a marathon anyway is beyond me, but to each his own!

Coach Kenn, who thought up the tier system for in-season weightlifting for field sports has a great
system. You could try that

Personally i've found high rep calisthenics have helped me maintain pretty much all my size over about a 6 month period with no max strength work. They should also help slightly with the marathon. lots of situps of various flavours, chins, pushups, squats, lunges, setups, dips etc

I've also found it interesting to note that my strength hasnt gone down much. my 1rms havent slipped too much. Ive read somewhere that the act of maintaining muscular cross section can help maintain strength even without training for strength (eg 3sets of 12 light instead of 8 sets of 2 almost max) I think that was Joe Kenns too. 3sets of 12 might drain you while you're doing them but you recover quickly. max work could fvck you up for 3 days, and thats no good when you have a game on saturday. So its all about balance.

Easier said than done though, you'll just have to experiment...

slemons

carb loading is bull$****. its been a massive pet hate of mine for years. I used to always do it before games, and then be sluggish as hell, almost asleep!

Basically in my opinion rice, pasta, bread is all sh1te regardless if its wholewheat or not. Banana's, potatoes, oats are better sources of carbs but they're still starchy and do strange things to your body (well to me anyway) I avoid them as much as i can. My carbs come from veggies and fruit and thats it really.

Pre-game i like to err on the side of empty rather than full. I hate eating even slightly more than i should . It can be very distracting when training or running or playing.