Optimal strength training for runners

Found it, it's that Cressey dude.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...the_seven_habits_of_highly_defective_benchers

Habit #1: Always missing lifts
I remember back when we used to lift in high school, and we'd bench 4-5 days a week. At the time, I was about 4'11" with a giant afro (imagine Seth from Superbad) and a whopping 115lb. bench press -- but I (like all the guys around me), knew freakin' everything! Why?
Well, because I could just come in and bench and add five pounds every time I came in. It took me from a 45-pound bench press (yes, just the bar) to a grinder at 135 that made chicks want me and guys want to be me. Riiight.
Unfortunately, the road beyond 135 wasn't that simple. While I started to grasp that I couldn't hit a personal best every day, it took me quite a while to realize that even expecting new personal best each week wasn't reasonable. So, along the way, I missed lifts...a LOT of lifts.
In fact, I probably missed that 230 bench press at least 100 times before I got it. And, even then, I have to wonder if I had misloaded the bar or there had been a momentary lapse in gravity.
It wasn't until I stopped missing lifts that my progress really took off. Instead of getting stapled by 235, I hit multiple clean singles at 220 or got sets of 3-5 in at 85% or so. And, the more I succeeded with this mindset, the more I realized that there were times that I walked into the gym where I didn't even plan to come close to failing on a bench press.
Eventually, all these things "clicked," and I found myself writing for two days. The end result was a compilation of all these thoughts and strategies in an e-book, The Art of the Deload, that discusses planned reductions in training stress.

I don't know what do you guys think?
Some of the others bad habits from that article:

Habit #2: Not using leg drive
I think I have my legs tucked under like this, not sure if I use the drive though. In general, I haven't thought about bench press technique in a long time. I should.

Habit #3: Not hammering the upper back
Yah, since reading up on possible causes of shoulder pain, I've been giving special emphasis to strengthening my back and getting it as strong as my front. That's why I do rows and pullups/pulldowns twice a week, and the presses only once. I think it's working.

Habit #4: Not pulling the bar down
Interesting concept. Will have to give this a try. But maybe I do it already, in the sense that my lats and shoulder blade muscles are properly tensed? Several people have said this is key, so I'll try to be more conscious of it.

Habit #5: Not rotating main exercises
I dunno, I really don't want to start hassling with a decline/incline bench. But I do dips, and Sid's landmine presses might be a good substitute for the incline press. Also, I intend to do more DB Bench Presses at some point, and cross-over flyes if my shoulder tolerates it OK. So I think I may have enough variety already built in.

Habit #6: Not training bar speed
I get this a bit with different rep ranges. I think if I start doing strikes, kicks, power cleans, box jumps, step-ups, bench hops, medicine ball toss, etc., more regularly, as specified in my 'program', then I'll be training explosiveness quite adequately. I suppose I could do high rep/lo weight squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc., but it comes down to only having so much time for any of this. These kinds of articles are always telling you that you're not doing enough of something. Makes my head spin.

Habit #7: Not getting handoffs
Not feasible for me at the moment. I like training alone in my garage.
 
I think that I might try angling the dumbbells at 45 degrees, like this guy is doing.

Today I tried the dumbbell dead in the video and regular dumbell squats and I think i like more of a straight leg just barely bent knee on the deadlift instead of like the video.
 
Last week, I tried the DB dead, like in the video, and it was a bit easier on the low back. However, I switched over to DB squats for the work sets, as it was much easier on the back.

That was before I did the squats with the weight vest. Didn't try the dead with the weight vest, as it seemed that the vest might end up forward my center of gravity. Plan on sticking with the weight vest squats, until I get the heavier DBs. Definitely feeling it in the glutes today. :D

Been trying to do my workouts based on what my body feels like doing. Lift, run, stairs, swim, rest, depending on what I have an itch for, and what doesn't feel tired. Also plan on adding some jump rope to get the heart rate up.

I'm also trying to do more than one strength exercise in a workout, but I'm finding that I can't do all the exercises with higher weights, unless I have a lot of rest time. I'm not sure that I'm getting the most of out my workouts that way. Maybe short and heavy is the way to go.

My weight has been the same, but I've lost couple of inches in the waistline, so that's good. :D
 
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Today I tried the dumbbell dead in the video and regular dumbell squats and I think i like more of a straight leg just barely bent knee on the deadlift instead of like the video.

That DB deadlift he is showing is much closer to back squat than a real deadlift (if you look at his start position he is at parallel), I think what you are doing is more similar to the deadlift. I am not a big fan of the positioning he uses for the db's either I prefer them directly next to your feet.
 
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That DB deadlift he is showing is much closer to back squat than a real deadlift (if you look at his start position he is at parallel), I think what you are doing is more similar to the deadlift. I am not a big fan of the positioning he uses for the db's either I prefer them directly next to your feet.
You mean like using a neutral grip? I tried that today for my deadlift with dumbbells and I thought it worked well enough.
 
Wanted to give the legs a rest, today. Swam in the morning. Went to the gym and tried the Concept 2 rower in the afternoon. Rower felt like it worked the legs a lot. :D Oops. Certainly less impact. We'll see if I'm ready tomorrow for another run or stair routine.

Any recommendations on cardio that I can do while resting the legs? Thanks!
 
Thanks for the tip.

Actually, I'd like to focus on high intensity interval work. I'm taking a break from LSD runs.

So my request would be for suggestions for low impact HIIT routines that spare the legs. Thanks in advance!

(No worries, I do take rest days. :D)
 
I don't think it really matters weather lifting weights, running, swiming etc. its jut a matter if your doing all out effort for 30 seconds to a couple minutes then rest for a bit than all out again than repeat for a few times....to spare your legs you need to swim or do upper body weight training HIIT...thats it.
 
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Um yeah, sure, I do strength train the upper body on my leg-sparing days. And I swam afterward, then the the rower in the afternoon.

Anyhow, I might break out the exercise videos again. It's a bit non-masculine, but I'm not interested in seeing a video with a bunch of guys. :D
 
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Um yeah, sure, I do strength train the upper body on my leg-sparing days. And I swam afterward, then the the rower in the afternoon.

Anyhow, I might break out the exercise videos again. It's a bit non-masculine, but I'm not interested in seeing a video with a bunch of guys. :D

We have to do the tough things in life sometimes.:)
 
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Lower body exercises today with running, squats, and stairmaster.
Will try upper body tomorrow with swimming, weights, then do a HIIT routine alternating lightweight DB clean and press and resistance bands to mimic the SkiErg. Maybe add in some DB pushups and renegade rows. We'll see how it goes!
 
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Lower body exercises today with running, squats, and stairmaster.
Will try upper body tomorrow with swimming, weights, then do a HIIT routine alternating lightweight DB clean and press and resistance bands to mimic the SkiErg. Maybe add in some DB pushups and renegade rows. We'll see how it goes!
Sid, I think renegade rows and tosses (kneeling, standing) and twist-lunges with a lighter medicine ball would work great for more of a HIIT upper body workout. Also, if you row on the Concept II machine with bad form, you can involve the upper body much more than the lower body. Bear crawls and burpees also come to mind. Oh, maybe also rope climbing or that thing people do with really heavy ropes, making waves?
 
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Had to stay late for work, was tired and didn't have a chance for good preworkout nutrition. Made a go of it anyway, but skipped the lifting, when I realized that I was weak on the first exercise.

Gave the upper body HIIT rotation a try, and it was pretty good. I like that it works all four vectors. Got a good pump in the upper body and core, too. I'll continue doing it.

I like the Concept 2 okay, but it works the legs too much for an upper body day. I also like doing stuff at home, but I'm short on space. I've also tried rowers on carpeted gym floors, and they move! So that's not going to work at home with the carpet. The Concept 2's used to be fairly affordable on Craigslist. I think that Crossfit started using them a couple of years ago, so the prices seem to have gone up.

Yeah, I think that my neighbor might have a set of ropes in his garage. I'll have to say hello to him one day, and see what kind of workouts he's doing. Maybe Crossfit? I chance upon him about once a week, while he is working out with his garage door open, but I usually have the dogs in hand when I see him. Plus, when I run, it's usually early morning. Hmmm, maybe he has a rower in there somewhere! :D
 
A little discussion about training maxes and such as Lee and I have been discussing a bit.

http://www.jimwendler.com/2013/03/the-purpose-of-a-training-max/ an interesting quote "The whole purpose of a training max is to establish a baseline for where you are USUALLY at. The reason I grade sessions like I do (80%, -10%, +10%) is so that I don’t try to make my “big boy pants” my everyday pants, because I had a kick ass session. This is a very common mistake made by most guys. They have a brutally good session, then start revamping their training based on a single factor. Lifting is not done in a vacuum, i.e. single session events. It’s something you build over time, brick on top of brick."

Here is another interesting one about making smaller jumps in weight when working to a max.

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/beginner-mistakes-part-i-max-effort-progression/

And some about meso cycles.

So I don't know how many often hitting a 1rm should be done? I do like the method about if I can hit 3 x 1 of a weight then to increase but it wouldn't actually be a 1RM so i would be working in the 90% ranges.
I am going to incorporating smaller jumps as I tend to make big ones now for the sake of saving time.
 
A little discussion about training maxes and such as Lee and I have been discussing a bit.

http://www.jimwendler.com/2013/03/the-purpose-of-a-training-max/ an interesting quote "The whole purpose of a training max is to establish a baseline for where you are USUALLY at. The reason I grade sessions like I do (80%, -10%, +10%) is so that I don’t try to make my “big boy pants” my everyday pants, because I had a kick ass session. This is a very common mistake made by most guys. They have a brutally good session, then start revamping their training based on a single factor. Lifting is not done in a vacuum, i.e. single session events. It’s something you build over time, brick on top of brick."

Here is another interesting one about making smaller jumps in weight when working to a max.

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/beginner-mistakes-part-i-max-effort-progression/

And some about meso cycles.

So I don't know how many often hitting a 1rm should be done? I do like the method about if I can hit 3 x 1 of a weight then to increase but it wouldn't actually be a 1RM so i would be working in the 90% ranges.
I am going to incorporating smaller jumps as I tend to make big ones now for the sake of saving time.
In the first article, they dismiss autoregulation because they have attitude problems. Well, as you know, recently I've been trying to become more disciplined about my rep-count and sets, but still, I've gotten good results just on autoregulation alone, so it can work for those of us who don't have macho hangups but have enough somatic awareness to know how and when to challenge ourselves.

In the second article, I don't see the sense of spending so much energy on the warm-up sets before getting to the max single. I prefer to warm up as quickly as possible to the training max with relatively large jumps, stay there for another set or two, and then do higher reps in back-off sets, jumping down 30-50 pounds for 3, 5, or 8 reps. That way, you get in your max, but also develop different kinds of strength with somewhat higher reps in the back-off sets, when you've already primed all the fibers. But I also like sometimes to take pretty small jumps coming down from the max single, just 10-20 pounds, keeping me at or close to my max ability so that the intensity remains quite high.

I think both approaches are valid, but who am I to argue with Jim Wendler? Well, I think I can, because I know that at least a few other people with his level of knowledge and experience have endorsed my method. Seems like every conceivable protocol has been endorsed by at least one or two of the top internet trainers. Still, I think you have to question everyone's background (weightlifter? powerlifter? bodybuilder?) and ask if it's necessarily applicable to middle-aged dudes who just want basic, functional strength working out three or less hours a week.

I'll detail yesterday's workout and my ongoing attempt to refine my rep-counts on the other thread in a bit. But basically, yes, I'm with you. For the big lifts, I like 2-3 x 1 x 90-95% 1RM until it starts to get easy, and then bump up 10-20lbs. Doing a true 1RM is for setting the baseline percentages, and/or having a friendly contest with your BRS training partner(s).
 

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