Throwback Training and the Holidays (SISSY GUEST POST)!!

Weight training has always been something that I love to do.  When I started running more and training more for races I always wondered when and how I should work my weight training into my running.  I had exactly 90 minutes each day to fit everything into my workouts.  Ninety minutes because that is how long the child care in my gym lets you stay.

Every minute after that they charge you a dollar per child per minute! I’m sure I have looked hilarious sprinting across the gym, hurdling over weight benches and people doing pushups so I wouldn’t be late.  Believe me, with how many kids I have those late charges add up to millions of dollars fast:)  So I found myself in the dilemma of how do you fit in weight training and long runs into 90 minutes??? What I found to be most effective for me was this.

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I would always set aside thirty minutes of weight training at the beginning of my workout, before my runs.  I would split up my weight training into leg day, arm day, and chest and back day.  Everyday I would do core strengthening too.  On each of those days I would try to completely fatigue those muscle groups then right after jump on the treadmill for my 50 minute run, followed by 10 minutes of stretching.

As you can imagine leg days were the worst!

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For me, starting my runs on already fatigued muscles was a great way to train for longer races without having to put in the long run time which would take away from my weight training time (this is how I trained for half-marathons… my favorite race:)  So when I went into race day, my longest runs were about 7-8 miles, but since I was used to running with pre-fatigued muscles the 13.1 miles on race day were easy.  Did I just say easy?  Ha! Better description would be, I found myself alive and able to still walk around and take care of my kids after the race.

Just so you know the whole training regiment I just described was pre-back surgery.  Now I am working on slowly rebuilding the muscle and endurance I have lost.  Believe me… if I were to try to run on the treadmill now after leg day the ambulance would have to be called.  I don’t even trust myself to walk down the stairs after leg day now.  But I am hoping to get back to that training regiment one day.  (PS you can find some of her workouts here, here, here, here, here and I posted one on Monday of this week)!

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And a picture Janae took of me running on the treadmill when she lived at my parents’ house:

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Now for random holiday pictures!

We were so blessed to be able to go to Southern California for a week and go to a family wedding.

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I seriously could have stayed on this beach forever.  The kids loved every minute.

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A pic of three of the kids at their cousin’s wedding!

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Knott’s Berry Farm.  It rained most of the day.  But we stuck it out.  So by the time the rain stopped at 4 pm, we basically had the park to ourselves.

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Anniversary dinner with the love of my life!

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From Janae… I decided to add a few pictures of my sister and I when we used to get professional pictures done together.  I truly think we should go back to doing that again:

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How long do you spend each day working out?

What time saving tricks have you found to fit more into your workouts?

What goals are you working towards right now?

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75 comments

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I love your guest posts! (and the posts from your sweet mama)

I’m so glad you discussed weight training and then running on tired legs. I plan to attempt this today! I do my workouts at lunch, since the gym is close to where I work, and then my evenings are free (…to crash on the couch and watch Netflix after the kiddos are in bed). My husband does all of his workouts before work, or at lunch, and we both find that it’s much easier to get it done during the day than to try to fit it in after work, especially in winter when it’s sooooooo dark outside in the late afternoon/evening.

Current goal is just to get back into regularly working out. I took several months off, and I really miss the endorphins!

Have a great time in Hawaii, Janae!

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I craved the endorphins when I wasn’t able to workout during my injury. It is so nice to have them again. Endorphins really help me get through the day! Let me know how the run goes on tired legs :)

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It was hard! I had intervals on the agenda, and I definitely felt tired! The thing I love most about running is how we can improve, so I’m looking forward it feeling not quite *as* difficult, or at least being able to go for longer :)

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Thank so much for this post!! I’m like you – I love doing weight training but I really struggle to fit it in with my runs, I’m slowly starting to realise I can’t keep doing 5 weight training sessions and 4 runs a week – I burn out pretty quickly!

Do you follow a certain programme or do you mix it up every week? I’m slowly starting to put one together but I really struggle with core and leg exercises so if you have any tips, that would be amazing!

I try and spend 45 minutes in the gym each morning and then I do my runs in the evening which is hard work but it seems to work most of the time :)

I’m currently training for marathon but I’m also trying to get my leg and core strength up – I was diagnosed with lordosis and scoliosis last April and I’m not really meant to run but lots of core and hip flexor work is slowly helping – oh, and I usually clingfilm my hip when I race! Works wonders :)

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Hi Lauren! I struggle with the same :) I’ve found it helpful to devote one day completely to weight training, and adding 10-30 minutes after a run as a cool-down or extension of my running to knock out both at once. I use a lot of youtube videos for these (fitnessblender on youtube has hundreds of videos and range from 5 minutes to 60+)

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Hi Alyena, thank you so much for your suggestion, I’ll youtube it later and give them a go! Thank you :)

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Wow! You are amazing. As far as my leg workouts now, they are pretty pathetic. I lost so much muscle during my injury and recovery that just doing squats leave me sore! But I’m hoping to get back to my old routine one day.

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I workout at a Golds gym in Canada. Up until about a year ago, they never had time restraints on the child care, now it’s 2 hours. My young son is in school full days now so I can work out as long as I want, 3 & 1/2 hours is what it always seems to take. I do 1 & 1/2 hours on cardio machines or spin class and 2 hours of weights. My goal is to look a little more muscular and defined, but I’m tall and thinnish and finding that very hard to that with quite long limbs…they don’t seem to muscle up.

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Ha! I’m 5’10” and have found it hard too :) Thanks for your comment

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First of all, I still think you both have some of the greatest hair in the world! And thank you for sharing this. I’ve been trying to incorporate strength training more, and I’ve heard more than once that you should lift before the run. It’s good to know it helped you prepare for races by knowing what those tired legs felt like.

Right now my only goal is staying healthy and being able to race more. I’ve had some prolonged kidney stone issues bothering me and keeping me from being able to train as intensely as I used to, but hopefully it will all be behind me soon!

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So sorry about your kidney stone issues. I’ve had those too and they are no joke!!! Hope you get better soon :)

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That’s a great idea- running on fatigued legs is hard!! My current goal this year is to run another half marathon and my first full marathon!

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That is a great goal! Let me know how they go :)

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I’ve always found that if I’m going to do weigh training, it must be before my runs or workouts. Afterwards I’m just too tried or I get lazy. I like all of the advice. I would love to see specific workouts and sets you do too!

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I’m hoping to do a post about specific workouts soon! Working on getting into good enough shape that I can do them ;)

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I love your posts! You are gorgeous and your arms are AMAZING! I respect the fact you are still dedicated to working out despite the fact you have a crazy busy life. I think you should add to the craziness and write your own blog too:)!

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Ha! Thanks so much for your comment. Have a great day :)

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I used to spend anywhere from 60-90 minutes training every day when I was a bodybuilder. It was easy then, since I was a Personal Trainer and had the whole gym to myself during some points of the day. Now I break up my runs (morning) and weights (afternoon). Also, I don’t have kids, so life works that way!

P.S. I HAVE LOVED watching your Sissy’s kids grow up! They look like SUCH a fantastic fam!

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Isn’t awesome when you have the gym to yourself. I love not having to fight over machines! Have a great day

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I actually do some of my weight training at home just so I don’t have to spend so much time in the gym. Especially arm and core work, I have a couple of dumbbells that do the job when I get home and it allows me to split my workouts so it’s never too long of a chunk of time. My workouts are usually 90 minutes total throughout the day, but I’ve gotten more used to splitting them between morning and night (or morning and lunch) lately and it’s really helping with time management.

also, obsessed with those pictures haha! I remember taking ones like that as a kid and I really hope they have been lost because I’m sure they’re terrifying to look at now!

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Old pictures are the best…. except for those that are so bad you wish they would get lost but somehow your best friend will never lose them :) Thanks for your comment

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Running on fatigued legs to train for a half marathon with shorter runs is genius and I might have to try it. It’s hard to fit in runs, Jazzercise, and strength training. There’s just not enough time for everything! Thanks for sharing how you do it!

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If you try it…. let me know how it goes :) Thanks for your comment!

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Ok totally random but how did you get your hair to do that gorgeous wavy thing in the first pic?

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If you read my hair post you know I don’t have the greatest hair hygiene, so what I’m about to tell you shouldn’t come as a shock :) I have naturally curly hair. When I do my hair curly I just don’t wash it again for a week. As the week goes on, the curls get more and more relaxed. That picture was several days after washing ;)

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I, too, got injured so my current goals I cannot even compare to the past. My current goal is 5 miles straight with no ill effects to injury. I have been able to do 2.5 so far. I am building up, too chicken to try just 5 and have it be a HUGE mistake.

Love the family pictures. Thanks for sharing a bit of your life with us.

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I totally understand! 2.5 Miles is awesome!!! Keep listening to your body and don’t push it to things it’s not ready for….yet. That’s what I keep telling myself :)

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I love these time saving workout tips. Planning out gym time is necessary for my schedule. I usually try to set up the equipment I need in a circuit so that I’m not wasting time changing out weights or grabbing a barbell I need, etc.

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That is a great tip. Thanks for sharing!

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I love to do HIIT workouts when I only have 30 minutes to workout. It’s quick but it tires me out!

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Those workouts are awesome! Have a great day :)

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I usually only have an hour to get in and out of the gym (sometimes that even includes drive time!) so I strength train 3x a week and run 3x a week.

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Hopefully your gym isn’t too far away then! Thanks for your comment

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That is awesome you are motivated to still get your workouts in with your kids! Great idea to go hard and squeeze it all in! I tend to do weight training on non-running days, but for one half marathon training I did weights before running twice a week and I ended up PRing by 9 minutes! So definitely need to think about doing that again!

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That is awesome that you PRed (is that how you write that? It looks so weird to me :) by so much. Have a great day!

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The worst part of training to is this!

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to me*

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Ha! Right now all training is the worst to me because it all hurts! :) Have a great day!

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I usually do running or weight training each day… not both. I don’t have enough energy for that. :)

Question: How in the world do you workout with your hair down? Mine is in a ponytail long before my workout begins. ;)

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Ha! Janae took those pictures before the workout really began :) Have a great day!

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I love your posts and I love that you’ve influenced Janae to strength train! Her posts about it crack me up! I feel like she wants to secretly complain but she knows she can’t! ha!
I’m going to have to try running after weight training because I only have 60-90 minutes M-F and I also need to make the most of my time. When I run on weight day it’s a slow 3 mile warm-up and nothing more. But that’s mostly because of time. I’ve never done a longer run and weights – for some reason I’ve avoided doing it that way because I don’t like/I’m afraid (??) to run on too tired of legs … I need to suck that up real soon though as I just signed up for my FIRST marathon!

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Yay for your first marathon! Janae is hilarious when it comes to weight training and not wanting to do it….but man she can run a million miles like it’s nothing!!!

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I think you hair is so pretty! Oh my God I wish mine looked like that every day haha.

If I go out to run I would normally take 40 minutes to 2 hours. If I go to the gym, I will normally take 1 hour to two hours. Right now, I’m not training for anything in specific. Exercising is just time for myself.

If I’m in a hurry in the morning and just got back from my run, I’ll stretch in my bathroom while I wait for the shower to get warm enough to get in. I’m not sure how much time that saves me, but I still feel like I’m doing something.

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Thanks for your stretching tip….every minute helps! Have a great day :)

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Loved the post! I work full time and have an hour commute one way, so fitting in my workouts and still having time to take care of the house and my fiance is rough. To squeeze in both running and strength training, I switch off the days. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday I go to a boot camp, and Tuesday-Saturday I run.

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Wow that is a busy day! That is awesome you’re fitting it all in! thanks for your comment :)

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Thanks for sharing! I always love your posts! That makes sense about running on fatigued legs! I might have to give that a try!

And those pictures are hilarious! lol

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Thanks for reading! and commenting! Have a great day!

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I think I enjoy strength training more than running, but I love running in races. I like your idea as to why you do weights first and run second. I usually do it the other way around, but I’ll have to try it out!

I usually spend about an hour/day, which on strength days means only a 30 min. run and 30 min. strength. On the weekends, I’ll take longer doing my long runs.

My biggest time saver is running from my house and lifting weights/strength at home :) That way I’m not having to spend any time driving anywhere and I can be home quicker.

I don’t have anything on the agenda, and I need to change that quickly! Right now, it’s just about feeling good and strong :)

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I love your outlook of feeling good and strong! Have a great day:)

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You’ve inspired me to do the weights before the cardio! Now that I think about it, it is a great way to train during fatigue.

How long are your runs on leg days? On your longer runs,do you do weights at all? If you do, what part do you train?

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I would do 7 miles after leg day :) Let me know how weights before cardio goes for you :)

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The image of you sprinting/pole vaulting through the gym to get your kids before the 90 minutes is cracking me up. That would be me too! And I’m liking this idea of running fatigued to simulate a longer run, going to try that! I’m just coming off a long injury too so my strength training and running are pretty pathetic, but it feels so great to make progress and just be out there again.

Looks like a fun family vacay and thanks for sharing those pics with Janae. Sissy love!

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Thanks for your comment! Sorry about your injury. I totally agree with you. Even though my workouts are nothing compared to what they used to be…. I’m just so happy to be able to do anything again!

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Ugh, I can imagine getting hit with an ‘overdue’ kid bill :) Kinda like me dashing to daycare after trying to sneak a hair appointment in after work. The only daycare worker left is holding my baby…
Thanks for all of the workout tips! I find it inspiring to see other people getting their workouts done on limited time. I really do need to incorporate regular strength training into my week, other than my current arm day. Thanks for the fun post! Your family is adorable!

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Thanks so much! I think they are pretty adorable too! have a great day :)

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I spend about 1-2 hours a day and rotate between running, swimming, and strength work. I’ve found it helpful to devote one day completely to weight training, and adding 10-30 minutes after a run as a cool-down or extension of my running to knock out both at once. I use a lot of youtube videos for these (fitnessblender on youtube has hundreds of videos and range from 5 minutes to 60+)

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Thanks for the great tips and website! Have a great day :)

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I love this post!!!

I have 4 kids and homeschool so I try to get early gym time in from about 5:30-7:00. I decided last year that 3 mornings/wk is about my limit so I’m not too exhausted.

I’m trying to figure out how to fit in weights and cardio/running and this is perfect! Thx for the tips!!!

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Wow! You are one busy momma! I’m right there with you at the 5 am workout. Have a great day!

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I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you mention it before but I’ve never seen it myself but goodness janae, your niece looks just like you in that second throw back picture! How fun is that?

I was an only child so I find sibling and family resemblances so fascinating.

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It is almost scary how much they look alike! I guess my family has very strong genes ;)

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I’m working on getting my strength training game a bit stronger! I’ve been so focused on running faster & farther, and I know that ultimately I’ll run a stronger race with a bit more strength work incorporated. I consistently lift once a week, but would love to sprinkle more of that in on days with mid distance to shorter runs, even if it’s just 10 minutes! I just need to make the time, you’re inspiring me because I don’t (yet) have kiddos to take into consideration with my time crunch so no excuses!

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Thanks for your comment! Let me know how it goes and if it helps your race time. Have a great day :)

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I have SO respected and admired you over the years as you raise 5 amazing children, take care of your relationships with your husband, parents, and extended family, and also yourself! I am a fan of running on ‘tired legs’ when I am training for ultra races and do longish runs on both Saturday and Sunday. The younger pics of you and Janae are beautiful :)

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You are so sweet! Thank you for your kind words. Have a great day!

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I’m just getting back into workouts after my disc herniation. I got the shot and it worked for me, aside from some numbness that is still lingering, so thank you for your prayers from your last post! ?I’m reading this as I’m on the bike. Usually my workouts are about 50-60 min. Have a wonderful day!

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So happy the shot has worked for you!!!!! Have a great day!

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Love the throwback pictures! I also love the idea of making your leg day workout an extra challenge to practice running on fatigued legs. Very smart!

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Hi Sissy!!!!! Love that you are here today to teach us all a little something while Janae soaks up the sun and sand and beautiful views!!!! My goal for 2017 is to add in more weight training. I know how important it is with running! But I am just one of those people where I would rather run then do weights. But I am getting better! And as much as I love running and working out I am not one to spend hourS doing it. If I can be done around 90 minutes I am good to go!!! So when I do my long runs I skip weights. . . I know I should not!!!

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Same struggles over here!! My gym gives us 2 hours to work out for kids over 1, but by the time I get them in, jackets off, drinks/snacks & all settled I don’t usually get a full 2. So like you I do groups – legs/shoulders, chest/tris, back/bis and run for 40-50 minutes. I feel like I get the best of both worlds that way. I love feeling like I have strong muscles and a strong heart which is probably the most important of all!! Plus my kids have fun playing and I’m a more patient and healthy mommy, win win:)

I have so much admiration for you handling it all. I know for me it is a struggle just to get out the front door (with only 2 kiddos) some mornings. Keep up the good work awesome mom!

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Your sister looks amazing! I had no idea there were so many years between you 2.

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Hi HRG sister! I love your guest posts. You have a beautiful family. I have a request for a future post. Do you think you could write more about your pregnancies, how you modified your workouts, maintained a healthy diet, dealt with weight gain, etc? I know you wrote about some pregnancy tips awhile back in one of Janae’s posts but would love if you could go into more detail. Thanks!

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Those throwback pictures just made my day. Nay, my week. So hilariously amazing. I tell Janae all the time that I hope my 2 daughters have a similar relationship that you two do. They are 7.5yrs apart.

I used to always workout for at least an hour. Now it is 30min – an hour at most. Anything longer and I go crazy. Crazy how things change, right? Loved your post and your sense of humor.

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I love weight training as well. There is nothing else that makes me feel more bad-ass than killing a good weight/strength workout (even more than a long run). Not only is it empowering but its a great stress reliever and as I’ve gotten older, an excellent way to keep me fit and injury free as I’ve increased my running mileage. There have been many stressful days at work where I’ve hit the gym afterwards to just kill it and then go home a happy wife and mama to my husband and daughter. When training for a race, I dial down the intensity but always incorporate weights and strength into my cross training. Glad I’m not the only one!
Love these guest posts.

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