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Training + fat loss, looking for advice

[Deleted User][Deleted User]
in Training

Greetings,

As the title suggests I could do with some tips/help. I've lurked here for quite some time, first time poster image

So I'm dabbling with the thought of training for a marathon (Bournemouth in October ideally with other races before hand to build myself up) and am looking to shift a couple of stone in the process. I'll give you my vitals if it helps:

Age: 30 (well, in a couple of weeks), Weight:15st, Height 5ft 10.

So I used to run a fair bit, and i've got back into it recently. I only ever used to go out for 5k in an evening unless I was feeling brave and chucked a couple more on and used to go out with a running group where I used to live once a week.

I've recently joined my local gym and have the time to go for a good hour or so every day. I enjoy running outside and on the treadmill and for the most part of the training I plan to do I'd be in the gym as they have a pool and all the other fun equipment to use! I've been upping my distances and can quite comfortably run 10k now also.

Basically I'm looking for help in putting a plan together for running but also with resistance/strength training, I'm happy to go to the gym every day so I can do weights etc when I need to give my legs a rest. I've made the mistake of spending a lot of time reading up and there is so much info about i'm now lost. I definitely want a good mix of running and the strength/resistance work.

If anyone is doing anything similar I'd appreciate a hand!

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Comments

  • Nose NowtNose Nowt ✭✭✭

    The only advice I'd give is... the weight training is fine..  but on it's own, it's not really helpful if weight loss is your key objective. If that, and an October marathon, are your main objectives, I'd suggest the following principles to work from (I can't give you an actual plan!)...

    • Be patient. Play the long game.
    • In the first few weeks, concentrate mainly on upping your mileage steadily... and cutting out rubbish from your diet.
    • How long have you taken to get up to 10K running?  If you've got there in the space of 8 weeks or less, you've probably gone a bit quick... so give yourself a week with slightly lower mileage, to let your body adapt. 
    • Whatever mileage you're steady at, it's generally accepted that neither the length of your longest run in any given week, nor the sum of the miles run in a week, should increase by more than 10%... and that every 4th week, you should back off a little to give your body a break.
    • Don't overestimate your current running resilience. With all your previous exercise, your heart and lungs will be more capable of running than your legs, tempting you to run  too much. But the repeated gentle impact of running can cause injuries if you do too much, too quickly.
    • Run the vast majority of your miles SLOWLY.  Probably much slower than you'd think.  This will burn your fat... and train the aerobic system you need for your marathon... and greatly reduce your injury risk.
    • There's a school of thought that doing weights is not recommended for marathon runners... but unless you want to be a great long distance runner, then do what makes you feel good!

    You sound determined, so good luck with it.

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]

    Thanks for the quick reply. I've only done a few 10k's if I'm honest, I started following a plan but as you suggest I intend to play the long game, my family have a wonderful history of dodgy knees and I'm in no hurry to make that an issue. My plan has been something to the effect of this:

    Mon 3m
    Tues rest
    Wed 6m +
    Thurs cross train
    Fri Rest
    Sat 3m
    Sun 5m

    With the distance increasing from week to week, I tend to do my 10k at a 7.5mph pace with a 1% incline so when I do decide to go outside for a run it doesn't punish me too hard but I might ease off the speed if it means I'll burn more calories as a result, my first aim is to drop a couple of stone so the more fat burning sounds good, my food intake has massively improved too, I generally have a bowl of special k and a bananna for brekkie, then after i've taken the kids to school/nursery I go straight to the gym, afterwards I've been having a protein shake and some fruit/something reasonably light for lunch and my dinner has been portion controlled with a distinctly depressing lack of carbs! 

    I'm not planning on any big weight training as such (yet), I just want to work my whole body and noy just my legs and as I have to time to go to the gym most days I don't really want to waste the oportunity. So it's probably more a case of strengthening/core work with some weights thrown in for good measure. 

    Must go get the kids now, thanks for the reply though image

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  • supernova1984supernova1984 ✭✭

    Hi Steve83, wondering how it all went..? Bit long ago but your height, age and weight are the same as mine, and I even have the same targets as you of losing weight, cutting down on carbs and 10k running as well as a couple of gym sessions a week. Must be that point in our lives...

    Interested to know if you had any success?

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