Cardio/endurance sports & weight training - combining?

[sstewart]

Dragonboat season has begun!! Woohoo!!! Even though the first night out on the river was in a steady downpour and about 37 degrees F (brrr!) it was great to be out on the river.

The good news is that my endurance seems to be much improved and my blood sugar issues seem to have resolved (I had some serious and frequent hypoglycemic episodes when I first switched my diet over but now my body is happy

At any rate, pre-season I was doing some body building (3x/week). Now that the season has begun, I don't necessarily want to quit doing that, but we paddle 3 days/week, and I feel like I need the rest days in between. (that's what it's like when you're old LOL - btw, I'll be 44 in a few days).

Does anyone take part in a cardio/endurance type sport that also does some weight training? How do you split your workouts? I don't want to overtrain, but I don't want to lose the muscle I've built off season either.

[bronco]

Does anyone take part in a cardio/endurance type sport that also does some weight training?

Yes, or at least I used to do both running, floorball and weightlifting.

How do you split your workouts? I don't want to overtrain, but I don't want to lose the muscle I've built off season either.

I would do weightlifting on the days you're not rowing . I think weightlifting once a week would be enough for maintainance as long as you eat enough. I also think up to three times could work though possibly. Allthough Im not sure how you train for dragonboat, how long are the session? You should probably experiment and see how many weightlifting session a week feels right for you.
And regarding the weightlifting, especially if you only do it once a week, I would skip everything but large compound exercises since these are the most effective, and would require the least time for effective training.

[runner]

hello sstewart

I do some weight training next to my running. You can see in my training logg what i do.. think there are more people there that combine the two LGB and fruitbat, Bronco

[Tarz]

Does anyone take part in a cardio/endurance type sport that also does some weight training? How do you split your workouts? I don't want to overtrain, but I don't want to lose the muscle I've built off season either.

Run x 5, Weights x 2 per week or occasionally Run x 4, Weights x3

Doing weights a couple of times a week maintains muscle mass - I just make sure I train pretty hard when I do hit the gym to counter all those miles I run which are not advantageous to keeping muscle.

It depends a lot how on long your cardio training is for, and how hard that training is.

[Fruitbat]

i dont recommend doing what i do i.e. swim and cycle every morning; weights 3-4 times per week - but you can most def do both cv and weights and progress at both tho many will say you will get better gains at weights if you dont do cv. prob true but i like to keep my fat-levels under control and CV is good for the heart, circulation and lungs anyway!

[sstewart]

Thanks for all your replies!

Dragonboat training - mostly in the boat, paddling, about an hour and half at a time. Sometimes we do drills that focus on synchronization, sometimes on speed, or power, or both, and sometimes we do endurance (6-7 miles, pretty much constant with a couple of breaks here and there). Off the water training is pretty much up to us.

The paddle stroke taxes mainly the torso/back - it's a rotation then counter-rotation and sit-up. Depending on what we're doing, that can be anywhere from about 40 strokes/min to upwards of 75 or so. It also taxes the shoulders a bit.

Coach wants us to do really light weights and mega-reps (like 25-50/set) one day a week. I don't know that working out like that is probably great for conditioning, but I don't think it will build/retain muscle. I'll do it, but I'd also like to keep doing some heavier weights, lower reps to retain the mass I've built over the past couple of months.

Guess I'll try and see how I feel - figure once I have a couple weeks of the season under my belt and am more used to the activity, it won't be as much of a strain on my system and I won't require as much rest. (she says hopefully )