Last nights workout adventures again brought me back to Treasure Valley Fitness for my own personal training session.
Let me just say, she was no J. Alabama but I was happy to get the chance to work out with one of the gym’s trainers and she definitely worked me over!
After putting me through 20 minutes of intense circuit style workouts, she gave me an evaluation.
Apparently my endurance rocks! I was super proud of that fact that my marathon endurance is still sticking with me.
But she did also mention that I have very poor core strength. 😦 Like super bad.
So hopefully all the ab workouts and yoga sessions will help balance that.
My own evaluation:
It’s interesting to evaluate my body post-marathon. I found that I spent so much time running I hardly had time to do any core or strength training during my marathon training. And to show for it, I have strong legs and am a bit squishy everywhere else.
Okay, so I didn’t do much strength training before, but I’m noticing a huge difference in how I feel when I do these kinds of workouts.
Example 1: Running
Running leaves me a huge sweaty awesome mess. I love it. I feel great. I feel like I accomplished something. But in all the time I have been running, the only time my body decided to drop a few pounds was when I was running at least 3+ hours at time. (Which is not realistic for me).
Example 2: Weight Training
I don’t really feel like I’m getting that much of a workout as I hardly sweat and sometimes almost feel sick when I am doing weight training. Also I don’t feel all that accomplished after a strength workout….until the next day. The next day is when I feel all the benefit of the workout. And it’s an almost instant feeling of my body stepping into high gear to want to tighten up and drop lbs.
So it finally makes sense to me why I need to both. 🙂
Running is my sweat it out instant feel good workout. And strength is my body working together to become strong and fit and gives me that overall feeling that I did something physical.
Woah!
I guess now I just have to take my epiphany and work with it!
My new challenge is to get to a more comfortable weight in hopes this will help in my running!
What do you think of my epiphany? Did you already think about cardio & weight training like this?
I feel like it all just finally clicked that I need to have balance and how it’s important for me!
Linzi's Life On The Run 
I am TOTALLY with you on the strength training stuff. I had planned on continuing to do my P90X while I trained for the marathon. Did that happen? Not once. However, I now have a plan that involves strength training (P90X)and running both. When I was training for the marathon, I was really concerned with getting in the miles and stuff. Now, I am just running to stay fit and have fun so I don’t run as long. Anyway, good luck with your weight training! I know when I did P90X I felt completely awesome and every time I saw a new muscle line (like definition in my arms) it was a miracle. Just a thought….measure yourself every couple weeks. I mean your arms, thighs, calves, waist, chest, etc. because you might not notice any difference on the scale, but you will definitely start noticing a difference in your measurements (inches lost!). Just my two cents =)
You know what helps with weight training? Lifting lots of heavy beers while watching the BSU v. Hawaii game with friends. It’s a tried and true method. Make J. Alabama get you tickets and lets all go to the game!
Awesome! You are bang on and I’m the same way… I have this issue where I don’t feel like i’ve really worked unless I’m pouring with sweat, but weights/core are a whole different animal! With marathon season behind me, I’m trying to work on mine too!
Ripped Runners! hehehe
I need to amp up my strength/core training too. I was following an awesome pushups regime/JM strength workouts before running/racing season took over. My new goal is to get to a pullup! I have a bar in the basement, I just need to work at it (a lot!!!)
I am really good about making sure I do strength training (ab class, lifting class, and pilates each week) when I’m training for my full in Jan-Apr, but I’ve slacked off so much lately. Gotta get back to it!
i used to hate strength training, now i hate cardio. i dont know why, but the last 2 times i went to the gym, i didnt even wanna look at the cardio machines.
very weird!
i used to be the queen of cardio
but i think you meed a good balance of both.
I have the same opinion on this as you. And my body is the same like you: strong legs but everything else needs to be worked on.
Yesterday at Pilates I felt muscles in my abs and back that I hardly knew they still were there 🙂
I need to go back to weight training and going to do that this month but running comes first. After my first half next year I will re-evaluate my training schedule.
I found that when I started strength training my running became better – I was able to run faster, with less effort. I think it’s a win-win to incorporate both (when you have time!!!)
I’ve thought about the connection and agree with it … I just haven’t implemented it! LOL!!!! I find it hard because I love running SO much and that’s all I want to do. I know the weights will change my body, but I just don’t want to do it. Before I fell in love with running I was all about the weights. I started running to up my calorie burn, then fell in love with it. I think it would help if I won the lottery, could quit work and have all the time in the world to workout for hours a day. Right now I have maybe an hour most days and given that’s all I have, I prefer to run. In a perfect world I would run for an hour and do weights for about 30 minutes. But I’m maxing out with what I have going on right now between work, kids, keeping my house and running.
yes! just recently came to that epiphany.
I lost most of my weight running, but haven’t done much sweaty running since really May.
However the very little running plus the core that I’ve doing has really helped me Tone my tummy and Arms and really has helped me maintain my weight. Hoping that it will make me a stronger runner.
When you say you feel sick, do you mean nauseous? I find that I usually feel nauseous in yoga when I just plain old forget to breath! I’m trying so hard to do a pose an focus so much on that, that I forget to actually take in oxygen. Remember to breath if you start to feel dizzy or sick. 🙂
I was just a cardio person for longest time. I just recently went back to my food journals from 5 years ago when I was 140 pounds – I realized I was taking boot camp classes and power bar classes, as well as cardio – so now I do both each day – I have a ways to go, but I am starting to feel not so squishy, even if just a bit!