Working out in the gym - balance between cardio and strength training?

I am 51 & try to get to the gym 4 times a week. What balance between cardio & resistance training should I do?
Ron
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Gary Moller comments:
(This was first published on www.grownups.co.nz)
Ron,

• To improve an aspect of fitness, such as strength, you need to do three exercise sessions per week.
• To maintain an aspect of fitness, such as strength, you need to do two exercise sessions per week.
• A well structured cardio or strength training programme will have overlap of both.

If you work indoors, then cardio exercise is best done outdoors, even during the depths of winter, because bright sunlight and fresh air are essential for physical and mental health. This can be any form of exercise that has you puffing a little for 20 minutes or longer and can include a brisk walk to and from work weekdays and a long walk during the weekend.

So, to improve strength above where it is right now: do 3-4 gym workouts per week and do so for about six weeks. Do two quality cardio exercise sessions per week. Better still, walk to work daily.

After six weeks, reduce the gym work to 2-3 sessions per week and divert more energy into the outdoors cardio exercise for about 6 weeks.

After six weeks, switch the emphasis back to the gym. Body and mind will love these swings back and forth.

Set yourself goals that challenge and inspire. For example; your goal might be to walk the Tongariro crossing in 6 weeks time. Another might be to take your lover for a romantic paddle down the Wanganui River in springtime, so that you can show off your chiseled chest and paddling prowess!

Got the idea Ron?

I am currently a sophomore in a US high school and on the brink of breaking the 5 minute mile barrier. To break the barrier and then some, my winter track coach, who is also the director of XXX Accademy in XXX, strongly reccomends weight training. My coach provided an 8 week program. My only question is, should I continue my hard track training while proceeding with the program simultaneously?

Photo: a young Peter Snell running at a meet in Wanganui and smashing a mile record
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Gary Moller comments:

Well, do you actually need more speed to break your 5 min barrier?
Run 200m as fast as you can and then multiply by 8. If the total time is less than 5 min then you have mostly an endurance issue and not a speed/strength one.

If you can already run 200m significantly faster than your one mile pace, then you can do all the core exercises in the gym you like, plus leg presses etc and you will go no faster over a mile as a result of all that extra effort.

Having said this, I am not averse to lifting weights and doing various gym drills - I do some myself most days because it is important to have a strong, supple and well-balanced body to run efficiently and to remain injury free. Read this here. However; the fact of the matter is the only way to get better at running is to get out and run - smartly of course.

Strength training can be effectively done by doing various running drills. These drills develop the muscles and reflexes that are specific to running.

One of the greatest losses in modern running is that athletes have forgotten how to do drills that develop strength, balance and posture that are specific to running.

Please refer to my earlier article on this topic

Have you thought about setting up a home gym?

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About core strength for endurance athletes

This article is going to get me off-side with the strength and conditioning experts; but here goes.... Much is heard nowadays about "core strength". It appears that just about every sporting injury has the lack of core strength as a root cause and it seems every exercise programme must include a complex series of "core exercises" that are so difficult to do that the ongoing services of a personal trainer are required to do them safely. In the context of endurance sports like running and cycling, I believe the need for core strength is over-promoted to the point where it is detrimental to athletic performance.

Photo: Light weight, wiry strength and no bulk are key determinants of who wins

While an endurance athlete needs strong abs and back muscles, there is definitely no need for a thick "core" of trunk muscles that do nothing to improve forward propulsion and serve only to add excess weight that is an added strain to the heart and the legs.

What makes a middle and long distance runner, swimmer or cyclist faster is time spent doing the actual activity - time spent in the gym lifting weights or teetering on large balls for longer than about 30 minutes three times a week probably does not contribute to athletic performance. If the athlete has the time and the energy to spend longer in the gym then he or she is probably not doing enough of their "core" activity such as running.

My previous business partner (He was a nationally ranked runner with a 4min 01s mile PB) in the gym business and I were constantly bemused by all the hours spent by aspiring athletes doing advanced Swiss Ball exercises. It was a pity there was not an Olympic event for Swiss Balls!

Sure: Strong, mobile joints and muscles about the hips are essential for running and strength is needed about the trunk to maintain posture and to balance and transfer pushing, pulling and torsional forces between the upper and lower limbs. But it comes down to how much strength and bulk is needed and how it is developed and maintained. The best way to develop core strength that is sport-specific is resistance forms of the competition one is training for - so in kayaking, that might involve drills towing a bucket or sack; a runner may do hill bounds; a cyclist might do hill climbs -stomping a big gear and a swimmer might use hand paddles.

I have put together a guide for core exercises to develop core strength and good posture - exercises you do not neeed a university Degree to do safely. These exercises should require no more than about 30 minutes in the gym 3 times a week, including warm-up time. Any longer and you might be doing too much and you should be outside doing some real training!