Running training program for weight loss

Our eight-week running for weight loss features sprint interval workouts that call for repeated second uphill runs. These should be hard efforts, but not so hard that you find yourself slowing down before you complete the final interval. While running melts away excess body fat, strength training burns additional calories and preserves muscle mass. However, if you supplement your running with a couple of full-body strength workouts each week, all of your weight loss will in fact be fat loss.

Strength training may be performed at a gym or in your living room. Focus on bodyweight as well as weight-lifting exercises, such as lunges, squats, deadlifts, pushups, shoulder presses and planks. This eight-week training plan incorporates the three key workout types and adds an optional once-weekly easy run or cross-training session for those who are seeking faster results.

The schedule is progressive, which means that the training load increases from week to week. The exceptions are weeks four and seven, when the training load is cut back to promote recovery. And performance is about speed. Randy adds: Avoid circuits of several exercises in a row and instead take minutes of recovery after each set. Weight Training Mistake: Relying on Stability Too many runners have fallen in love with stability training with Bosu balls, wobble boards, and other stability tools. Randy summarizes this well: Avoid wobble boards, bosu, or swiss balls.

This becomes clear when you think deeply about the goal of strength training. Does Weight Training for Runners Work? He knows exactly what type of weight training is appropriate for runners. Off days? Hard days? What about high school aged kids? Is weightlifting for me? Advanced lifts like the deadlift are intimidating. Any suggestions? I do a lot of bodyweight exercises. Is that enough? Strength Training Exclusive Resources Do you want to get stronger?

Improve your body composition? The key is to start slow and easy and keep your goals doable. We want to avoid burnout and injury at all costs. Before we begin, check out this amazing progress picture of a TRE runner named Tony… a total inspiration! Before diving into a running training program to achieve your weight loss goals, it is important to take a look at previous experiences, and understand what works and what does not. Maybe you got injured, or maybe you put so much energy into your program that you had to sacrifice other things in your life, and doing so was not sustainable.

The second category are those who have not tried a specific training program yet, because they feel they need to lose a certain amount of body weight before even getting started. After all, following any exercise program is tough on the body no matter your body weight, and maybe you just wanted to slim down before starting to make the training easier once you do get started.

The good news is, no matter which of the above categories you fall into, the solution is the same. Your weight-loss journey is simply going to require a sustainable exercise program. This way, you will stay motivated to keep going even after the initial buzz wears off.

Believe it or not, easy weight loss is possible. And while it may seem counterintuitive, easy weight loss requires being easy on yourself. Setting extreme, unsustainable goals almost guarantees burnout. We want our goals to be manageable, so that it does not feel like our weight loss journey is disrupting the rest of our lives. An easy way to keep your workouts sustainable is to just run through a quick checklist every time you workout.

The checklist will include the following:. Sweating is by no means the line between a good or bad workout. However, for most of us, sweating is a good indicator that we are outside of our comfort zone. But add it to the checklist to ensure you are getting out of your comfort zone and doing hard work. A body workout should require your body to do things it normally does not do. This is how we will see change. Before, during and after easier runs, add short circuits of bodyweight exercises like pushups, air squats, burpees and jumping jacks to rev your metabolism.

An example set could look like five minutes of alternating pushups and air squats, then running easy for 15 minutes, doing five minutes of alternating burpees and walking lunges, running easy for another 15 minutes, then finishing with a 5-minute set of jump squats and mountain climbers.

Cutting calories Around runs is not recommended, but this is a common mistake intermediate runners, especially ones with the goal of dropping weight, tend to make. Make sure your pre-run s snacks, in-run fueling and post-run recovery meals include quality carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats.

Check out more training plans on MapMyRun. Molly is an outdoor adventurer and professional nomad obsessed with all things running, nutrition, cycling and movement-related. You can follow along with her adventures on Instagram at mollyjhurford. Turn on MapMyRun desktop notifications and stay up to date on the latest running advice.