Background:
I have been an off and on runner for the past 3 or 4 years, so I've got a solid cardio base. I have done some strength training in the past, just enough to be familiar with proper form on most common lifts. I got a bit lazy with a new baby arriving last November and put on some, uhh, "sympathy" weight (read: I was tired and lazy and ate like crap). I spent the last several months running and watching my diet to drop that extra weight and am one week from hitting my weight loss goal prior to beginning my strength training phase. (Lost about 16 pounds and look like I'll be finishing around 12-13% body fat. My goals for strength training are simple (i think). I want to get strong and have some visible muscle definition to go with it. While I would consider myself and experience runner and can put together a good running training plan, I'm a bit of a rookie in the weight room and could use some opinions. After probably too much reading, here is the rough plan I've put together.

The plan:
I can commit to 3 days a week in the weight room and I can budget about 40 minutes of time on the weight room floor. so here is my rough plan I came up with to try to maximize overall strength and fitness.
Day 1:

• Deadlift (3 x 6-8)
• Bench Press (3 x 6-8)
• Upright Row (3 x 6-8)
• Overhead Press (3 x 6-8)
• Dips (upright to focus on Triceps)
• Brief core work either in the morning or after workout

Day 2: Rest or 40 minute (4 ish miles) easy run
Day 3:

• Squat (3 x 6-8)
• Incline Barbell Press (3 x 6-8)
• Lat Pull down (until I can rep pull ups) (3 x 6-8)
• Calf Raises (3 x 6-8)
• Dips (Leaning forward to target chest)
• Brief core work either in the morning or after workout

Day 4: Rest or 40 minute (4 ish miles) easy run
Day 5:

• Box Jumps
• Push ups
• Pull Ups (possibly counter balanced depending on strength)
• Bicep curls
• Shoulder shrugs
• Not sure what this is called but with dumbells and straight arms raise the weights out in front of me and out to the sides in alternating sets to target shoulders.
• Brief core work either in the morning or after workout

Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

I plan to eat, targeting a rough 300-400 calorie surplus in a given day (that works out to about 2400 with no working out) shooting for a rough balance of 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat.


For those more experienced than me I am interested in thoughts on this plan and possibly how to improve it, (or if I should scrap it).

It looks like you're trying to do a full body workout each day. At only 40 min and that many sets/reps, you'll probably be going fairly light to get it all done. You may want to look at doing fewer lifts. If you're able to work out 3x a week, I may focus more on certain muscle groups. Obviously, there are unlimited programs out there. I've had, and I think a lot of others on here too, have had success with Stronglifts. We've got a 4-year-old thread on it sharing a lot of people's experiences.

https://texags.com/forums/48/topics/2254214

First of all too many carbs, I would make sure to get more of your calories from fat and protein.

I would say either start with a 5x5 program or do a setup similar to the below. I normally get my workouts done in 45 minutes as there is not much rest between sets besides leg day.

Day 1 - back and chest
Day 2 - legs
Day 3 - shoulders and arms

I'd change upright rows to Kroc rows or barbell rows. Other than that it looks balanced and focuses on compound movements.

P.U.T.U said:

---

First of all too many carbs, I would make sure to get more of your calories from fat and protein.

I would say either start with a 5x5 program or do a setup similar to the below. I normally get my workouts done in 45 minutes as there is not much rest between sets besides leg day.

Day 1 - back and chest
Day 2 - legs
Day 3 - shoulders and arms

---

This both in diet and workout. Hop on a linear progression program and follow the program as written at least for a few months.

For me, this would be too many lifts for only 40 minutes... and the full body routine would be too intense until I'm well adjusted, even if I had 60 minutes. I've tried similar workouts and just get too beat or they take too long. You don't know if it will work for you until you try, but I think it's too much to jam into 40 minutes.

I personally enjoy going 4-6 times a week for 30 minutes usually doing 2-3 exercises, alternating upper body days with leg+back days.

I'm doing the Big But Boring program right now and it gets me in and out of the gym pretty quickly, even if I add accessories. It's been a good base of a program for me so far. It's a 4 day program, but you could probably modify it somehow to make it 3, or even modify the stronglifts program to work for you.

Also agree with everyone else that you shouldn't do a full body workout every day.

Why not just do the classic Stronglifts 5x5 routine. It's older than dirt and works REALLY well in the beginner/intermediate phase. It pretty much hits everything and if you feel so inclined you can add some accessory work, though it's not necessary.

Louie Simmons said, "Everything works, but nothing works forever."

The most important thing is to get in the gym and train whatever it is you are going to train. Balance your lifts (work opposites), concentrate on compound movements and don't sweat the rest. If you like your plan, use it. There is nothing wrong with it.

Thanks for all the tips y'all. I like the look of the StrongLifts 5x5 but my one concern would be squatting every lifting session because I would like to keep some decent length runs in my schedule so I don't lose my cardio base and because running is the part I actually enjoy. Any thoughts on that much squatting mixed in with runs? seems like a recipe to destroy my legs with no recovery time but maybe I'm wrong

BlackGoldAg2011 said:

---

Thanks for all the tips y'all. I like the look of the StrongLifts 5x5 but my one concern would be squatting every lifting session because I would like to keep some decent length runs in my schedule so I don't lose my cardio base and because running is the part I actually enjoy. Any thoughts on that much squatting mixed in with runs? seems like a recipe to destroy my legs with no recovery time but maybe I'm wrong

---

You can always change 2 of the days if you want - take out the squats and add in another lift.

Valid point on the running. I would still do the squats, but just maybe don't make getting up past 300 pounds your main goal, just stay at a moderate weight that doesn't kill you in recovery. I'm an average joe type of guy, with no real history in athletics or long life of powerlifting. I can definitely say once I hit 300 on my squats recovery time became an absolute bear, and I am basically sore, as if I just started lifting after a long layoff, stereotypical legs-don't-work-after-a-hard-leg-day-workout type feeling all the time. Every day, 24/7, never goes away. You probably wouldn't want that with running