How to make fitness, mainly running, a long-term success in practice?

opaquepurple

New member
25, not 30, but still have important questions about this stuff. Most advice and fitness subs delete my post bc it's "too long" or bc they're weirdly only for one small topic. So here goes:

This is more of several related questions than just one. Seriously love the feel and benefits of running but don't know the "right" way to fit it in the day and with strengthening. Have the willpower, but don't know how to make it work in practice. Different people say to do different things, so being able to 100% execute a running and overall fitness lifestyle is vague, making results and the fun of of it difficult to make sense of.

Backdrop: I used to just run 5 days a week after work, sometimes really long. Up to half-marathons (alone, not in a group). Preferred it in evening bc work is stressful and it feels better to run as a nice reward after a hard day. Coming back to college made running feel impossible, bc of work/classload and how the college gym closes at 10 (8 in summer) and reduced/no hrs in weekend . Trying to work out in general with more tasks and less allowed gym time made if feel like a job to overthink how to plan amd overthink time I can work out and run (why close gym so early, I'm not retired with all day to do things I like and when I want). It takes a while to stretch too, since I'm flat-footed. Even walking without 6 days a wk of thorough stretching makes it hard to just stretch for 10 minutes and run 10 miles. Time is a currency doing work and school. I want to get truly fit and have the benefits consistently working out brings, not settling. My dad says I should just focus on my career and work bc it's hard to fit fitness and those things in life in college, but fitness is too good to wait till 35 to start, that's lame. Life is too short for that, and fitness makes social and dating life a lot better; after 30 social life tanks, and dating becomes harder. I don't want to prevent myself from having good things like these in life.

I wasn't an athlete in high school, so I don't know what's considered best for certain fitness things, but they matter to be able to grow in strengthening and cardio. I don't know how to just feel for what I should work on (like some ppl saying they just feel for what muscle group needs lifting on certain days and does them). I have to plan things with detail and know all the ins and outs of doing things a certain way, to be sure i can do something that way. There has to be an in-depth plan and written workout split to make working out make sense for me.

My goals rn are to shed 20 lbs (of fat), and build some muscle (probably would increase weight). And dive deep into running.

So:

Should I run and lift in same day?

Same session? If yes, how much to run?

As a running lover, running feels more important than strengthening (both are important though)- so should I run before lifting or after, for max running results?

I usually have 10+ hrs of work, school, study and errands to do, 7 days a week. So running in the morning just makes it hard to finish everything and feel relaxed. When is it best to run though?

How many days a week to run, if I run mid to long runs most times?

Probably the biggest Q; How to schedule anounts of running to do from the beginning stage and on. Should I slowly move up in weekly mileage like the 10% rule says? Or does it just depend on the person? When I originally started running before college. (between it and hs) I pretty quickly went from running 3 miles each run to 6, 10, and half marathons. My first half marathon was 7 months after I started running.

For the weekly mileage thing, how should I split up days of runs (one being 3 miles, one 5, etc)? Should I do the same distance every time in one week?
 
@opaquepurple My runs start and end at my door so they’re super easy to fit into any day.

I don’t run and lift in the same day, but others do and they’re fine.

There’s nothing wrong with lifting taking a backseat while you do other stuff with your life
 
@opaquepurple I’m not a runner or professional but here’s what I do. I spend one hour in the gym every day. The first 20-25 minutes is running on the treadmill for cardio. Then, depending on my focus for the day (upper body or lower) I cycle through 4-5 weighted exercises. Always including a compound movement (bench or squat).

Idk if that’s advised but it works for me. It helps me keep cardio on the menu but also working on strength stuff.

When the weather improves I shift my runs to early mornings. But I always try to keep strength on the menu.
 
@opaquepurple If being a good runner is your goal you need to get as light as possible. Work up to a 90 to 2 hour run once a week. Once a week do some fast repeats. The other 4 days run about an hour easy. How much you running now?
 
@opaquepurple
Should I run and lift in same day?

You don't have to, but if you want be competitive at running (run a half as fast as you can, as opposed to "just finish") and make progress in the gym, eventually you will have to.

Same session? If yes, how much to run?

As a running lover, running feels more important than strengthening (both are important though)- so should I run before lifting or after, for max running results?

You could do the same session. In that case, I would recommend lifting first and only doing an easy run after (not speedwork). However, you will likely find it easier and better to split them AM/PM. With the large gap, the interference will be minimal. Then it doesn't really matter which you do in the AM and which in the PM.

I usually have 10+ hrs of work, school, study and errands to do, 7 days a week. So running in the morning just makes it hard to finish everything and feel relaxed. When is it best to run though?

The best time will be the time that lets you be consistent. Everyone has shit to do and 24 hours, you choose your own priorities.

How many days a week to run, if I run mid to long runs most times?

The more the better. Build up from where you are at now. 5 days is solid and can be be enough to run a very solid half marathon.

Probably the biggest Q; How to schedule anounts of running to do from the beginning stage and on. Should I slowly move up in weekly mileage like the 10% rule says? Or does it just depend on the person? When I originally started running before college. (between it and hs) I pretty quickly went from running 3 miles each run to 6, 10, and half marathons. My first half marathon was 7 months after I started running.

For the weekly mileage thing, how should I split up days of runs (one being 3 miles, one 5, etc)? Should I do the same distance every time in one week?

Some people can ramp up mileage very quickly without getting hurt. Most people find out that they can't after a couple months.

How you split up your runs depends a lot on what your goals are. Right now, I am training for a mile race. So my long runs are a lot shorter than they are when I am training for a marathon. My workouts are also at a higher intensity, so they are shorter in distance as well. My easy/recovery runs are about the same though.

You can do a simple one speed, one long, everything else easy week and be fine. You can also pick a specific race as a goal and train for that.

Good luck.
 
@opaquepurple My comment is different than other suggestions, so take it with a grain of salt.

Just fit it in at the end of your day as a treat. You are in college and rather than slack off with classes and future career, just make sure you simply keep up with running somewhere in your week. Period.

That may mean it's a 20 minute run before bedtime, only twice during the work week and a longer run on weekends, or some other variation. The key to being balanced in your lifestyle is making sure it doesn't get dropped entirely even when heavy school deadlines hit. Don't justify cutting it out entirely simply because you don't have a full hour per day, 7x a week to train.

I have fit in small (15-20 min) strength training sessions before I walk to work. While I would love to go to a gym for an hour daily, right now, I am dealing with moderating autoimmune issues and its more important to make sure that I maintain a weekly schedule where possible and let it expand from there as I progress.

Good luck!
 
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