I’m approaching the last 3 weeks of my season with the peak 800 race occuring at the end of this 3 weeks.
For the last 6 months I have been in the gym 2days a week. The exercises and reps have changed over the 6 months but currently I am doing:
Day 1
Single leg lying leg press- 4x5
Single leg hamstring bridge on low box - 3x5
Single leg reverse hyper - 4x6
Running arms with 1kg dumbell - 3x40 (30sec rest)
Side raises - 3x8 each side
Med ball throws to side agianst wall with 5kg- 3x10
Day 2
Step ups on box with 4kg dumbell - 4x6
Total hip machine hip extension - 4x6 (dynamic)
chest press on swiss ball with 10 kg weights - 4x5
Running arms - As for day 1
Single leg Arabesques (spelling) - Similar to single leg deadlift with 5kg plate - 3x8
Bench - 4x4
I do a pilates routine at the end of these sessions with just a mixture of abs+glute work.
My coach is wanting me to stop with the gym work altogether now as I seem to race much better when I am fresh and we have been pushing the envelope in training a lot lately and it is now time to back off. I am just wondering if it is a good idea to stop with the weights completly over the next 3 weeks as i am worried the strength i have built up over the last 6 months will begin to decline and affect my race performances. However, I don’t know a lot about the physiology of strength training and don’t want to question my coach without getting some other more knowlegable opinions first. Many thanks