i haven’t lifted in about 2 two months now. i’ve also stopped doing plyos for two months b/c i’ve been too busy running or being too tired to lift. i’ve been feeling weak b/c 3 weeks ago i tried squatting and i felt dramatically weaker and a great loss in muscular endurance. so far i’m running mon, tues, thurs, and friday for my summer track team. what should i do on the days i don’t run??? ps i’ve never done any oly lifts in my life…
I know i am going to potentially start a flamewar with this, but, my 2 cents:
IMO, some other form of training, besides the track (plyos or weights or medball etc) is necessary to improve sprinting because they improve attributes in a way that is more optimal than sprinting alone.
(Note: i am not getting involved into the OLY v WestSide or Lifter v sprinter debate :), i am being general )
Maybe the reason that weights made you feel weak was that the volume/intensity was too much for that session? It took me a long time to get my volumes right (still not good enought, but better than they were).
The feelings you got are natural. So start off and after a few sessions everything will fall into place and you’ll start improving overall. You just shocked your body. It happened to me a lot before but then I don’t stop my lifting anymore just cause I don’t want to fall back into that problem of “feeling weak” , even “becoming weak” and “Looking weak”. Sometimes I do exercises to look good!! Its not part of my program but its just something for my self!
Why did you stop lifting and plyos? If you couldn’t do them because of your running program, maybe the running work was to much. You might miss some sessions because of training fatigue, but if you must drop them all, something’s wrong.
well i did buy a med ball a few weeks ago (10lbs). i’ve been training my core and explosiveness with it. it helped a lot. i also have been doing a lot of core workouts by myself everyday. should i be doing pylos on my off days then??? and should i start off lifting at 3x10 or should it be 3x5 since i’m aiming to peak by july 25 for the nationals??
You don’t want to make any big changes now, with just over 3 weeks of training left. Perhaps just a few plyo exercises added.
thanks i just got my ems unit but my cfts hasn’t come yet. can you tell me what the pulse rate and pulse width suppose to be so i can start using the the unit now???
If you are very tired after your running workouts then I think it might be ok to miss lifting intially, and then add it on later once you no longer experience fatigue from training. In Speed Trap (I think) Charlie mentioned something along the lines of lifting only being a means to a goal, and you shouldnt overwork yourself if you’ve already pushed yourself as far as you can go (correct me if I’m wrong please).
Why don’t you use the EMS in a pulsing mode to help with recovery for now till the season’s over since you’re already feeling fatigued? Perhaps 10min twice a day on the ham and quad muscles with the legs elevated slightly to aid the circulation.
i don’t have pulse mode on my ems unit but i do have settings. how long??? how strong??? you know where i’m going…how does it feel???
A light short pulse as short as it goes, preferably under one sec for both pulse and relaxation
ok thanks. after one session of messing around with this ems unit, i’m already a bit sore in my abs and chest lolz. it’s crazy
ok thanks. after one session of messing around with this ems unit, i’m already a bit sore in my abs and chest lolz. it’s crazy
I know that feeling, once I turned the power on one of those way too high and my calf was twitching for a long time after the treatment. I was using the one in our schools training room, and needless to say the trainer was not pleased.
Is EMS that important?? I don’t know? But from the see of things I hear everyone talking about it and a lot of discussions on how to buy it and where to buy it from and how to use it etc… I found out that I have one in the house that I never cared to use or check. Does it make a difference??
Check it out and see if it’s working. Start off with pulsing for recovery and, when the season’s over, you can check if EMS for strength is appropriate for you, based on your overall program.
should i lift and then start using the ems after i get stronger…and this is the time when summer track is over, not now of course.
I would do general exercises including weights to strengthen all the structures first, then add EMS for strength, just as you would with gen work before max strength work.
Charlie,
if doing EMS (recovery mode), Abs, contrast showers, self-massage (biofoam roller) and stretching in a one hour ‘recovery session’ what order should they be done in?
I am guessing:
Abs
EMS (recovery mode)
Self-massage (biofoam roller)
Stretching
Contrast Shower
ok?
p.s. is there any particulr form of stretching you prefer for such a session??
Thanks 
I’d go Abs
2 cycles of Contrast shower (but ending on hot this time as prep for EMS)
EMS recovery mode
biofoam roller
easy stretching with longer holds
Final cycle of the contrast shower ending on cold as usual.
Charlie - thank you