Leg Strength Training for a Marathon

[kylerunsalot]

I am training for the Baltimore Marathon, mostly following Jeff Galloway's Training Program (http://jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html).

My question pertains to weight training - I lift currently on monday (chest, triceps and abs), wednesday (back, biceps and calves) and friday (legs minus calves).

My problem is that, working calves on wednesday, my calves are not healed and are still sore on thursday. Then having a nightmarish leg working on friday, my legs are still sore from the day before. Running again on tuesday, my legs are still sore from Sunday.

I feel like I am hindering myself by not giving my legs proper time to heal between workouts. Would it be better to do all of my legs in one day? If so, which day, remembering that I have a set marathon training schedule? Any other tips or recommendations?

[BC02]

I am training for the Baltimore Marathon, mostly following Jeff Galloway's Training Program (http://jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html).

My question pertains to weight training - I lift currently on monday (chest, triceps and abs), wednesday (back, biceps and calves) and friday (legs minus calves).

My problem is that, working calves on wednesday, my calves are not healed and are still sore on thursday. Then having a nightmarish leg working on friday, my legs are still sore from the day before. Running again on tuesday, my legs are still sore from Sunday.

I feel like I am hindering myself by not giving my legs proper time to heal between workouts. Would it be better to do all of my legs in one day? If so, which day, remembering that I have a set marathon training schedule? Any other tips or recommendations?

just change to a push/pull/leg split or an ub/lb or fb and you would free up a day for recovery/running

[Ankiel84]

I may get flamed for this but...

Is it really necessary to do leg lifts when you are already training for a marathon? Personally I'd just stick to Jeff's guide and forget about leg workouts. Maybe throw in a few squats or leg presses once a week, but definitely don't worry about calves if they are impeding your progress towards your goal.

[Jim_C]

I may get flamed for this but...

Is it really necessary to do leg lifts when you are already training for a marathon? Personally I'd just stick to Jeff's guide and forget about leg workouts. Maybe throw in a few squats or leg presses once a week, but definitely don't worry about calves if they are impeding your progress towards your goal.

There is a definite advantage in weight training your legs when training for a marathon. Particularly on hills. I run and at 200 pounds can not keep up with the "runners build" guys but I can gain on them when going up the hills.

[Leferikson]

Honestly, I think you're going for two different goals. From what I've seen of my running friends, unless you're aiming to run a better sprint, then weight training is not for you atm (at the moment, not a$$ to mouth...). Training via running will lead to the greatest benefits for a marathon.