When do you stop lifting weights before an IM?

Paul Hough

Boomers - if you lift weights, when do you stop before a full or half-ironman?    Me - I try to lift 3 times a week in the out season, two times during regular training, then stop about a week out for a half and maybe 10 days before a full.  I'm curious what the rest of you do?

steve Beyer

I don't lift weights......guilty sigh

dnesom

I lift 3 days a week generally, but would find that pretty difficult to maintain at the end of a HIM or IM training cycle anyway. Right now I'm on a short course plan, tapering this week. My Oly is on Saturday and my last day in the weight room will be Wednesday. If it were an IM or HIM I would give up the weights 5 days before at least (legs even earlier). No science behind that, just my feeling on what might effect performance.

jim ebert

Paul, I'm in the same camp as Steve. I have done some weight lifting but need to get back into it. Your routine sounds sound. I guess if you look at your results from before lifting to now and see you have improved and haven't gotten injuries you could blame on the lifting...you're right on. If there are issues I'd only tweak your routine (reps, sets, weight?) or change some of the routine...but only if you find issues in tri performance.

Paul Hough

I'm back in the gym after Lou and trying to hit 2 to 3 times a week and changing up the exercises in each visit. I'm doing some machines and some functional strength exercises. At 58, I am NOT improving, just fighting a holding action against the aging process.

Frederick Guesneau

I do weights twice a week on the easy days. I typically stop at least  60 days before a IM race. This was prescribed from my previous coach and I still stick to this approach.

David Howard

@Paul Hough  That sounds about right "Masters" or not.  Allot of older advice R/T stopping 60 day or more was due to the belief (and r/t some studies done with mixed strength and endurance WKOs) that "lifting weights will hut your endurance work" and or risk bulking up closer to race.  However, while these studies showed strength done in isolation and endurance done in isolation superior to combined WKOs for either ability..... this isn't necessarily true when NOT combined in same WKO or day. For example strength (lifting) can be combined with Similar focus TRI training ie "Leg Day" can be done to Adjunct to VO2 bike/run day and Upper body/core to swim day..... OR giving Strength trained body parts 24-72 hrs recovery before (48 seems a sweet spot) Other WKO of same body parts. ......
Anyway when it comes to IM if you have a Strength program going one would want to consider dialing back in last 4-6 weeks as a factor of DOMS (how sore for how long -do you need the 72+ hrs? for the muscle recovery) and do you have the time for the lifting relative to long TRI WKOs?  What type should be considered as well. Any Heavy (85%+ 1RM) day should be done with full recovery day post and reps kept low and not done to failure (ie 3x3 of 4 rep max wt).  Switching to more "functional Strength" such as calisthenics and incorporation of flexibility such as Palladies and such would be a good idea.  Multi days of low rep, high volume days can build/maintain strength w/o significant fatigue such as doing 4 pull ups 5-10 times per day when one can do 6max and have no real discernible negative effect on endurance training.  I would dial off ballistic/Olympic or cross fit AMRAP type WKOs in last 4-6 weeks due to the significant stress on connective tissue/joints and fatigue effects...let alone the risk of injury w/o opportunity to recover. _nothing wrong with incorporation in training...just not so much in last month or so.

Tom Glynn

I strength train once a week and typically stop 3-4 weeks out from an IM.  I think if I lifted more, I'd take more time off before the race.

Paul Hough

@David - this year, I stuck with my program and lifted up to the week before IM South Africa.  Then picked it right back up and stopped again for the week going into IM Texas.  I'm holding at 2x per week now and will continue to only take off the week before my remaining big races.  I don't pay any attention to the 'science' on timing, approach, 'leg day', AMRAP (whatever that is) and such.  My weight days = 45 mins at Anytime Fitness and includes a mix of everything - traditional arm and leg weights, functional strength, preventative shoulder exercises, stretching and calisthenics ... basically whatever I feel I need.

Al Truscott

I'm in the weight room 2-3 x a week for 25-45 minutes + stretching and focused body weight work. I stop when I no longer have access to weights, e.g. Monday before an IM would be my last day. To avoid DOMS, I do either 8-12 reps x 3 sets, or 4 30 second reps (2 minutes total work) with the same weight. Try it sometime; it ain't easy.

Tim Sullivan

I had been doing weights consistently before I started the final build for my first IM. I thought something had to give to allow me the ability to accept the big increase in training so I  stopped lifting weights till just now (six months later). Probably a mistake. 

My plan for next year's races is to keep lifting until a week or two before the race. It's hard to believe how fast that strength disappears.

I do a 5x5 routine 3 times per week that includes squats, deadlifts, shoulder press, rows and bench spread across two different days. I find it really provides a good all body workout. Even though I completely deload the bar and start from scratch when I don't lift for a while I am still a little sore today after starting back.  Typically I don't get sore from lifting. Once I get up to about 1 1/2 times my body weight on squats I stop increasing.  Anything more for me feels like just asking for trouble.

As a side note, I  get a DEXA scan once a year at UT and found that my bone density actually increased when I followed this general routine between scans. At least I  think this would be a reason. It will be interesting to see what it says this next January when I have done all of this other endurance training.

Paul Hough

@Tim Sullivan - Yeah, I lift until the week before just tapering in.  You'll lose that strength even faster as you age so it's important to keep it up.  Meanwhile, I need to start that annual DEXA scan idea...probably at the end of this season. 

Satish Punna

I have read recommendations of no axial loading/lower extremity weights two weeks out of an A race and no arms 1 week out.