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Weight lifting, weight loss and running — it’s all about balance

No matter how often they log road miles each week, runners usually build other workout components into their fitness regimen to develop a well rounded workout.

To build muscle tone and strength, for example, we hit the gym. To control our weight, we watch what we eat.

But if you don’t manage those other aspects of your workout properly, they can have a negative effect on your running routine. So don’t throw away positive running results in exchange for an extra 100 pounds on the bench press or try to drop that extra 10 pounds around your middle in record time. Instead, make a plan.

A visit to your doctor is a good way to start. If your doctor says to lose weight, you should go ahead and set up a plan of attack for that. And if you need to build strength for your daily duties, you should develop a weight room regimen.

But if you don’t consider the impact these efforts might have on your running regimen, you could lose ground out on the road.

While everyone has different needs, runners usually have one specific weight room rule: “light weight, heavy reps.” In other words, each weightlifting exercise should include at least three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

If you can’t complete three sets for each exercise, reduce the weight.

A dedicated runner should never know his one-rep limit on any exercise. Heavy weights build bulky and inflexible muscles.

As a precaution, any weight lifting program should include an intense, head-to-toe stretching regimen.

Remember, loss of flexibility in the legs or even upper body can increase fatigue and prompt pulled muscles.

As with weight lifting, determine your needs and desired results before you start dieting. Remember that food intake is your body’s primary fuel source.

One of the easiest dieting approaches is calorie counting. Drop your calorie intake below what you’re burning and you’ll lose weight.

Unfortunately, many dieters often skip meals — or virtually starve themselves — in search of quick weight loss. For runners, that’s the wrong approach. You need fuel.

Instead, use nutritious replacements for high-calorie foods. Replace a high-carbohydrate, high-sugar food with an extra helping of vegetables. Skip the fried calamari and have a salad appetizer — and eat more slowly. Slow eaters eat less because they give the body time to realize it is full.

Ultimately, it’s about balance.

Gradual adjustments — adding one lightweight workout session at the gym to improve strength or replacing one fat-laden food with a healthy alternative — can make a difference.

Sometimes the results come more slowly, but they will last longer as they become a dedicated part of your regimen and not a spur-of-the-moment addition.

Christopher Prawdzik is a runner and freelance writer in Northern Virginia. E-mail him at lifelinesrunner@yahoo.com.