Used to be a runner...and now this :(

[SunsetRunner]

I really don't know where else I can ask this...and there might be no answer to it.  I concede that.

I used to be a runner; completed my first 5K in 2015.  But I basically did everything wrong.  About the only thing that went reasonably right was following the C25K plan on RunDouble.  Strength training wasn't happening.

It still wasn't last year when I had a desire to run a second 5K...and sure enough, being on a cardio only program caught up with me and I was basically on the verge on injury.  That was the end of my quest for a second medal.

Now I want to try again...but the strength training gap is still there, and I can't afford to see a personal trainer (current job doesn't bring in enough funds).  And I'm a hard one, meaning that I crosscheck places I've been considering to make sure the trainer(s) are nationally certified.  No available way to crosscheck has been interpreted in my mind as not certified at all and an automatic fail.

This has been causing serious problems of late.  I've rejected DailyBurn, Live Exercise, and Beachbody already because of this problem.  Fitstar came a little closer, but I find models doing the moves while the trainers talk you through it to be unacceptable; it sends me the message that it's okay to overexert.

Since I'm stuck with the video route -- I don't have the know-how to put a program together on my own -- and apparently my thick skull is not willing to compromise on crosschecking trainers -- it would appear that I'm out of luck because just about every search I've done is dominated by the three sites I named above that I've already turned down.  I guess DVDs might be an out but I know my DVD options like I know a burpee from a bench press, which translates to not at all.

The signal I'm getting is that it's time to give up running because the strength training piece of the puzzle can't be filled.  Right?  Wrong?

[SunsetRunner]

(deleted, this part was intended to land somewhere else)

[WendyB]

I used the book New rules lifting for Women and found it to be really ggod

There are two out there for Both Men and Women. I would think it would be as good as the one I used as they are the same author

You might want to give them a try

https://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Abs-Myth-Busting/dp/1583334602/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=14872...

https://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Supercharged-Muscle-Building/dp/1583335366/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UT...

[A_Lurker]

I'm not sure that running and strength training are mutually exclusive.  You can do one without the other.  I agree with @WendyB - the books by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove got me started and I managed to make good progress without injury.  exercise.com has some good (and some mediocre) videos (the ones with the strengthtraining.com watermark are the better ones).  You don't need to join to look at them.

Now, for running, the person I'm thinking of to give advice is @shipo  (I'm tagging him in as I've never been a runner, will likely never be one).  I'm sure there are others who could provide some help in getting back into running if you wanted to.

[brerbill]

The flip side is I gave up strength training so I could be a runner...

[Dominique]

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@brerbill wrote:

The flip side is I gave up strength training so I could be a runner...

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I think strength training and running only need to be mutually exclusive if you want to do either at a competitive level or if you’re really into one and have limited time available. Otherwise, there are certainly benefits in doing both.

[brerbill]

Agreed, Dominique!  I should probably do some strength training, but since I run most days, for me it's hard to do both with other things like work and family going on as well.

[SunsetRunner]

The complicator is two-fold:

a) I get that I could also walk a 5K...but since I don't drive and therefore I got used to walking a lot, there would be no challenge in that for me.

b) I have autoimmune arthritis that does limit my range of motion to a point.  Meds have it well controlled, but the specialist I work with has pointed out that without some strength and mobility routines I will be a candidate for surgery pretty soon...likely within the next 18-24 months.  That's something I don't want to see happen, but psychologically I just can't work around crosschecking trainers whose programs I'm considering because it was recommended to me that I avoid trainers who aren't certified like they're the Bubonic plague.

I have experienced what that feels like because once I started questioning the competence of the trainer for Daily Burn's True Beginner program because he failed a crosscheck (no certification to match against), I had an excuse to give less than my best...and that was the name of that tune.  I'm not stronger than that and I know it.  (It doesn't help that the know-how isn't there either.  The more exercises I see, the more confused I'm getting.)

[A_Lurker]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

b) I have autoimmune arthritis that does limit my range of motion to a point.  Meds have it well controlled, but the specialist I work with has pointed out that without some strength and mobility routines I will be a candidate for surgery pretty soon...likely within the next 18-24 months.  That's something I don't want to see happen, but psychologically I just can't work around crosschecking trainers whose programs I'm considering because it was recommended to me that I avoid trainers who aren't certified like they're the Bubonic plague.

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So, why not look into a consultation with a physiotherapist instead.  Maybe even someone your specialist can refer you to.  Even a good certified trainer may not be your best option.