I’m on week 6 of the LIFT 4 program and I’m loving the flexibility of only training four days a week. I’m not sure I’d have the patience to listen to another trainer 6-days a week ever again. I hope Beachbody releases more training programs like this!
I’m a huge advocate of listening to what your body wants in terms of movement, so I’m very happy to postpone a lift/HIIT workout if I’m feeling the need for a run or just some yoga. People ask me how I stay motivated to keep working out and that’s it - I do what feels good and it keeps me coming back for more.
Related: How to carb cycle your diet as a runner
Love Your Body. Love Your Workouts.
Here’s the thing - if you’re only working out because you want to look a certain way, it’s going to be a slog. Plus it's nutrition, not workouts that have the biggest impact on weight loss (which is what most people are after). So find a workout that suits you and that you love (or maybe just don’t hate) and you’ll stay motivated. Mix it up, too! It’s so easy to burn out on single-sport activity like running, yoga or whatever. Give your body a full range of experiences and it will pay you back in looking and feeling it’s very best.
Love yourself enough to give your body what it wants and it will love you right back, friend. Trust me on this - I know it sounds overly simplistic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Related: HIIT & Run Lower Body Workout
Want some inspiration on how to mix up some workouts?
Here’s a LIFT4/10 Running plan I crafted for a friend. Feel free to use it or modify it to suit your needs, but keep in mind, it was intended for an intermediate athlete, so not for beginners. This mashup was made specifically for the LIFT 4 workout program, but if you want to follow along with your own weight program, that would work, too. Just be mindful of the areas you're working out. I designed this so that it doesn't overload the legs too much.
Would you like to me to do some more workout mashups? I love designing these!
XOXO
Download a PDF of the plan: lift4 10K plan Hope you enjoy it!
XO
Caren
Caren is a certified yoga teacher, fitness instructor and ADHD Coach. As the founder of The Fit Habit, she shares ADHD-friendly self-care, food & fitness inspiration, along with practical ways to foster mind + body wellness.
Jennifer
This is great! Thank you! I’m a novice and training for a half marathon. My running plan suggests 4 days a week running (2 short and easy, one interval and one long run) over 16 weeks. I have 8 weeks to go and desperately need to cross train. I miss my hiit cardio (my preferred method before deciding to try a half) and lifting so I had also been trying to do the liift program. I can’t seem to find a rhythm tho other than skipping leg hit days out of fear of how it may impact my runs! Do you have any suggestions? And on days when you do liift and run... which do you do first?
thefithabit
Congrats on your first 1/2 marathon, Jennifer! That's really exciting. If you're using BOD, I recommend playing with the workouts and don't worry about following a specific program to the letter. Break the rules a bit because right now, your race training has to be the priority.
Focus on upper body strength (look at options in P90x3 and 21 day fix/fix extreme) and also pull in some yoga! Don't worry too much about the leg days right now as that's a lot of volume on your legs. You can go back to full body training when you're done your race.
Good luck!
Katherine
I love this! Currently about to start training for my first rock n roll 1/2 and I’m excited, but I also love to lift. I’ve been working on Body Beast. Do you have any suggestions for that?
thefithabit
Hey Katherine,
Good luck with the half! Body beast is great. Just don't do leg days before a long run 🙂
Jason R
Hi Love this 10K hybrid! Just wondered how you would alter nutrition if at all. I'm 46 and 6 foot and aiming to keep muscle as much as I can while running. Currently at 3000 calories with 45/30/25 macro ratio of carbs, proteins and fats. On my second round of Lift 4 but wanted to try this.thanki you!
Caren
Hi Jason, That would all depend on your goals. You say you want to maintain muscle, but do you want to lose fat or just enhance endurance performance? If you're just adding running for general health and wellness, you may not need to increase calories at all. I would listen to your physical signals. Are you hungry a lot of the time? This is a cue that you need more fuel!
glad you like the post 🙂
Jessica K.
Hi! Thanks for this post even though it is almost 2 years old but I found it and have been following this hybrid schedule. I love running and wanted to incorporate it with the Liift 4 program. I am gaining some muscle from this program which is great, but what did you do after Liift 4 ended?? I don't want to lose the muscle that I gained but really want to try another Beachbody program. I was thinking Barre Blend or Core de Force. What do you recommend?? Thanks so much!!
Caren
Hi Jessica,
Have you tried hammer and chisel? That's really fun. Barre blend is one of my favorites. If you love weight lifting specifically, try 21 day fix!
kim
On the days without a run do you do the hitt portion of Lift4?
Caren
yes